Banner by @Wrevhy

The theme for the Jam is Retrospective, Retroactive, downright... Retro -

Now is your chance to take inspiration from the past, reviving an old game, bringing a classic character forward, or sending something new to the past. Touhou Project has been around for almost thirty years to draw from, there is a time for some phat phlip phones, overalls, and tie-dye, and that time is now.

About Our Jam:

Touhou Project (commonly known just as "Touhou") is a widely-beloved series of 2D Bullet hell (or "Danmaku") games originating from Japan. Chances are that, whoever you are, you've probably either seen it around or at least come across some of its venerable amounts of fan creations. This is because Touhou's Creator, ZUN, has an extremely permissive policy towards derivative works; filling the fandom to the brim with creators making both hobby and commercial works that use the games' settings and characters. Cutting to the chase: we take advantage of this several times a year by inviting all of those creators, old and new, to join us in a contest to make games that feature the Touhou Universe in some way, all within a limited span of time. Veterans and newcomers to game development or Touhou are all welcome to join.

After the jam is done taking submissions, there will be a ratings period where anyone whatsoever can play and rate the game submissions. After a period of voting, several winners will be announced; these include 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners overall, as well as the winners for each category; Gameplay, Concept, Visuals, Audio, Story/Writing, Challenge, and Use of Theme.

Resources:

Our Discord Server (Touhou Game Dev ) - A Touhou-centric gamedev hub where you can discuss and show off Touhou fangames. We have channels for team-forming, discussion of the jam games, and for non-jam discussion of Touhou and other game development.  We highly recommend you join this server if you'd like to participate (especially if you need a team!)

Touhou Game Jam Twitter - Updates and information on when our Jams and rating periods occur. Follow us to help spread the jam!

Touhou Explained in Less than 2 Minutes - A quick crash course on Touhou and its world in a bit more detail, as well as why it appeals to so many of us. 

Our Game Jam FAQ - For anyone who would like to know more about the jam process and how to make the most of your time.

Jam Team Forming Tool - For teams and team-seeking individuals to help with match-making based on skillsets.

For those unfamiliar, a game jam is a contest where participants are given a "theme" to work off of and then given a brief period of time (usually a couple days) to create a game, from scratch, based around that theme. All skill levels and areas of expertise are welcome, and members can work either in teams or individually to submit a game by the deadline.

After the contest is done, anyone interested can play the submitted games and vote on what they think are the best entries. After a period of voting, a winner will be announced. Categories for voting are, Gameplay, Concept, Visuals, Audio, Story/Writing, Challenge, and Use of Theme.

Rules (READ THESE):

• All created content must follow ZUN's guidelines on creating derivative content of Touhou. Most importantly this includes not using assets from the official Touhou games.
• You may steal/modify assets from other sources only if you are allowed to use them non-commercially. (Or are otherwise explicitly licensed to do so)
• Your entry must be based off the Touhou universe to some degree. Beyond that there are no restrictions, including genre or gameplay.
• No hateful or bigoted content will be tolerated, in your game or out of your mouth.
• You may use resources such as graphics, sounds and scripts that were made prior to the jam, as long as the bulk of your work takes place during and for this Jam.
• Keep it SFW.
• Your entry must be free to play during the jam and rating period. If at a later date you wish to sell it, you should continue to abide by ZUN's guidelines, and that is your own matter separate to the Jam.
• If you need to make changes to your game during the ratings period, keep the original version of your game available on the page and clearly labeled as such, please note any changes between versions on your game's page.
• You can work in a team or as an individual. Contributing to games for multiple teams is totes fine.
• You should budget a good 15-20 minutes before the deadline to submit your game. We're known to be lenient with mistakes and late entries, but don't rely on an extension!
• Sleep.
• Feel free to contact us on our Discord Server (linked above) if you have any questions. Be Fabulous.

How to participate and submit a game:

• To participate, simply create an itch.io account and hit the big Join button up top. You can do so at any point before or during the jam.
• Once the jam starts, you can submit your game at any point before the deadline using the Submit button. The website will then walk you through the process of submitting your game.
• Remember to play and rate your peers' games after you submit!

We've hosted several community jams since 2018! In addition to our other community events, you can check out our past events: ( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, as well as our sideline jams,  (9)-Jam, PrideJam2, PrideJam3, PrideJam4, PrideJam5, Touhou Station, Touhou Station 2, Touhou Station 3 )