8 Bits to Infinity presents REVISION JAM, a week-long game jamming challenge celebrating a year of game jams. Revisit a past jam release or unfinished prototype and improve on it, either from scratch or building on the existing project.

Thanks to benjames171 for the logo!

The (optional) theme is: BECOME THE VILLAIN

What is 8 Bits to Infinity?  A game development community working to improve creative and technical skills through rapid iteration and honest critical feedback.  We host a new game jam every month!

Join us on Discord to discuss the jam (in #8-bits-to-∞-jams) and logo challenge (in #challenge-discuss), form teams (in #team-up), and generally have a good time. :)

Not sure where to start in game development? Check out these blog posts on how to succeed at a game jam. You can also follow the link above to our Discord and ask away! Our community is glad to help you get started in programming, art, design, or game development in general.

Want to form a team? Check out the Crowdforge page, or you can look for teams on Discord, linked above.

These awesome people are streaming games from the jam. Follow them on Twitch to get notified when they go live, and be sure to check out the VODs (recordings) if you miss the streams!

• Mr. Joshua McLean: Sunday, November 17, 2019 at 1pm ET

Rules

Entries  which break rules or have no clear relation to the Requirement will be removed.

1. 1-4 members per team, one entry per team.
2. Credit everything in your entry, including Creative Commons 0 assets and your own work. This must be accessible from the start of the game (in the title or a credits menu).
3. Answer all of the questions on submission completely and honestly.
4. Must work in Windows 10. Web builds are fine.
5. Cannot require unusual peripherals (have keyboard and mouse as a backup).
6. Make all updates/changes during the jam or use freely available assets (including open source code). Exception: You may use general-purpose assets (general-purpose code, logos, or fonts) made before the jam.
7. No NSFW content. This includes sexual content (including language), nudity, or excessive realistic gore/violence.

Requirement

Update a game prototype you have previously entered into a jam or left unfinished.

Note that the jam is about progress, so you will need to share the original game prototype if it is not currently published. This means you will at least need something that runs that you built in the past.

You are required to do all revision work during the duration of the jam. Since this is almost impossible to verify, we're trusting you on an honor system.

Your game page must have a link to the original game's page, or a download of the former prototype. Judgment will be based on how well you improved from the original game, not on the game itself as a whole.

Challenges

In addition to the theme, we will include optional challenges which have no effect on rating, but can make the jam more fun. If you have any ideas for optional challenges, share them in the Discord 8 Bits to Infinity jams channel.

The challenges for this jam are:

• Hide a wrench/spanner in the game
• Include an unmodified sprite/song from the original version, in a new context
• Reference your first game jam (or first game jam entry) in an entertaining way - even better if you reference your first 8 Bits to Infinity jam!

Be sure to mention which challenges you accepted in your jam page, so players know to look for them!

FAQ

About the Requirement

Can I work from a prototype that I used to learn the engine and isn't even a full game?
Yes! The original prototype can be in any state, even if it's just simple input and graphics.

Can I add mechanics/content to the original game or can I only improve on what's there?
You can add, remove, update, change, and morph the original in any way you like. However, part of the judgment will be finding a connection between the original project and the new one, so there will need to be something in common between the two.

Can I rebuild the game from scratch? Can I work from the original project?
Yes, both of these approaches are allowed. Each has pros and cons. A new project can be clean and allow for you to implement more of what you've learned since the original development, but it's also more work to get back to where you were before.

Can I make a board/card game? 
Sure! But it needs to be a digital version for the judges to play it, and we also need a digital version of the original prototype.

Can I make a text game?
Absolutely!

Can I update a board/card/text game into a visual game?
Of course! There's no limit to how far you can change the original concept.

Other Questions

I'm awful at music. How can I still have cool background audio in my game?
Get free royalty-free tunes from Joshua here or from various other websites such as OpenGameArt (where you can also find Joshua's stuff). Simply google "free to use music" or "free royalty-free music" and you're sure to find something.

What about other assets, tools, and engines?
We will (try to) have a nice list of recommended software before the jam, which we'll link here.

Should I build a Windows/Mac/Linux/web/[insert system here] version?
The more systems you support, the more people will be able to access your game. Some people prefer web versions because running downloaded software can be spoopy, while others prefer a download to keep the games locally and avoid the extra problems associated with web builds.

If you're using something like Unity, export versions for all systems! Most of the time, they'll work fine without any testing.

I didn't finish. Should I still submit? 
Yes! A solid prototype could still win the jam, and it's worth showcasing your work to get feedback.

How can I get more people to play my entry?
Play other entries and leave quality feedback. Be sure to politely ask the dev to play your game, so they know you want feedback. There's a new feature on itch.io that shows your entry when you comment on the game's jam page so be sure to do so there.

Can I make a multiplayer game?
Yes, but it's not recommended because it's difficult for most judges to test. If you do make a multiplayer game, include bots to simulate other players so it can still be enjoyed solo.

Can I make a 2D/2.5D/3D game?
Yep! There are no limits on graphics.

What tools / engines can I use?
Anything. Literally anything. We've seen games made in PowerPoint and Excel - if you want to use those, all power to you! Although, we suggest using something more geared toward games like Unity, Godot, Unreal, etc.

Can I enter other jams with the same game?
Absolutely, as long as you follow all of the rules and time limitations for each jam. Note that we lock submissions, so you won't be able to upload new files after you submit to this jam.

Where can I ask more questions? 
Ask away in the community or on Discord.

Judging

Games will be rated by a panel of judges with differing views but a shared interpretation of star values and voting categories. Judge entries and disqualified submissions will not be rated.

Note that in this jam, the judgment is looking at how much the game improved in each of these areas relative to the original prototype.

Judging will be on the following criteria:

• Fun: Enjoyment of the game. Are the mechanics interesting? Do I want to play more?
• Technical: Complexity of implementation. Does the game push technical boundaries? Does it scream "wow, this was done under jam constraints?" Does it have special tech that makes it stand out?
•  Music/Sound: Audio presentation. How well does the music/sound fit the game? Maximum 4 stars if external assets are used.
• Graphics/Animation: Visual presentation. How clean/consistent does it look? How fluid are the animations? Is there a clever use of color, contrast, and other visual skills? Maximum 4 stars if external assets are used.

Prizes

The highest-ranking overall game in the jam will receive the following:

• (Optional) Showcase of a commercially released game you choose on Joshua's stream after the voting period. The game must be in his collection, available for free, or gifted.
• Feedback on an updated version of your game with at least two weeks notice. The game will be streamed to completion (defined at Joshua's discretion).

In addition, the winning entry will be added to the list of 8 Bits to Infinity Jam Winners.

Tweeter of the Month

Any tweet with the #8bitstoinfinity hashtag in November counts toward winning Tweeter of the Month, given to the person with the highest quantity of relevant tweets. The winner's Twitter handle will be displayed on Joshua's stream for the month of November, with a link to their Twitter placed among the chatbot's random messages.