Trijam #96: The 3 hour game jam

Hosted by Trijam, rocknightstudios · #trijam

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This jam is now over. It ran from 2020-11-20 10:00:00 to 2020-11-23 10:00:00. View results

The THEME is: Microbiology

Voting results are here

What is Trijam?

Trijam is a jam where your goal is to try and make something playable (and fun) in only 3 hours! How is that even possible, you ask? Well, just look at the history of previous Trijams and we're sure you'll be convinced that it is not only possible, but very manageable!

What are the rules?

The only hard rule we enforce is that your game must be made within the jam's start date and end date. We will remove your submission if that is not the case. Otherwise, pretty much do whatever you want! You can work alone or in teams of any size, use any game engine or tools you like, follow the theme or diversifiers in whatever way you interpret them or choose to not follow them at all, etc. The goal is to make a fully playable game in under 3 hours (on a team each person gets 3 hours to work), but it's alright to go overtime!

The time for coming up with an idea, making a design doc, compiling the game, publishing it, etc. does not count in the 3 hours you have, that time is purely for development of the product. You can also split your 3 hours into whatever chunks you want, so it doesn't need to be 3 straight, e.g. you can take 2 days working on your game, working on it however many hours each day. If your game took longer than 3 hours to make (per person), that is completely fine, just specify so in the game's description. It will still be played, but will not compete for 1st place in the jam.

p>Of course, have common sense when making your games. Making intentionally offensive stuff is a no-go and will most likely be voted out of the competition. Also, please specify if your game is NSFW so that we don't get in trouble for streaming it.

On using pre-made assets: make sure you have the necessary rights to the assets you use in your game. Be aware that using assets that you yourself (or your team-member) didn't create during the jam time may affect your game's rating. Clearly state all pre-made assets you used on your game's itch.io page and link to where they originated from.

If you work with others on your game, make sure to add them as contributors to the game's itch.io page! To do this:

Edit your game's itch.io page
Click "More"
Click "Admins"
Enter the usernames of your teammates
Toggle on "Display as contributor?" for each of your teammates
Send each of your teammates the link for them to accept your invite to be Admins
Double-check with them that it worked; the game should show up on their itch.io profiles

Themes

The theme is chosen by the community by a strawpoll.

You are free to interpret the themes however you want!

Theme will be announced via itch.io on this page, the Trijam Discord, and Twitter with #Trijam. You can't miss it!

Diversifiers

Diversifiers are a great way to add a little more fun or challenge to your jam weekend. Sometimes they can be very helpful to limit your scope or refine your ideas. They are totally optional constraints you can choose to add to your Trijam game alongside the main focus of the themes. You can apply as many or as few as you'd like!

Game related 💻:

Use Godot Engine (download here);
Share the source code of your project;
Use assets from Asset Jam;
Design cool UI;
Make a holiday themed game.

Get involved in the community! 🌎

Join the Trijam Discord and read the #rules channel!
Play, rate, and leave a comment on every game submitted to the jam!
Invite your friends to join the game jam!
Work with other jammers to make games set in the same universe!
Work with other jammers to add Easter Eggs to your games referencing each other's games!

Practice marketing 📣

Tweet out your game with #Trijam and @RocknightGames and @GunnarClovis for a retweet! Do the same for any videos you make!
Record your entire development process (with OBS or otherwise) and publish a time-lapse video of the development! (If you're new to OBS, make sure to do a few recording tests first!)
Make a video postmortem after finishing your game and challenge others to do Trijam at the end!

Voting

After the jam's submission period ends, there will be a voting period where everyone can rate the games!

The games will be rated from 1 star to 5 stars on the following criteria:

Gameplay
Visuals
Audio
How much do you enjoy the game overall?
How well does the game fit the themes?
Did you make it in 3 hours (put 5 by default)?

There is no reward for first place or any particular ranking other than your own satisfaction and bragging rights!

For voters: vote with whatever scale you like. Whatever means a 1/5 or a 3/5 or a 5/5 to you is perfectly fine. If no game is a 5/5 for Visuals for you, that's fine! Just be sure to rate every game with the same set of standards.

Stream of Your Game

RocknightStudios will livestream playtesting your games on Twitch on Wednesday following the jam. Rocknight needs a Linux or Browser-playable version (i.e., HTML5 or WebGL) of your game in order to play it on-stream.

FAQ

Q: Can I work with others? Would we all have to sync up and work within 3 hours for each build?	A: Of course you can work with others! Everyone in your team gets 3 hours each to work on our game, which of course need not (and probably shouldn't be) synchronized at the same time. You have a full 72 hours over a weekend to find the time for building a game.
Q: If I work with others, won't we get more than 3 hours total between all of us?	A: Yes, That's just how teamwork works! Working on a team is a time multiplier; this is true for all game jams and everything, in general. If three people work together on a 48 hour game jam, well then between them the game they make actually gets 48 * 3 = 144 possible work hours. This is why big teams can get so much done. But, keep in mind that teamwork is its own beast, and sometimes being on a team can be more trouble than it's worth. Effective teamwork is its own skill after all!
Q: What if I go over 3 hours?	A: That's fine, just let us know about it on your game page and when submitting if you go overtime,
Q: What if I don't submit a browser-playable version?	A: Games on itch.io get WAY more plays and attention when they have browser-playable builds. It's just removing barriers between people and your game, making your game more accessible. Without a browser-playable build, expect far less plays, ratings, comments, etc. And without a browser-playable build, you'll need a Linux build for Rocknight to play your game on-stream.
Q: Can I use assets made before the jam?	A: Yes, just note exactly which external assets you used and provide links to your sources. It's totally fine to use free public domain Kenny assets or similar, just say that on your game page and link where you downloaded them from.
Q: Can I submit late?	A: Yes, just let Yagich or Matejs know on the Trijam Discord.
Q: Can I submit multiple games?	A: Yes, just make an itch.io page for each separate game as normal and submit them to the jam!
Q: Can I submit a board game or card game?	A: Yes! This is always tricky, especially with playtesting. Submit a video of how the game is played in addition to print-outs. Expect far less plays and ratings for a board or card game, and Rocknight will not be able to stream your game.
Q: Can I stream the process of making the game?	A: Most definitely!
Q: Why is my rating for "Did I make the game in 3 hours" not 5 stars even if I made it within 3 hours?	A: This is a side product, a trade-off of including the games that have been made in more than 3 hours in competition. Sometimes a person would go over the limit 5 minutes. In this case, everyone who votes can make their own decision how "bad" is it. The main goal of Trijam is to practice your skills and while the time limit is a nice challenge, it shouldn't be the main focus. So don't be afraid to work on your game more than 3 hours and don't be too upset if you don't get 5 stars.
Q: What if I have a question not listed here?	A: Ask it in the Trijam Discord. or here on the community tab