This jam is now over. It ran from 2020-10-09 23:00:00 to 2020-10-12 03:00:00. View results

EDIT: Winners Announced

"Left Field" Award - Baby Delivery
Most Educational - Baby Delivery
Most Likely to Succeed - Ragdoll Responders
Best Use of Tech - Flux
Best Humor - Ragdoll Responders
Best Narrative - Cemetery Hill
Best Gameplay - The Last Tree
Best Audio - The Last Tree
Best Visuals - Cemetery Hill
Grand Prize - Ragdoll Responders

Edit: Theme Announcement

This year we are using the themes from Game Jam+ and there are 5 to choose from. Pick one (or more if you want a challenge)

I want to be free

Local Superheroes

Protectors of Nature

Brazillian Mythology

Local Urban Legends

Welcome to Utah Indie Game Jam 2020 and Game Jam+!

Due to COVID-19, our seventh annual game jam will be held on "online only" on October 9-11. We are also holding the jam in conjunction with Game Jam+ this year. Game Jam+ is pretty new and is similar to the Global Games Jam, but it's a competition in four different phases. There is an entry fee for Game Jam+, but if that's a problem you can still participate in our local jam for free.

What's a game jam?

Game Jams are a time-constrained game-making competition. In general, the goal is to come out of it with an awesome game you have made by yourself or with a team. If you want more info, check out these articles / videos.

Here's Last Year's Game Jam Entries. That may help you get an idea of what kind of games can be done in 48 hours.

What does it cost?

Our local game jam is free, however Game Jam+ costs $10 to enter. You can participate in both or just the local jam.

Where will it be held?

The Game Jam will be online this year due to COVID-19. We'll be doing the kick off for the jam and the judging and presentations via Discord. If you're not already part of the UtahGameDev Discord, you can sign up for it on this page https://igda.org/resources-archive/utah-game-dev-discord/

The local signup for Game Jam+ is at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/salt-lake-city-gamejam-tickets-118932388977

How large can my team be?

We don't have a limit on how many members can comprise a team, however you'll find that larger teams aren't always better as there's more chaos and coordination work. It's also okay to have a team of one person if you want. Teams should be fairly well set by the time the event starts. If you need help finding a team let us know and we may be able to help.

Will there be prizes?

Possibly. On the Game Jam+ there are prizes once you get to the final stage. There will be two teams from our local site that will get to go onto participate in phase 2. As for our own local jam, prizes are still up in the air and it may just be bragging rights only this year.

Here are the following award categories that were used last year:

Grand Prize
Best Visuals
Best Audio
Best Gameplay
Best Narrative
Best Humor
Best Use of Tech
Most Likely to Succeed
Most Educational
"Left Field" Award
Audience Choice Award

The winners will be determined by a panel of judges, except the Audience Choice Award which will be voted upon by the attendees. All games will need to incorporate the theme which will be announced during the kickoff meeting at the start of the event. At the end all games will be submitted to the website and each team will be able to present their game to the judges and everyone for about 5-10 mins per team. After that the judges will deliberate and the award ceremony will follow. (FYI - These categories could change before the event, but it's unlikely).

What are the rules?

Game Jam+ has their own set of rules here and here. Basically the game needs to be made entirely in during the jam and cannot be made with purchased assets. Open source and free assets are fine however. Also they require a "Pitch Demo" to be given in the middle of the jam.

The local jam rules are a little more relaxed. They are:

All entrants will have 48 hours (roughly) to develop as much of a game as is possible (preferably fully playable).
The entirety of the game must be conceived, designed, built, and uploaded within the allotted time.
Entrants must be prepared to show their progress at the end of the 48 hours.
Entrants may choose to organize teams with any other entrants they choose.
Entrants must have rights to all presented game assets, including: Art, SFX, and Music.
Entrants may use any freely available programming frameworks, tools, and engines, as well as from their personal library also.
Entrants must incorporate the randomly selected theme of the jam.
Entrants will keep their game reasonably clean and in good taste as we may have minors participate. (No porn, F-bombs, etc)
Entrants are expected to be respectful to others during the jam.

NOTE: Although public domain, creative commons, personal libraries, and other assets you own are allowed to be used in the jam, it's not in keeping with the spirit of the jam if your game is composed entirely from other people's stuff (meaning it's not really your game). You do have to do some of the work yourself.