The jam is officially over now! Thanks again to everyone who submitted works!  If you have any questions feel free to reach out in the community forms or @mikerenyi over Twitter. Once again thanks to everyone who entered! 

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In honor of National November Writing Month (NaNoWrMo), here's a companion jam to kick start your creativity!

Welcome to Twine Poetry Jam! This is a one-month game jam open to all. The goal is to make a bite-sized  interactive poem during the month of November. In mid-December, there will be a live reading of selected works at the Arcadia Art Space in Shanghai, China. 

We hope to stream the event online as well! The jam schedule is here: 

• November 1st - Jam Kickoff Party at Arcadia - 2:00 PM (CST) 
• November 30th - JAM ENDS - 11:59 PM (CST) 
• December 6th - Live Twine Poetry Showcase

What is a digital poem? Think of it like a normal poem, but enhanced by interactions! For example, you can code when text comes in, make words clickable,  add text animations, and even use sounds and images! 

🍷How to Participate

• Join the jam here with your itch.io account. 
• Create your poems at home or join us at Arcadia Art Space (Shanghai) every Sunday for a work session.
• Workshop your poems on our community forums for playtesting and feedback. 
• Submit your final drafts by November 30th at midnight! 

🗒Rules

•  Inspired by Porpentine's twiny jam, we are capping the word count to 300 written words.  
  • To check your word count, in Twine go to "Story" and click "Story Statistics"
  • This limitation is designed to help facilitate live readings for an audience. Try to keep poems under 5 minutes!
• Code, HTML images/sound embeds,  and CSS coding do not count towards the total word count. 
• Please no hate speech, sexism, racism. Keep it classy.
• Have fun and be nice! 

👩‍💻 FAQ

• Is there a theme?
  • There is no set theme for this game jam, however, a general concept to start with is "poetry in motion." How do we take a written poem and enhance it with the digital abilities of Twine?
• Is this jam open to the public?
  • Yes! Even if you are not apart of Branches or live in Shanghai, you may still join in as long as the poem is created in Twine.  We would love short digital poems from creators all over the world! Selected poems will be read aloud at our Showcase poetry reading.
• How do I submit?
  • Please submit directly to this jam page BEFORE midnight November 30th. Here's how!

✍️Getting Start with Twine

• Twine is free to download here! (usable on the web, mac, or PC)
• Here's a good resource to help you get started with Twine.
• And here's the Bible on Twine, with documentation on all the things you can do with it!

🙀Inspiration!

Here are some short games to help you get started! Most of these were created during Porpentine's Twiny game jam. Give them a play to get inspired.

• "Stars" by lysander - https://kreutzerland.itch.io/stars
  •  "Beautiful aesthetics. Minimal text, really captures a mood with color and text. "
• "Wolfgirls In Love" by Kitty Horrorshow -   https://kittyhorrorshow.itch.io/wolfgirls
  • "With individual words flowing down the page, timed to the rhythm you should read at, this game is poetry in motion. "
• "Growth" by Liz England - https://lizengland.itch.io/growth
  •  "Horrifying, disgusting, and really smart use of links."
• "Mother" by Porpentine - http://slimedaughter.com/games/twine/mother/
  •  "surprisingly sweet :)"

More inspiration below! 

• "Coping Mechanisms" by lysander - https://kreutzerland.itch.io/coping-mechanisms
  •  "One word interaction creates a dynamic reading"
• "Haiku" by Flaminia Grimaldi -https://flaminia.itch.io/haiku
  •  "The player based choice of lines helps to set your own mood. Also lovely ending!"
• "Begscape" by Porpentine -http://slimedaughter.com/games/twine/begscape/
  •  "Gamifying poetry in its essence."
• "Here" by Phillip J Rhoades -https://howtophil.itch.io/here
  •  "Actions lead to verses in a poem you discover as you play."
• "Climbing 208 Feet Up the Ruin Wall" by Porpentine -http://slimedaughter.com/games/twine/vines/#1
  •  "Distilling one action to tell a full and compelling story."

Thank you, if you have any questions please let me know via this game jam community or WeChat ID: Mikerenyi. Excited to  see what you all make! 

- Mike Ren (Organizer)

SUPPORTED BY

Branches is a Shanghai-based community + workshop series in game design and writing. 

Cover images and typography by Mandy Tie.