Did some fixes, here is the overall result:

A Story for the Ages

(Henlo! Glad to have you here! This is "a story (about a story).".

Welcome to A Story for the Ages Jam, a unique and collaborative game jam where every game is a chapter in an ever-evolving story! 

Participants will make a game building on the previous jam winners' game. The winner game of the jam becomes canon in the story.

The story begins with a single, foundational game created during the first jam (this one!)—an origin story for this grand interactive saga, and every subsequent game evolves this game with new or different mechanics, new and returning characters, lovable (or hateable) heroes, hateable (or loveable) villains, interesting characters to interact with (and ship??), and overall a new adventure to enjoy!

Potential Chapter Themes:

(Three of these will be selected at random at the start of the chapter development, and you'll be able to choose any of those three when you make your game!)

• The Call of the Hero
• Best Friends Forever
• A lost trinket
• An Ominous Call
• Scary forest
• Reflection
• On the brink of...
• Shadows are Born
• The pact

Joining the jam:

(The answer is most probably "yes, you can!")

• Do you exist? That means you can probably join this jam!
• Any team size allowed.
  • AI doesn't count as a team member, though.
• Did you stumble upon this one on the first one or on the 12th one? Just wondering. You can join anyway.
  • You might want to play the previous game, though! So you have a bit more context about the story.
• You'll have 5 weeks to jam, 2 weeks to vote, and 1 week to rest (or work on the next one; I'm not your boss).

About the game:

(Following these ensures your game stays in-theme. You can bend these a little, but it may result in a black sheep)

1. The game must have the same storyline as the jam. It may have interdimensional travel, time travel, and time travel paradoxes, but the player must be able to follow the story in one way or another.
   1. You may use different characters than in jams before, but their personalities, behaviors, and ideals must stay consistent (although they may evolve).
2. Keep your game suitable for (at least) teens.
   1. The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess is a T-rated game.
   2. Shadow the Hedgehog is a T-rated game.
3. The game must have at least one level.
   1. A level, in this context, is one area in which the characters can explore, interact, face adversity, and reach a story beat that marks the continuation of the story or end of a challenge and the beginning of the next.
4. The game must reference at least one thing about any of the past beats of the story and at least one thing about the story directly before it.

Safeguards:

(For peace of mind)

1. The game does NOT have to have the same art style (audio and art of the previous games).
2. The game does NOT have to have the same combat or otherwise mechanics as previous games.
3. The game does NOT have to revisit all or any previous areas or enemies, and it doesn't have to be made in the same engine.

Rules:

(Breaking these will probably get you disqualified)

1. Make the game in an RPG Maker version you own while abiding by their End-User License Agreement.
2. Any custom, non-publicly available asset (audio, graphics, models, animations, scripts, and plugins) must be shared for posterity. They should have a copyleft license (simplified) (tldr).
   1. It's better for the jam, however, that any asset that you use is free for everyone to use. This is not required, but HIGHLY encouraged.
      1. Looking at you, Yanfly engine.
3. You may aid yourself with AI, but no content in the submission can be completely or partially AI generated.
   1. You may use AI for character pose reference, but not for final graphics. Every pixel must be all you and your team.
   2. You may use AI for chord progression and melody ideation, but not as your song. Each note must be all you and your team.
   3. You may use AI to inspire your world, places, and atmosphere, but not generate dialogues or interactions. Each character must be all yours and your team.
   4. You may NOT use AI to generate characters. All characters must be recurring from previous jams or completely original from you and your team.
   5. If the use of AI is too blatant, your submission may be disqualified. (Of course, we may ask you about it first if there are doubts).
   6. Note that certain AI generation tools automatically don't have a copyright license.

Rank Criteria:

The jam entries will be ranked by the following criteria:

There are a lot

Fun & Enjoyability

This is one of the most subjective criteria on the list. This summarizes how worthwhile the game feels to play.

Did it make you feel any emotions? Was it an experience you would like to experience again if given the chance? Would you play the game again? Were the mechanics engaging? Did the game feel nice to play?

New Story Elements and Characters

This is one of the hardest criteria to evaluate. This evaluates how well the story adds new story hooks and characters, and if these story hooks mix well with previous ones, the same with characters.

Were the new characters likeable, relatable, or cool? Did they feel believable? Is the story progressing in a meaningful or interesting way? Did they make you feel I HATE THEM SO MUCH or THIS GUY IS SO COOL or I'd be friends with this guy?

Returning Story Connections and Characters

This criteria evaluates how well the story reused old places, characters, and story beats.

Were previous story beats interpreted cohesively? Are returning characters well personified? Did old characters evolve in meaningful ways?

Possible Future Story Hooks

This criteria is also a bit subjective. It evaluates how well and open-ended the chapter ended.

Can it easily be built upon? Were there any (intentionally or unintentionally) plot holes that new entries in the next jam can fill?

Challenges and Difficulty

I'll admit this one is not the most important, but one I personally enjoy—too bad I'm not the only one scoring these! It's how difficult the game is and how the difficulty allows for skill expression.

Hard games for the sake of being hard don't count.

Hard games that require you to git gud, HIT ME!

Mechanics & Uniqueness

This one makes or breaks original games... but for this game jam, not quite. This criteria evaluates how mechanics (be it combat, puzzles, relationships, time, etc.) are meaningful to the game and make the game more fun and interesting.

Does the game feature a unique mechanic? Is this mechanic fun? Is it well implemented? Is it meaningful to the story? Can the game exist without it?

Level Design & Awe

Definitely my favorite one. This criteria evaluates how well levels are designed. Levels include combat encounter design (regular and bosses) and mapping.

Are maps cohesive? Did returning maps evolve in a meaningful way? Were combats unique? Were puzzles unique? Are zones and combats replayable with different approaches and strategies? Did it ever make you feel whoooooaaa?

Graphics & Eye Candy

One for the artists out there. This criteria evaluates how cohesive and pretty the game is to look at.

Are sprites pretty? Are animations fluid? Are silhouettes recognizable? Are zones pretty? Are zones cohesive? Did you ever look at a character that made you smile? Or did you ever feel like That design is SOOO COOOOOL!!?

Audio & Ear Candy

And finally, as a composer (sometimes), I want to know your opinions on how the game sounds. In the end, sound is something that a game will have playing all the time, so having good sound design is kind of important.

Were sounds good? Did they feel like you were part of the world? Was music good? Did it inspire you with the emotions of the scene you were at? Would you jam to it on Spotify? (Musicians, don't worry, music is yours; you can license it, but please let us use it on future jams!)

Final Remarks:

Making games is fun yo, so have fun. You don't have to make it perfect; make something that you enjoy and that others may enjoy too! Remember, just one level is enough; don't get scope crept. Better make a single, very high quality level than 8 that you won't ever finish (been there, done that).