An open ten-day game dev challenge to create a scrolling game in vertical mode!

All skill levels are welcome from beginner to professional. New to this whole thing? Never made a game before? Play some jam-winning games to see where you can be after several jams of practice.

Retro Indie Josh will stream games submitted to a midpoint check-in stream halfway through the jam to provide feedback.

Looking for something to do sooner? Join the 8 Bits to Infinity Music Challenge running February 16 - 18. Even if you're not a "music person," there's a Newcomer tier just for you!

Special thanks to Mateus Boga of Oddly Specific Games for the cover image!

Mechanical Focus (Required): Vertical Mode

The gameplay must occur in an area at least 50% taller than it is wide. So for instance at 1080p, you would aim for at most 720 px wide (since 1080 px is 50% more than that).

The game must involve vertical scrolling (up or down) which may be automatic, based on character position, or caused by player action.

If the game is 3D, the camera must be fixed horizontally and not turn, to simulate the vertical scrolling of a 2D game. Basically, treat it like a 2D vertical scroller, but you can have 3D graphics and elements.

Something like these classic arcade games:

But you're welcome to experiment with other genres as well!

Theme (Semi-Optional): BINARY

The theme is optional, but remember Theme/Limitation counts for 1/6th of your Community Choice score. Also, the theme can be a great way to come up with ideas if you're stuck!

More creative interpretations of the theme will generally score higher, but don't go so far that the theme is unrecognizable.

Challenges/Diversifiers (Optional, but fun!)

Everything is Tiny: All sprites are a maximum of 8x8 pixels, and backgrounds are made of maximum 8x8 pixel tiles. Minimize the number of tiles you use to truly meet this challenge and go for that old-school look.

Infinity: The game goes on forever, as long as the player is doing well.

Toolmaker: Include an editor in or alongside your game. This can be as complex as a full-blown visual level editor, or as simple as a scripting language or editable text files to modify the game.

Schedule

• Keynote Video and Development (Main Jam): 12 April (1pm ET)
• Midpoint Check-In Stream: 17 April (4pm ET) on RetroIndieJosh's Twitch channel
• Community Choice Voting: 22 - 29 April (1pm ET)
• Winners and Ratings Announcement: 29 April (2pm ET)

Judging and Prizes

You (contributors to any game entered into this jam) determine the Community Choice by voting on games after the jam concludes. Check out the Ratings Guide for how to interpret categories and tips on good star ratings.

Huge thanks to Ben James (winner of Palette Jam) who provided keys for his vertical shooter game Tameshi. Each category winner will receive a key for the game on Steam! Check it out here.

RetroIndieJosh will create a highlights video including the winners, high-ranking games, and the best diversifier users posted on his YouTube channel.

The highest overall rated game will be the winner and placed in the list of 8 Bits to Infinity jam winners.

Rules

Failure to abide by these rules will result in your submission being disqualified and ineligible for rating, or removed from the jam, at the organizer's discretion.

Teams & Credit

• You can work solo or in a team of up to 4 members.
  • This total only includes people actively working on your team. For instance, if you include Retro Indie Josh's free-to-use music in the game, he's not part of the team.
• You must credit everything in the game, even if it's CC0 or Public Domain.
  • If you're unable to track down an exact source, just credit where you got the art/music.
  • Credits can be on the game page or in the game. If credits are only in the game, they must be accessible from the start for verification purposes.

Technical

• Your game must be available on the web or as a download that will work on Windows 10.
  • You are encouraged to create additional versions, such as Linux or Mac.
• No limitations on graphics, other than the core focus of a vertical screen that scrolls.
• No limitations on audio, engine, library, framework, programming language, and other tools.

Content

• Your game must use the jam focus, but the theme is optional.
  • However, note that the theme is a good chunk of your score.
• You may create any general-purpose code (i.e., not game-specific) before the jam begins, such as character controllers, project templates, menu functionality, AI library, etc.
• You may reuse general-purpose assets from past games.
  • We won't force you to draw another chair, but don't reuse a main character or full level art, for instance.
• You are allowed to use AI generation for art, writing, code, etc., but you must clearly state on the game page and/or in the game that you used AI, and what you used it for.
  
• You may not work on any game-specific elements such as design, art, music, or sound until the jam begins.
  • However, pre-jam discussion and brainstorming of general ideas is both allowed and encouraged.
• Any game-critical text must be in English.
  • While we understand and appreciate that our jams are international, this is the primary language for this jam.
• Your game must not contain extreme graphic violence, sexual content, or explicit language requiring an 18+ rating.
  • If you are unsure whether your game crosses this line, it probably does.
• Your game must not contain any hateful content including any violence, threat of violence, or discrimination against other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.
• We encourage the use of trigger warnings if your game involves material a reasonable person would consider sensitive.

Submitting

• WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU UPLOAD AND SUBMIT EARLY.
  • You are allowed to modify your game page, including files, until the deadline.
  • You are allowed to edit answers to your submission questions (through your submission page) until the deadline.
• Step 1: Click the Join Jam button at the top of this page.
• Step 2: Make your game.
• Step 3: Create a game project page on itch and upload your game files. See this documentation for help.
• Step 4: Submit the game to the jam. After uploading your game, return to this page and click "Submit Your Project" at the top.
  • Be prepared to answer a few questions about your entry when submitting. You must answer all of these questions honestly and completely before the deadline.
  • Submission time is a hard deadline. No late submissions will be accepted.
  • Although you cannot modify files after the deadline has passed, you are still free to edit your game page. But note it is a violation of the rules to link to an updated version created after the deadline, and your entry will be removed.

About Us

Hosted by 8 Bits to Infinity: a game development community dedicated to improving creative and technical skills through rapid iteration and honest, critical feedback. Join us on Discord, check out our website, and take a look at our past jams and challenges.

The man behind 8 Bits to Infinity is Retro Indie Josh (aka Joshua McLean): gaming content creator and music producer. Check out his game music (free for you to use in jams and commercial projects!) and YouTube.