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!READ THIS! Rules, Interpretations, & FAQ Sticky

A topic by PRINCESS INTERNET CAFé created Mar 04, 2023 Views: 3,039 Replies: 104
Viewing posts 1 to 35
Jam HostSubmitted (1 edit)

Welcome to the jam! Once you've read the rules on the main page, here are some more specific cases to give you an idea of what you can work with.

If you can't find your specific case or situation, feel free to ask below!

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GENERAL CLARIFICATIONS

You can:

  • have more than a single choice or fork in your VN/story
  • use your existing universe so long as the player does not need prior context to understand your entry
  • have unlimited solid color backgrounds in menus and in-game generated by the engine, alongside your illustrated BG
  • use Text-To-Speech without impact on any audio limits
  • use any freely available asset (paid, Creative Commons, and others)
  • generate images from AI prompts to adapt into assets if others can reasonably achieve the same output as you using the same settings - AI-generated assets are only allowed if you own the training data. (e.g. Photoshop's content-aware fill, training an entirely separate instance of AI on exclusively your work, using ML to remix art with permission from the artist, etc.) Systems in which the training data is not owned by the dev (ChatGPT, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and similar) are not allowed.
  • provide additional information on the VN's website including separate character drawings, backstory info, banners and cover images, provided they don't make diminish the VN-only experience
  • use your own existing assets not specifically made for a VN/game (e.g. vacation photos, childhood drawings, old poem)
  • use previously created custom menu styles/GUI, even if they appeared in other games before
  • submit NSFW/R18 work, provided it's tagged/flagged appropriately
  • create additional simple shapes by code (e.g. squares, circles, etc.)
  • draw an image by code, but only when the results are equivalent to having a single sprite and single BG
  • prepare code for basic VN functions (e.g, skip, auto-forward, text history, save/load, etc.) in your engine of choice
  • use any engine to create a game that is considered a VN first and foremost (e.g. due to the required assets needed, an engine such as any version of RPGMaker would not be allowed)
  • update your game after the jam is complete (we highly recommend making it available as a separate download for posterity's sake, but this is not necessary)

You cannot:

  • use sprites, backgrounds, scripts or other assets made or commissioned for a different VN/game project before (even if it's unfinished or unreleased)

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ONE SPRITE

It is within the rules to:

  • have many facial expressions for the sprite by changing eyes, nose, eyebrows and mouth
  • have many off-screen actors / characters, so long as only one is visually represented by a sprite
  • have a character sprite that includes a separate auxiliary character that does not feature in interactions (e.g, a woman holding a baby, a pirate with a parrot, blind person with dog)
  • have multiple "characters" associated with one sprite, as long as those are all a part of that singular entity (e.g, a medusa with talking snake hairs, a person playing with sock puppets on their hands, etc.)
  • have a "suggestion" of another character represented by a shadow or a reflection with very vague detail (see Illustration/CG rules)
  • have an "extra item" which is a single non-central element that will be hidden (man loses a hat, child's balloon flies away) or appears. 
  • use the single sprite for twins, clones, ghosts, swarms, etc.
  • mirror and otherwise transform the sprite in game
  • show only a portion of a sprite, including cut-outs or zooms.
  • have an inanimate object as the sprite (e.g. UFO, a portal, a robot)
  • having multiple small ambient objects as the sprite (e.g. adding traffic to the city, searchlights to prison)
  • fully or partially assemble a sliced up sprite in game, and apply effects to individual elements (e.g. a snowman's head)
  • animate parts of the sprite to achieve effects of breathing, bobbing their head, or other idle animation (this includes the usage of programs such as EmoFuri, Live2D, or Spline which do not require drawing new frames)
  • create minor frame-by-frame animations involving features of the face, such as blinking or mouth movement
  • have a single alternate movement of a single body part that is drawn differently (head, single arm) so long as it doesn't change the pose, and so long as the VN does not also use the allowed "extra item"

You may not do the following:

  • have multiple changes of clothes for the sprite, or any other separate layers that overlap with their non-transparent parts
  • use a sprite overlay to vastly transform the background (e.g. pre- and post-war city)
  • create extensive frame-by-frame animations of the sprite outside of parts of the face (e.g. snapping fingers, turning a hand around, etc.)
  • change the sprite's pose significantly (e.g. move the torso)
  • drawing alternate forms of hair or shaded clothes for any movement

Illustrations (CGs) can:

  • be used instead of a separate sprite and background
  • feature a character with expression changes and other alterations analog to sprites
  • feature simple crowd silhouettes, or suggestions of people without identifying details

Illustrations (CGs) cannot:

  • show multiple people in high detail
  • show a silhouette next to a fully shown character

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ONE BACKGROUND

It is within the rules to:

  • use the engine's built-in functions, code, or scripting to alter the background (e.g. blur, night filter, mirroring) 
  • have a small looping animation (e.g. inside of train with passing scenery, waterfall)
  • use zooming, panning and cutting around a larger image
  • reveal previously obscured information or areas through pans, zooms and cuts
  • use layers to show a sliced up an image as a single background (no opaque parts of layers can overlap)
  • use custom particle effects, so long as there is only one type of particle being used (e.g, cherry blossom petals, fire, etc.)

You may not do the following:

  • create secondary versions (via multiple separate files) of the background image (e.g. blur, night version)
  • use masks (via multiple separate files) to create secondary versions of the background image on screen
  • use an image which is created in such a way that focusing on segments effectively changes scenes
  • remove parts of a background to create a new scene, even if parts of it were seen in the original (e.g. there is a wall a window with a view outside, and then that wall is removed so the scene is now outside completely)

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ONE THOUSAND WORDS

When in doubt, pure words counted by Google Documents are to be taken as standard. 

Counts against the 1.000 word limit:

  • foreword / afterword / author's notes
  • text of all the VN's branches combined
  • text of choices
  • images of letters or longer-form text
  • any additional parallel language / translation
  • custom menu items like "Start your adventure" instead of "Start"
  • emoji-only statements (count as a single word)
  • emoji made of words (count as the amount of words in the emoji)
  • ellipses (a freestanding ... is considered a word by most word processors)

Does not count against the 1.000 word limit:

  • minigame using words if it's purely a game mechanic (does not advance story)
  • chapter names, even if displayed on screen
  • signs, posters, even if they relate to the story
  • short factual glossary, if explanation cannot be reasonably provided in game
  • in-game content warnings
  • credits, help / controls
  • emoji used to only accompany and reiterate a word or statement
  • repeats of blocks of text achieved by scripting (e.g. common route, recurring dream)
  • surplus text generated from a base text that is within the word count limit (e.g. chat bot, AI generator)
  • name tags, so long as they are not directly conveying narrative
  • image captions intended to describe visuals to players with low vision conditions for accessibility

Concerning the last point, please utilize an engine's accessibility features and do not abuse image captions to add to the narration in a way that moves it forward. We trust that participants will consider making their games more accessible to low vision readers in good faith.

If you are using Ren'Py, we suggest npckc's Caption Tool in order to add image captions to your game.

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ONE MUSIC TRACK OR ONE AMBIENT BACKGROUND NOISE

It is within the rules to:

  • use a looped sound effect acting as ambient background noise (e.g. rain)
  • use a track with multiple melodies / styles, if it existed prior to the jam, and only a single segment is looped, with another segment looped only for a special short segment / occasion.
  • alter the pitch or speed of audio via code

If an ambient audio file you create or find has multiple sources of different audio (e.g. a storm may have wind, rain, and thunder) and you do not control the timing of the other recorded audio, this all counts as one ambient track. If you do control the timing of other sounds, this counts as your sound effect.

You may not do the following:

  • create or use a track by combining composed music and ambient sounds
  • use a mash-up or mix of multiple songs with timed transitions (megamix, medley)
  • have additional menu music that loops (if the VN also has in-game music/ambient noise)

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ONE SOUND EFFECT

The single sound effect...

  • can be used multiple times
  • cannot be looped continuously (if yes, it counts as background noise per the last section)
  • can be made by a person different from the voice actor (we consider this to be a foley sound)
  • can bed altered via code

This limit does not apply to interface sounds, which are considered part of the GUI. Having different sounds assigned to button hover, activation, etc. could be an accessibility feature for low-vision players, as that's audio feedback for different actions.

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ONE VOICE ACTOR

Your entry's single voice actor...

  • can use use variations of voices
  • can have their voice modulated and processed to create completely different sounding voices
  • can be replaced by sound effects / beeps processed to act as voices (this does not count as the sound effect)
  • can speak lines not part of the VN's text, provided they don't go over 1.000 words combined

Regarding usage of voice beeps in lieu of voice acting: you may create different beeps per character as long as it remains consistent to that character.

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SPLASH SCREEN / MAIN MENU / GAME MENU ART / GUI 

The main menu / title screen background is now considered part of the GUI and thus is not beholden to many of the previous year's restrictions.

It is within the rules to:

  • display multiple splashscreens before the start (e.g, for the jam, engine used, studio logo)
  • have multiple variations of the title screen / game menu background
  • show as many characters / objects as you'd like
  • show a different location from the one in the game
  • use a combination of the sprite and background or the one CG as the main menu
  • have multiple typefaces

You may not do the following:

  • show any part of the main menu in the flow of your script if it is different from the assets in the game

Regarding image buttons that appear to be objects: these buttons should only appear as a choice, and the images should not appear again in other parts of the game due to the fact that this can be abused to bypass the item/arm/head change limit.

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ONE THUMBNAIL ART 

The restrictions for the itch thumbnail for your game's preview have now been relaxed, as we recognize that it is an important aspect of marketing your game to potential players. It is within the rules to:

  • show as many characters as you'd like
  • show a different location from the one in the game
  • create any animation for it, even one with multiple frames of animation

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ONE PROJECT

One person in the O2A2 jam...

  • can only be the primary creative lead for a single project (e.g. producer, director, author)
  • can additionally be a secondary creative contributor for someone else's project (e.g. draw a sprite)
  • can further collaborate on other projects in a non-creative role (e.g. coordination, marketing)

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OFFERING WEB BUILDS OF YOUR ENTRY 

If you offer both a web and downloadable version of your game, you may optimize effects (e.g. video backgrounds) for the web build as long as the downloadable version follows the rules. You may want to note differences between versions if applicable. Please follow this rule in good faith.

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OMAKES AND FANDISC RULES 

An omake means "extra," as in extra/bonus content for source material that you own or have permission to develop for. Fandisc is another term for the same concept.

It is within the rules to:

  • reference assets from your main game to create new assets (e.g. redrawing a sprite or BG, making a remix of a song, etc.)
  • reuse code from your main project to expedite development (e.g. recycling animations, code for setting up images, etc.)
  • use the same GUI from your main project

You may not do the following:

  • directly reuse any non-GUI assets you have created for your main game

We highly suggest writing your omake in a way that those unfamiliar with the source material are able to enjoy it, but this is not a requirement.

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FANGAME AND DERIVATIVE WORK RULES 

Fangames or derivative works are generally unofficial works based on source material that you do not own or have express permission to develop for. The O2A2 Jam Hosts are not responsible for any cease and desist notices for individual entries should they occur.

It is within the rules to:

  • adapt an existing fanfic or other work you created or have permission to use into a visual novel format

You may not do the following:

  • directly reuse any assets from the official source material (this is piracy!)

We highly suggest writing your fangame in a way that those unfamiliar with the source material are able to enjoy it, but this is not a requirement. For your protection in the majority of cases, we also suggest turning donations and PWYW off for fangame entries.

Submitted

Hi! I have a question regarding the background art rules:

The rules and FAQ say one background/time of day/location, which should not change the scene significantly when zoomed into, but I'm planning on having a single rotating background that makes use of silhouettes (like a cityscape) that aren't actually indicative of where the game is taking place because the game will mostly be location agnostic character monologue.

The background is planned to rotate constantly without shifting to different parts of the image to match the writing itself.

Concept sketch for the background
I can adjust this concept according to what is permitted within the rules, but can I use silhouettes of different structures etc. in this background so long as the time of day doesn't change (ie. no day to night) and the locations shown are not used to illustrate the story itself?
Host(+1)

From your description, it sounds like this is a looping background, which is totally fair game! I'm interested to see how a rotating BG does versus a BG that scrolls past, so I'll be on the look out for your project 👀

Submitted

It is a looping one yes, thank you!  Excited to make it happen :)  👍

(1 edit)

Hello hello! I had a question about the rule regarding one avatar/sprite. I was planning on using this phone template as the UI. Would a static avatar/PFP asset count as the avatar/sprite, or would it be considered part of the UI?

Host

Thanks for your patience, we've discussed it and have come to this verdict.

For an "icon" in settings where a electronic device is used to communicate via text, the following is allowed as GUI for the visual portion:

  • Individual letters, words, and characters (such as in languages like Chinese or Japanese) in any language, stylized within engine
  • Standardized Emoji Sets

Hello!

I have several questions:

  • Can anyone participate as “solo dev” (gathering resources from several places and designing the gameplay)?
  • The final entry can have a Web build for free and a secondary download like a PDF book for payment/donationware?
  • Can this web build have a “cross promotion” placement so I can feature other of my games?

Thank you for your time!

Jam HostSubmitted

Hello!

  • Yes, you may participate as a solo dev - many people do! 
  • I like the idea of having paid extras! Yes, that is fine too.
  •  Can you elaborate a bit more on what this "cross-promotion" would entail, please?

Sure! “Crosspromotion” stands for promoting other project/assets that you already own. I imagine a separate screen before starting the game(or after the credits) in a similar way that this quick image

My full picture is having a free webgl build with cross promotion and a secondary download with a Book PDF (maybe with more than 1K words?) for min price.

Does this idea meet the rules?

Jam HostSubmitted

We're still discussing this. We'll get back to you!!!

Hi!! I’ll wait patiently!

Jam HostSubmitted

Hello! So after long deliberation:

  • You can do whatever you want with the PDF (it's more like bonus content, not really a part of the game!), so feel free to make it have as many words as you want, etc.
  • We're generally fine with the idea of having an extra screen that you can access from the main menu in which you can do the cross promo. However, please use this in good faith: as long as it doesn't go against the rule of making your game a self-contained story, it's okay.
However, I'd like to mention that as an alternative, itch lets you create embeds that you can then paste into websites (I've previously done it in the project pages of my other games). So for an easier way to do the cross-promo, you could try this instead!



(+1)

Great news!! Thanks!! I didnt know about the embed and it can be useful for posting un other websites 👀.

However I’ll been stick to the crosspromotion screen since I would like to take advantage of this jam to develop a template to use in other games, un this way I’ll be able to promote games of future team mates!

Submitted

About wordcount rules, I've thought of an idea and I'm not sure how to count the words in a way that best fits the spirit of the jam.

Basically, there will be dynamic parts of the story that get filled by prompts. Eg. Starting the game with "You are [NAME], a [TITLE] of the [ORGANISATION]"

The idea is I'd have a prewritten list of words to fill in mad libs style. The user can reroll to get different sets of results until they find one they like. Potentially, I might even allow the text to be user edited, so it could roll you this result "You are Lloyd, a Captain of the Alliance" and the player might like most of that, but edit "Alliance" to "Federation".

The closest approximation feels like the text of branching choices, where each option does contribute to word count. But for the sake of clarification I'm confirming.

The sentence "You are ____, a ______ of the ______" is 6 words before the 3 blanks are filled. A filled sentence would be 9 words. Let's say, I had 5 names, 5 titles, and 5 organisations, in that case I would technically have to count this as 6 + 15, so 21 words, right? (in practice I'd be re-using lists of words for an economy of word usage, but just using a simple example here)

So my gut tells me, I would want to count this as 21 words, not 9. But please correct me if it makes more sense to count it as 9!

As a follow up, I assume that any user entered text would not contribute to word count. eg. if someone wrote in The Divided Galactic States for Organisation, that presumably doesn't affect my actual word count since it's being added to the game not by myself.

Jam HostSubmitted(+1)

Hi Gary!
This is a really exciting idea

Your gut is right. It's 21 words.

And any text entered by the player doesn't count against the word count, that's correct!

Submitted(+1)

Thanks for the answer! I'll plan accordingly ✏️

Submitted (1 edit)

I have a variation on this question. I like to give my players a choice of pronouns. They/she/he at a minimum. Would this mean that every time throughout the story I used a pronoun for the player character I'd have to count it as three words? If so, would that apply to conjugation too (she is, they are; he sits, they sit)?

Jam HostSubmitted (1 edit)

Hey, sorry I got back to you a bit late! I didn't get a notification as I think you replied to someone else's message (or maybe it got buried in all of the notifications of people joining the jam, either way I apologise!). Thankfully the jam hasn't started yet :)

Yeah, I'm afraid that your question would be the correct way to interpret the rule. 

I believe choices of pronouns are cool, so hopefully the below advice is useful. There are ways you'd be able to minimise how much it'd affect you game. Not extensive and just a collection of thoughts, so apply as you see fit:

  • Refer to the MC as much as possible with their name, using the pronouns only when it's important to the narrative.
  • Refer to the MC in 1st or 2nd person?
  • For regular verbs in the present you can always set up a variable that adds an "s" at the end of a verb if the pronouns chosen are "he" or "she". This wouldn't work for the verb "to be", but you can always avoid using it as much as possible!
  • Use verb tenses where there's not a difference when using any of the pronouns: He/She/They sat VS He/She sits and They Sit

Hope that helps!

Submitted

A different clarification but about one BG rule that says you cannot:

use an image which is created in such a way that focusing on segments effectively changes scenes

Which I think is about basically having multiple discrete BGs on one image. I had an idea for the BG basically being a map that the screen pans around. I believe that's in the spirit of this rule saying you can:

reveal previously obscured information or areas through pans, zooms and cuts

But just confirming! As a back up I could always just have a fixed view of the map that reveals more locations over time if that's more in the spirit anyway.

Jam HostSubmitted(+1)

This is allowed, as long as the map doesn't do something funny like zoom in to reveal a specific location (ie. hidden glade of woods or whatever)!

Submitted

Hey hey, sorry to bother, but I need a lil clarity on one thing!

For the Queer Games Bundle and this O2A2 VN Jam, can we submit the same game for both

Like when O2A2 opens up for submissions and the time allotted is used to make the game and is submitted for review, once you get the all clear can we then submit that same product to the Queer Games bundle? (If that makes sense )

Just wanted that lil conformation!  

Jam HostSubmitted(+1)

Hi!

The reason we decided to run this special edition was to give people an excuse to create something and submit it to the QGB. So in short: yes!

By the way, there's no actual review process for O2A2 aside from just checking it is a narrative game. So we encourage you to submit to the QGB just straight after you submit for O2A2 :)

Submitted(+1)

Ok, got it! Sorry just wanted to be sure~ Thanks ^^

HI HELLO! <3

I am wondering if the use of an overlay above the sprite and background (other than the sprite) such as tv static effect is allowed? Thanks!

Jam HostSubmitted

Hi Terry! I'm afraid that if the overlay is an extra asset (like a transparent png, or something) that'd go against the rules of the jam. This is not the first time someone as tried to do a CRT effect for their game, though. And there's two ways to go around it:

  • Use a shader (if your engine of choice is capable of using one), or 
  • bake the CRT effect in the background & sprite/CG.

OOOOOHHHH YEAHHH I CAN BAKE IT UMMM YUM YUM CAKE

alright thanks for the answer~!!!

HELLO!!!

Are creating an engine from scratch before the jam date okay??? THX

Jam HostSubmitted

Hi Terry, sorry for the delay.

If you want to create your own engine, it's fine to do so before the jam starts (so you start at the same point as people who are using Ren'Py or any other setup). Here's a related conversation about this from last year: 

Post by Ian Eborn in !READ THIS! Rules, Interpretations, & FAQ - itch.io

Hope this helps :)

THANKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS <3!!!!!!

Submitted

Just to be sure, we're not allowed to combine music and ambient sound into one file, right?

Also, if I have text that the player sees multiple times, does each time add to the word count if it's only written once in the code? For example, if there are 14 days and each one starts with "Another beautiful morning," does that count as three words or 42 words?

Jam HostSubmitted

Hello!

If you're only writing it in the code one time, and then you are using a loop, that'd be 3 words indeed! So technically that'd be okay!

I thought I'd mention though, we normally advice people to make a story that can be told in a single scene. One thousand words is actually much less than you'd think at first. So keep that in mind when  planning your game!

And that's correct, either ambient or music :)

Submitted(+1)

Hi! Wanted a little clarification,

Should all submissions be LGBT-focused? Or is the "Queer Edition" part of the title just mean this is aimed toward LGBT devs regardless of the VN's subject matter?

Jam HostSubmitted(+2)

Hi!

It’s the latter! The games do not need to cover LGBT themes, necessarily.

Submitted (1 edit)

Hi! Sorry, one more question.

For my illustration, I wanted it to be like, a notebook page with several doodles on it. Would this be acceptable? It'd zoom into different points (so, different doodles) and then show the whole page at the end.  The doodles would basically just be like, plants, emote faces and some notes. Similar to these.

Jam HostSubmitted(+1)

Hello! Sorry for the delay!!!

This has been done before (I believe last year but don't quote me on that). So all's good!

Submitted

Hi there! Back with a question about the single CG Illustration: 

The rules state the illustration may be used in place of a sprite + background. Does that mean the CG must be the only image onscreen when it is displayed?

I got a bit confused by the wording and wasn't sure if I could only have a sprite/background OR a CG illustration, but I assume it means the above.

Jam HostSubmitted

Hi! Sorry for the delay.

Basically you can either use a combination of sprite + background OR a CG for the game. Not both things, if that makes sense? (Let me know if it doesn't).

Submitted

So for the game the image assets can either be:

1 Sprite and 1 BG OR 1 CG

But not:

1 Sprite, 1 BG, and 1 CG?

Jam HostSubmitted(+1)

That’s correct!

Hello! I have a question regarding movement for the sprite. I was thinking of having my sprite twirl (or to move along the z-axis or simply flip them), thus wanting to show off both their front and their back. Would that be allowed if they are still keeping their same pose?

Jam HostSubmitted

Hello! 

Unfortunately that'd count as two different sprites (even if it's the same character you're drawing them twice), so it would not be allowed, I'm afraid.

Ah, I see. Thanks for your response! For a follow up and to  just to be clear, would it be okay for there to be different color overlays for the sprite (like if I want to show them as a  silhouette before showing their actual appearance)? 

Jam HostSubmitted

If it's done in the engine (and hence recycling the single sprite) it'd be okay. If it's a separate file, I'm afraid not.

Submitted(+1)

Hello! Just to be sure, the menu/thumbnail art can be completely different (as in, not use either the sprite or the background), right?

Jam HostSubmitted

Hi, yes it can!

Hi! Quick clarification about a nsfw topic; for voice acting used in a nsfw scene, would repetitive sounds of vocalizations, moans, etc. count as one voice actor, or as "background noise"? Does it depend on whether the sounds are repeated or single-use, or on whether the game also has dialogue independent of vocalizations?

Jam HostSubmitted

Hello!

We're ruling that as a voice actor, as it wouldn't fall into what's normally considered a background noise (falling rain, indistinct ambient chatter, moving furniture, etc.).  

(+1)

Thank you for clarifying! That's great to know, and means I don't have to choose between having music and having voice.

Submitted

Hello, I was just wondering if you can put a character creator into your game just for choosing pronouns and name and such for the character to be referred to or if that would be against the prompt. 

Thank you!

Jam HostSubmitted(+1)

Hello! That'd be absolutely fine! 

Submitted(+1)

Thank you so much!

Submitted

What are the rules on using custom transitions?

Jam HostSubmitted

Hey! Can you elaborate a bit more please? Are you planning on using any in particular? Depends on how they work.

Submitted

Oh, I ended up deciding to join a team rather than work on my own. But I guess if it's possible to answer my question for next time, that would be helpful [:

I assume that the default transitions of things like fade, wipe, dissolve are permitted. But what if I wanted to do like a star cutout to show a new scene? Would that be allowed?

Things like the ones found in this thread: https://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=37628

Jam HostSubmitted

If I recall correctly, I think there was a ruling about this in a previous year… I’ll have a look and get back to you!

Submitted

Hi! I had a question about custom transitions as well, so just following up on this. :)

Host

Hi all, sorry for replying so late on this. After searching for answers in previous year's boards I wasn't able to find a conclusive answer but I vividly remember another developer asking about this, so it must be lost in Discord now.

My verdict: a custom transition will count as GUI.

Submitted

No worries! Thank you so much for the reply. :)

Submitted

Thanks for answering! This will be a fun idea to work with come next o2a2 jam! (:

Submitted

when it comes to the rules re: common route text, does that essentially just include anything that is static and unchanging across the game no matter choices made? so as to make it that only choice-relevant text counts towards the total 1k word limit?

and would timestamps on text messages count towards that final 1k as well? i would like to use a text message format to communicate my story and want to use timestamps just to elevate that immersion but not at the cost of the total 1k. :)

Jam HostSubmitted

Hi!

I’m not sure I understand your question. All text in the “body” of the game counts towards the 1k limit, whether it’s seen by the player or not. The only exception to this is if you have looping sections where the same text is shown again, etc. because the game returns to a previous scene in the code.


Regarding the second one… let me get back to you.

Submitted

im sorry!! i wrote this q in a half-asleep stupor last night and wasnt quite sure how to communicate what i was wondering but i think i get it now! was just wondering what the parameters were for “common route” text :)

i thought if 3 lines of text are the same in every playthrough no matter what choices u make, that would be part of common route text and not count, vs the text that comes from the choice u make which would then change across each playthrough and thus count. i dont have a loop built into the gameplay, but players can obviously restart the game and are thus encountering the same base text until they make a choice, at which point new choice-relevant text appears.

idk if that explains it any better but i think i get it now anyways! :p + thank u im advance re: q # 2 as well!

Jam HostSubmitted

Yep yep! All text counts towards the word limit, the common route thing was only if there was a loop in the game.

I’d highly encourage you to play a few of the games from past jams so you get an idea of the length, BTW. We have a few highlighted on the jam page but feel free to play others! I can really help you scope out the idea for the game.

Jam HostSubmitted

We're going to rule that the timestamps would be part of the UI so they would not count towards the 1k words :)

Submitted

Hi, I had a question about the splash screens. Would it be okay to have a short (2 to 3 seconds) animation of the sprite as one of the splash screens?

Jam HostSubmitted

Hi!

As long as it’d still be a splash screen (and not considered a scene of the game) and function as such that should be okay. 

What were you thinking of?

Submitted

I was thinking of my main character sitting at a table in the main menu and leaving the table and the screen once the player clicks on start. Then the game would begin.The main menu and the game scene would be different! I hope this made sense! 

And if this isn’t possible I was also planning on animating the title of the game a bit.

Jam HostSubmitted

Hey,

This is not what we would consider a splash screen. A splash screen generally comes before the main menu (showing a logo for the creator/jam/engine), and as this animation plays only after clicking the start button, so what you are proposing would be considered to be part of the game itself. Therefore, this would not be allowed.

Submitted(+1)

Aww alright, thanks for the clarification!

Submitted

On the rule about how an illustration cannot feature a silhouette of another person right next to a fully shown character, does that mean an illustration of someone holding hands with someone offscreen (just showing the arm) is not allowed?

Jam HostSubmitted

Hi! That’d be correct!

However, use this limitation as inspiration: you could frame the scene differently. Alternatively (if you’re using sprite + BG), you can technically use the same sprite twice, so if you get creative you could do something with that!

Submitted(+1)

Thank you so much for the hint!

Submitted

I wanted to write the game in english and then translate it in french, do I have to make sure it's 1000 words in french too and in other languages ? I can't really predict it unfortunately and was wondering if it was okay.

Also, can we modify the game after the deadline ? Add more languages, fix misspellings, polish the itch.io page and UI ? As long as the one asset rule is applied of course.

Jam HostSubmitted

Hey!

From the jam front page:

you're free to write your game in a language other than English as long as it's equivalent to one thousand words

You can do whatever you want to your game after the deadline. It's yours! (And we can't stop you even if we wanted to LOL) However, it's always nice practice to leave the original jam version as a download option to leave it as a "record" of sorts.

Taking that into account, I'd suggest you focus on the English version and once the jam is over you add French and whatever other languages you want :)

Submitted

So for clarification, if we offer the game in two languages and each version is 1000 words each, that wouldn't be allowed because it's 2000 words total? Or are multiple languages allowed as long as each translation is under 1000 words?

Jam HostSubmitted

The ruling about the 1k words is about crafting a "short but whole" story. So in that vein it does make sense that  if a game is translated into several languages, each of those are 1k words (or less) each.

Submitted

I'd like some clarification on panning across backgrounds/CGs:

-  I'm assuming panning/zooming across a CG is allowed to the same extent as with a background. Is that correct?

- If my CG features e.g. a character sitting on a picnic blanket in a forest clearing and I start out focusing only on the clearing first and then pan to the character, is that allowed or would that effectively be considered changing scenes since it's making a character "appear"?

Jam HostSubmitted

Hey,

Both things would be fine :)

Question... given the strict limitations set on assets here, would 3D be viable under any circumstances?

To give an example, even a simple background rendered from a single static camera angle is going to incur a number of runtime-loaded assets: separate objects/props, multiple textures and different materials, etc., all things that could be drawn reasonably into a single background image if it were instead 2D. If a reasonable attempt was made to emulate what is presently allowed with drawn 2D assets--single camera angle limited to zooming/panning, mostly static background elements or a simple looped animation (nothing dramatic like time-of-day relighting, etc), and a sole character comprised of a single mesh with a looping idle animation and one gesture-- would this be acceptable?

I ask because 3D modeling and texturing is within my present range of abilities, but not drawing, and I would be working solo for this.

Additionally there is the smaller matter of simple sound effects associated with on screen text being rendered to the screen, aka "babbling", and whether or not these would count as GUI sounds or take up the single SFX slot. Thanks!

Jam HostSubmitted

Hi!

I'll start with the simplest question: the babbling would count as the 1 voice actor.

Regarding whether 3D would be viable: yes, but using the 3D modeling as a tool to achieve a "flat" result.

For the background, what you'd have to do is build your models and set up the scene in whatever software you'd use (Blender, etc.), and then export it as a single 2D render. Many VN devs actually use this process as part of their workflow (here's an example) so as long as the 3D scene is actually not in the game, that'd be okay!

Same thing with the character sprite: model them and then export as a .png or whatever.

Hope that helps!

Submitted

Hi, I have a question! I plan to have a single sprite facing backwards, where you'll never see their face and they'll never move their body parts. I was wondering if I could draw frame-by-frame animations of the back of their coat billowing or waving. I hope to find a way to do this without animating, but if that's not possible, would animating it be acceptable? No other element of the sprite would be animated or would change at all, and the coat's movement doesn't serve any narrative purpose.

Jam HostSubmitted

Hi!

This is a really cool idea, but I need to discuss with BaiYu before we make a ruling. We may need to discuss it for a bit, so please continue as if we had said no. We'll get back to you with a more definitive answer later.

Jam HostSubmitted

Hey! This might not be exactly what you were hoping to hear, but we’re going to rule that the coat movement could be classified as a moving body part. So you could have metaphorically speaking “2 frames” of the coat billowing - if you wish to do so, of course.

Hope that sounds reasonable!

Submitted

That sounds perfectly reasonable! Thanks!

Hi! My story is set in a crowded festival alley, and I was planning on zooming to different parts of the BG to simulate as if the character is moving. It would focus onto parts of the crowd and the different stands of that same alley. Is that okay or would that count as changing scenes? 

Jam HostSubmitted

Hey,

No, this would be fine. Same alley, same scene. Just focused on different things :)

Submitted

Hi! Can I add the “Director’s cut” separately? (I plan to release some “extra content” for a donation, kind of a small “art book” accompanying the game, so can I add to the same archive a version of the game with the uncut-more-than-1000-words-script? the free to play “main” version will of course comply with the rules)

Jam HostSubmitted

Hey! I started writing back to you yesterday but apparently never sent the message, sorry!!!

I love the idea of the extra content version with an art book. I’m not 100% sure about the “uncut” version though. If you can let us discuss for a bit and get back to you, that’d be great!

Submitted

Sure, take your time, and thanks for the reply! 
(if it helps you contextualize, the "additional" words don't really matter much to the story, there are just a few metaphors I had to get rid of but they really don't alter neither the events nor the message of the game, they just... sound nice :D)

Submitted

Hello, was wondering about how we should change expressions? The rules says that we're allowed to have many facial expressions by eyes/nose/eyebrows/mouth but also states that we can't have separate layers that overlap with non-transparent parts. Are the face features exempted from the 2nd rule?

We have a sprite that has a hair accessory going through one of the eyebrows and eyes, how would we go about with changing expressions because of the 2nd mentioned rule? Thank you!

Jam HostSubmitted

Hi!

That rule was in place to circumvent people trying to remove layers to show significant changes, if that makes sense! Like, reveals.

So you should be fine! Apologies for the confusion!

Hi! Sorry if this is a stupid question but are we allowed to alternate between nvl and adv mode in the game? Thank you!

Jam HostSubmitted

Hi! I think that's a fair question!

I'm assuming this is for Ren'Py and you want to use the NVL mode for internal dialogue and ADV for the actual spoken out loud one, right? I can't see why not!  

Yep for Ren'Py! Basically the main story would use ADV but I am thinking of showing letters via NVL mode so I don't have to have the main character read out each line. I was worried it might count as non-gui asset for this reason. Is that still alright?

Jam HostSubmitted

That’d count as a GUI asset so you’re good!

Deleted 1 year ago
Jam HostSubmitted

Hey! You'll be doing two different jobs, so that's okay! However, please don't overwork yourself!

Submitted

Sorry for asking kinda late, but what if the narrator sings a song? I could leave out other music so there’s just that song and no instruments or ambient sounds, and I would count the sung words as words too, but if the song is longer than one “line of dialogue”, it would probably have to pause after each line until the player clicks or presses a key to play the next line. Would that still count as one piece of music? (And if not, can I leave the text as poetry so I don’t have to rewrite it in prose?)

Host

Unless I'm misinterpreting the context, I believe this will count as your voice acting.

Submitted

Thanks!

Submitted

Hi! Quick question. Hopefully there's still time to get an answer.

If the characters in the story talk about a person who recently passed away (a fictional person), would that require a content warning?

Jam HostSubmitted(+1)

Hey! Content warnings are totally up to you and your best judgement.


I personally add my CW in the projects page if they are “advisory” (certain topics that can be sensitive to some people) and in the game in they are more serious (flashing lights, jumpscares).


Hope that helps!

Submitted

Thanks!

Submitted

So in our game about self-discovery, we have an MC talk to an alternate version of themselves in their mind. We did this by having the same sprite for both but making one red using Unity's option to tint.

I also made an object that shakes with a Trail Renderer to put over the alt MC's face, so instead of seeing her face, we just see scratches happening in real-time. This is also done fully with code/Unity's capabilities. But we are unsure if it is completely legal...


Jam HostSubmitted(+1)

I think this is a really good use of the limitation of the only one sprite :)

If the object with the Trail Renderer doesn't use a texture (so it's fully code) OR uses a texture that comes bundled with Unity by default this is fully legal.

Submitted

It uses Unity default materials only. So we're good.