Some of the best games ever made had a simple premise, Just because a game is simple doesn't mean it's not fun. Yoku's Island express is "Pinball the adventure game" it's only true mechanic is you essentially play as a pinball the variety comes from the environments and how you interact with the bumpers, buttons, and switches in the world.

The goal in this jam is to make a simple game, and focus on something that isn't complexity, whether that be art, content, or polish.

Examples of some of my favorite simple games are: Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario Bros, Downwell, Doodle Jump, Marble Blast Ultra/Marble it Up, Picross, Yoku's Island Express, Katamari Damacy, Snipperclips.

What Are the rules?

1. All assets should be created inside the 9 Day window, Images, Music, Scripts, should all be written from scratch with some exceptions:
   1. Engines are allowed, you don't need to write the engine from scratch(Examples: Unity, Unreal, Godot, GameMaker)
   2. Freely available assets(Licensed by a Creative Commons license for example) are allowed, this includes images, textures, models, shaders, materials, scripts, music and sound effects.
   3. Assets that are not created within the 9 Day Window(such as the above freely available ones) must be noted in your game's description with links to the source.
2. The game mustn't be blatantly offensive. Use your best judgement.
3. The game must be related to the theme! Unique implementation of the theme is great, but the game should clearly show the theme.
4. The game must be made in time time frame! The end time for the jam is a hard cutoff time, if there are legitimate issues uploading or getting the game posted in time, message me on Twitter or Discord and I can work out late submissions on a case by case basis.
5. Have Fun!

Quick Tips

• Remember to scope, you have 9 days but you'd be surprised how quickly that goes by.
• Take time away from the computer, one of the benefits of the 9 Day Jams are that there is time to breathe. Break when you feel you need it to prevent overworking!
• The idea of jams is to get outside your comfort zone and try new things! Don't be afraid to try some new tricks or learn some new skills!

FAQ

• Can I work with a team?
  • Yeah go for it! That's what the Discord is for!
• I'm in a team, can my team rate other games as well?
  • Yes. Just make sure they're listed as Contributors on your game
• Why is the start and end times different?
  • Though the jam is supposed to be EXACTLY 9 days, itch.io's jam system makes the time a hard stop, so we added a "submission window" to account for building the final jam versions, and getting them uploaded. We recognize that exporting/building games into releases can take time, and if you're building for more than 1 or 2 platforms, it can take even longer.