What is the #VirtusJam?

The Virtus Jam is a relaxed competition in which you make a game based on the theme (which will be announced at 6pm on 20th April) and submit it before 6.00pm on 11th May. It will be a great opportunity to meet new people and become part of a growing community as you push yourself to learn new skills and create an amazing game.

So what's the theme?

This years theme is 'Kinetic Energy', a theme that you can do plenty with and as such i'm really looking forward to seeing what you guys manage to create with it!

Joining a team

Want to fly solo? That’s great! However, participants are strongly encouraged to team up with other entrants! Find people who complement your strengths and look for minded people! Looking for teammates? Come say hi in the Virtus Discord! We also encourage you to say hi in the discord regardless and meet other like-minded gamedevs, 3d & 2d artists, audio and video actors, and other neat folks! 

https://discord.gg/dBpxM9X

Also check out our dedicted #Virtusjam page on crowforge where you can find like-minded people https://crowdforge.io/jams/VirtusJam

Contact

@VirtusEdu

Tweet your game WIPs with the hastag #virtusjam and they might get retweeted from the Virtus account!

Categories and Judging

• Overall game
• Theme
• Gameplay
• Sound
• Asthetics

Judges

The judges will be you, the community! Every game submitted will be able to playable by everyone through the itch.io site and you will be able to rate them all based on the categories above. 

Prizes

We’ve partnered with some amazing companies who have been awesome in providing us with prizes for the winning team:

- Substance Designer, Painter & Bitmap2Material & Source (3 x 1 year licences for the winning team) - Allegorithmic
- Epic Games Swag Bag (For each winner) - Epic Games
- VectorayGen Licence (For each winner) - JangaFX
- Ultimate Landscape & River Tool (For each winner) - VEA
- Game Jam Winner Discord Role (For each winner) - Virtus Learning Hub

In addition to this, if you use the substance trial as part of your project you'll be interviewed for an article to be on the substance website, download it here: https://www.allegorithmic.com/

Rules

***ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A COMPLETED SUBMISSION FORM: https://goo.gl/forms/qNu4lkI19k6Zt0kC3 ***

Platform: you can make your game on any operating system, but it must be playable on windows machines. 
Unreal starter content only is allowed. All other assets must be created by the team and be original works (ie no downloading assets paid or free from the marketplace). Mixamo animations are also allowed to be used.
It must not depict nudity, animal cruelty, or illegal activity or substance, or offensive or obscene subject matter
It must be appropriate for a broad audience since the winning submission may be seen by people of all ages and background.
Any images used in the Submission must be an original work of authorship under UK. Copyright Law.
It must not feature any trademarks (including logos).

FAQ

Q: I've never made a game before, can I enter? 
A: Yes

Q: I'm not very good at making games, should I enter?
A: Yes

Q: Can I use Gamemaker, Unity, Unreal, my own boilerplate, and/or my own engine? 
A: Yes

Q: What time zone determines the start and end dates? 
A: GMT

Q: Can I join the jam after it has already started? 
A: Yes, you can join at any time. You just have to submit a game before the deadline. 

Q: Can I work with a team? 
A: Yes

Q: Can I be a member of more than one team? 
A: No

Q: Can I use open source assets, unreal market place assets, or other assets that are available to the general public? 
A: No. Only starter content (such as the FPS and RPG templates that come with the engine are allowed to be reused. Mixamo animations can also be used.

Q: Can I update my game after the end of the jam? 
A: Yes but judging will be based on the copy that was submitted by the deadline.

Q: How many people can I team up with?
A: 8 is the maximum team size!