Welcome / Questions Sticky

A topic by Ian Magenta created Oct 28, 2020 Views: 1,358 Replies: 47

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Welcome to the Last RPG Jam!

If you have any thoughts or questions, feel free to post them below.

Some notes about the jam:

The guidelines are just suggestions (except for the one about video games). So, if you're wondering if you can do something different than what's written there, the answer is: yes! You can even impose optional constraints upon yourself if you want a challenge (or even start the jam early if it's more convenient for you).

The "Last" part of the Last RPG Jam is just me trying to think of a good title. This won't be the last one I host (or the final one ever, hopefully).

*Update: Since I've gotten a few questions along this line, I wanted to clarify that submitting projects based on previous or existing works is totally fine. The only thing I would discourage is re-posting older projects (or someone else's work) wholesale.

TheBests4 years ago

Question for the host: are you planning on creating a discord server for the jam?

Ian MagentaHost4 years ago (1 edit)

I don’t have any plans on hosting one for this jam (unless the number of participants explodes). You are more than welcome to make your own though!

lapspider454 years ago

Why no video games?

Ian MagentaHost4 years ago

Simply put: this jam is focused on tabletop role-playing games. The TTRPG community hosts several jams on itch, but usually have to clarify that they're not video game focused. Here's an example of one from earlier this year: https://itch.io/jam/one-page-rpg-jam-2020.

Juliuszeusz3 years ago

Aww man, i thought it was Video Game RPGs.

Aristarhys4 years ago (3 edits)

Hi Ian! Got couple of questions.
Is tabletop roleplaying game mean rules for session based game like Munchkin or Azul or it can be a roleplaying system like Mothership or Dungeons Worlds?
Are multi page submissions ok? You mentioned above 1 page jam and i'm wondering if there is not only min of 1 page per submission but also max implied for this jam.
Can it be module for existing roleplaying system like Pound of flesh for Mothership?
How entries will be judged?
Is black and white only submissions ok?

P.S. Typo in topic title - QueStions.

Ian MagentaHost4 years ago

Hi Aristarhys! Thanks for pointing out the typo! I've gone ahead and fixed it. Here are some answers to your questions:

This jam is more focused on role-playing systems like the latter 2 games you mentioned. Games like Azul are a little too far off into the board gaming realm for this jam (though you certainly could re-make Azul with role-playing elements).
Multi-page submissions are totally fine! There's no maximum length for submissions (and the minimum is just a guideline so you can even go below one page as well).
You can totally build off of an existing role-play module (provided that you give proper credit and don't plagiarize the existing work).
This jam is "Non-ranked" which means entries will not be judged.
Black and white is totally fine! Feel free to design your entry however you want.

Aristarhys4 years ago

Thanks for answers Ian, that's clears a lot.

Nakade4 years ago

Hi Ian,

Can I ask if we can submit games made before the jam started? Thanks!

Ian MagentaHost4 years ago

Hi Nakade, good question! If you made a game specifically for this jam and you started/finished making the game early, you can totally submit it once the jam officially starts. If you made the game for a previous jam or are just looking to promote your latest work, I would politely ask that you not submit the game.

Nakade4 years ago

That's a very reasonable stance to take, and I will think about that any submissions I decide to make, thanks!

The Wandering Wizard Simon Kalimanus3 years ago

I'm thinking about making a supplement for one of my already-existing TTRPG's, so that way I'm promoting my own (free) work while also creating something new for the jam (a post-apocalyptic world to match the jam's theme, but also one I've been wanting to make for a while). You might think about doing the same thing... you have a whole month to work on it and it will be a good way to promote your already existing work. Just make sure you have a free "quick start rules" available so people can try it for the jam.

ignotus174 years ago

Hello Ian!

Is there a time frame we're supposed to work in? Is it 31 days or do we just need to submit within the specified time window?

Ian MagentaHost4 years ago(+1)

Hello ignotus17! You more or less just need to submit within the specified time window. As long as you can get it in before the deadline, you can take as much (or as little) time as your need (that means you can even start right now). Besides that, as long as your entry follows the guidelines in this post you should be good to go!

Elodeon4 years ago

To clarify, can we join as a team?

Ian MagentaHost4 years ago(+1)

Totally! You can join as a team or as an individual.

Ferma4 years ago

Hello! I'm really new to game jams. How does this work? I'm a composer, so I don't know how much I can do without a team exactly.

Ian MagentaHost4 years ago

Hello! I answered a similar question on Reddit not too long ago. For clarification: this is a tabletop role-playing jam, so you won't be able to compose any music (unless your TTRPG is a song or uses music sheets).

Nick PajacoSubmitted4 years ago

Hi!

I had a project I started way back that fits this jam's theme. I want to completely start over except for the premise, completely different rule system. Can I submit that for the jam?

Ian MagentaHost4 years ago

Definitely! That all sounds good.

radiatedskullSubmitted3 years ago(+1)

Ian,

Thank you for making this jam! There are so many programmer jams, I didn't realize we could have a TTRPG jam.

TTRPG's are a quiet passion of mine--I love the interaction, player freedom, and stories that develop from the game play. As a member of this jam, will there be an opportunity of to play the games from this jam? I am still new to Itch.io, and am not too familiar with the jams. I can see how people will play the programmed games. However, it helps to have a group and virtual meeting place for TTRPG's. Just curious if we will be able to divide into groups at the end of the jam and play each other's creations.

It is too easy to get lost in a multitude of pages when creating a TTRPG. I like the idea of restraining the game to 1 page. Even though I know you mentioned multipage submissions are okay, I want to see if I can keep my submission to one page. It will definitely be something narrative heavy, like 10 Candles or DIE. Looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with. Thank again for putting together this jam!

Ian MagentaHost3 years ago

Thank you for your kind words! And I'm glad you already have some ideas going!

You are certainly welcome to organize with other jam members to play some of the submitted games. However, I don't have any plans on my end to do any formally organized play of all the submissions. You might try floating this idea on the community page or unofficial Discord sometime around the end of the jam to gauge other's interest.

Deleted accountSubmitted3 years ago

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Sustrato3 years ago

Hey radiatedskull,

You should definitely join the discord. We were just discussing playtesting our games during the jam period. I'm sure people will want to play their polished creations afterwards, too.

There is a link to the unofficial discord server in another thread in this jam community page. I recommend you join and say hi!

Also, thanks for cuing me into 10 Candles, looks insanely spooky and fun!!

radiatedskullSubmitted3 years ago(+1)

In the discord. Thanks, Shell!

10 Candles is a lot of fun--though I've only been able to play it in an online setting. I think the ambience would work better IRL (vs. virtual).

Also something key is that everyone has to buy in to the horror theme. The crew I typically play with, we're always goofing off. So the game ended up being more of a comedy-horror. Still fun, but something to keep in mind if you get around to playing--gotta be flexible.

Spoonizee3 years ago

hey Ian, are multiple entries allowed?

Ian MagentaHost3 years ago

Hey Spoonizee! Since the jam isn't ranked, I don't see why not. So, yes, they are!

Spoonizee3 years ago

Awesome! thank you

Deleted accountSubmitted3 years ago

Deleted post

Ian MagentaHost3 years ago(+1)

That's totally fine! As long as your aren't just re-posting an old project, you're good to go.

Big MikeSubmitted3 years ago

Are we okay to share and chronicle our steps as we create our individual games? If I need to do this separate from Itch I can.

Ian MagentaHost3 years ago

Totally! Feel free to document and share as much of your process as you like. Here's an example of a user who has already started a Devlog: https://ignotus17.itch.io/the-last-rpg-jam-2020/devlog/199495/the-last-rpg-jam-2...

Big MikeSubmitted3 years ago

Oh also! Do you want us to submit when the project is finished or do so early and we make improvements as we go along?

Ian MagentaHost3 years ago

Feel free to do it either way! Whichever you prefer.

clonethirteen3 years ago

Does the submission have to be a completed project or can it be something we intend to keep working on?

Ian MagentaHost3 years ago

It can be either! Whatever you feel comfortable sharing with others.

Vasilis Chonianakis3 years ago

Hi. Can the game be a solo tabletop rpg game like maybe a gamebook
or maybe a boardgame like rpg?

Ian MagentaHost3 years ago(+1)

Definitely! That all sounds good to me.

Cosmic Architect3 years ago

I've never really made resources for a TTRPG- would a map drawn with locations be a good submission? I'm just not quite sure how you define an 'adventure map'.

Ian MagentaHost3 years ago(+1)

That would be great! There’s no hard definition of what makes a good TTRPG resource, so feel free to make whatever you think might be useful!

Ex Machina EdizioniSubmitted3 years ago

Hi! First of all, thanks for the nice jam! It's the first time we join one, hope you'll like our work!

I'd like to know how can i add an image to my submission, tought. the phrase "no image :(" is a bit sad!

Thanks, looking forward to read the works of the other teams!

Ian MagentaHost3 years ago

Hello! Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

It looks like your entry has images now, so I'm guessing you figured it out. If you need any additional help, feel free to let me know.

Ex Machina EdizioniSubmitted3 years ago

Yes, thank you, really appreciated!

We submitted the pdf with just the game setting, in order to be in time with the deadline. Now we have prepared the final one, with also the rules section, and we would like to upload it to our project page. From what i read on the question thread, submitting incomplete works was not a problem for the jam, right?

Thanks for your time and help!

Lunar WildernessSubmitted3 years ago

Now that the submission period is over, is there going to be a voting/rating phase?

Ian MagentaHost3 years ago

This jam is not ranked, so there won't be a voting phase. However, I've hosted several voting-based jams in the past and plan on doing more in the future!

Big MikeSubmitted3 years ago

Is there any way to request feedback for what we made?

radiatedskullSubmitted3 years ago

Hey BM,

The easiest way to get feedback is to probably jump on the discord channel. We have a lot of people on there and they are all pretty supportive.

The other way is to go into your specific game's dashboard. Once there, you'll see several tabs, one of which will be "Interact." There are a few options under this tab, which includes sending emails and viewing reviews.

While this can be a method to request feedback, there is no guarantee that you will actually get that feedback (just something to keep in mind). Hope this helps.

R-Skull

itch.io

The Last RPG Jam

Welcome / Questions Sticky