Common thing, every jam gets spam games. My 2 cents is that, while I understand they aren't against the rules, it seems to me that submitting something already-made is against the spirit here, especially when it's done cynically.
Viewing post in What's with all the non-FPS submissions?
yeah. I mean I get the positive vibes but this doesn't look right to me.
Not to suppose to tell you how to run the jam but to me it really takes the excitement out of the event if there's not even an expectation of making an fps in seven days. I just busted my arse for seven days and largely sleepless nights for a challenge I'd been looking forward to for literally months. It feels like of sucky to share the limelight with some loveless shovelware.
Maybe consider changing the name next time to make it clearer that is not an fps jam?
There are like 30 jams going at any given time and I chose this one because I'd participated years ago and expected to share feedback with other FPS devs. The real reward is making the project so I'm not disappointed, but I think it's worth sharing the feedback.
Perhaps I'll just run my own fps jam next year haha
Same position here, doesn't feel great to wreck your sleep schedule for a week and find that the place it earned you is amongst the moral equivalent of spam bots. On the bright side, that characterization is exaggerated, plenty of legit submissions; I'll definitely play your game Rhys, gotta get that well-earned sleep first.
I just wanted to chime in and second your sentiment, especially when an additional 3 days is tacked on at the end of a 9 day... 7 day first person jam? FPS is in the title, so allowing other games takes away from the sincerity of the jam. Nihilism can be funny, but it removes the sense of comradery and intent that I felt last year, and makes this seem like a meaningless joke.
That's the thing though, it IS a jam about making an fps in 7 days, it's just also a jam about other stuff, like not encouraging crunch, giving people time to do the challenge who wouldn't have the option otherwise, and a dozen other things. That stuff is far more important to me than the perception that me telling you to limit yourself vs you limiting yourself is all that different.
It's a personal challenge, and the nature of the jam has always been this way and that's a big part of why people love it.
You took the challenge. You did it! You should still feel awesome, that is and always was the entire point.
There will always be people skirting around the edges and not participating in the spirit of the jam no matter what words are said on the jam page, and I don't think cutting the rest of the value from the jam for everyone else because of that is worth it, not even a little.
The spirit of the jam is still the same, so I'd recommend participating with that in mind next time so your expectations align better, and you should still feel great about submitting with whatever constraints you chose, because that's still a big deal.
The jam may look different year to year as well keep in mind, but also keeping in mind the whole global pandemic and *gestures wildly*, I'm still very happy with everything here, and every jam I'm blown away by the value people create and the value people get from it. I get a lot of feedback from all angles btw, and I hear them all. So far the number of positive experiences is still worth doing the jam the way it's always been done because that's kinda why people come back.
So thanks for participating, and congrats to you and the other people here that challenged themselves. You're awesome and the jam and it's community appreciates you! I hope to see you challenge yourself again next time.