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The final awards for IGMC: Rebirth are here!

Our partners have worked hard to determine their favorites and it is time to announce them to the world! Let's take a look.

Humble Choice: Ouroboros: A Dungeon Crawling Adventure by MissingSeven

AbleGamers Choice: Colorbound by ladybug-games

Congratulations to everyone who participated!

Congratulations to everyone who entered! It has been an amazing event, and you have all proven how much the IGMC needed to be back. Everyone who entered the contest is a winner, just for finishing their game, but now, it's time to announce who is going to place in our Judges' Choice! But before that, let's reveal the final prize numbers when we add in the extra prize pool added from the Humble Bundle!

• 1st Prize: $6,500
• 2nd Prize: $3,250
• 3rd Prize: $1,625
• People's Choice: $3,250
• Humble Choice: $1,625
• AbleGamers Choice: 1 Seat in the AbleGamers Certified Accessible Player Experiences Class

But now, let's head to our top 3!

1st Place: Ouroboros: A Dungeon Crawling Adventure by MissingSeven

2nd Place: A Stolen Love and the Forgotten Promise by Indrah LadyPotato and Fomar0153

3rd Place: RE:Calibur by Nowis-337

Congratulations again to everyone who entered, plus our fantastic top 3! Winners will be contacted early next week!

To see how all the Finalists placed, you can check the jam page results here!

Our 8 judges have been working hard to narrow down the games from IGMC: Rebirth, and we've got it to the top 18!

But first, thank you to everyone who participated. Completing a game is a prize all on its own. We hope you take the many things you have learned making these games, and build on it in the future. Maybe you work more on the game you made for the contest and polish it up and continue the story. Maybe you start an entirely new game. Maybe you go back to work on an older project. But no matter where your journey takes you, we hope that this experience will help you fulfill your dreams as a game creator.

And now, on to our Finalists!

A Stolen Love and the Forgotten Promise by Indrah LadyPotato

Blackheart by Grimmy Nocturne

Bloom Underworld by Alice Gristle

Colorbound by ladybug_games

FrameWork by WyldFire Games

Inn Need by TeiRaven

Life Eternal by Ronove

Mayor On The Run by SeaPhoenix

Ouroboros: A Dungeon Crawling Adventure by MissingSeven

RE:Calibur by Nowis-337

Rebertha by ManaBrent

REGENERATIO VENAE by FervorCraft

Remnants of Calandria by TerminusEst13

Resurraptor by Wumbohek

Sacred Earth - Alternative by MirageV

Stray Kitten and the Magical Lantern by slimmmeiske2

To Be Continued by Melon Kid

Wholesome: The Last Word by Daybloom Project

All 18 of these games are still in the running for the Judge's Choice prizes. Stay tuned to find out who wins!

The reason we don't want to do this is we don't want to affect the people's choice voting by revealing which games are moving onwards. We will be announcing the final group though, as that group won't be determined until after people's choice voting is done.

There was one entry that was browser playable that I noticed when running through. I'm assuming it was yours?  I decided we wouldn't DQ it.

Once time ended you can no longer update your game until after judging. You should always give yourself enough time to polish at the end. Unfortunately, it would be unfair to give just one person a chance to update their game. There has to be a hard cutoff somewhere, and that was 38 minutes ago

Encrypted is fine.

There will be voting.

The countdown timer is correct. It automatically adjusts to your time zone. It ends at midnight Eastern US time.

I think this will be fine.

As long as it can be played on a Windows PC, that is fine.

I think starting with a different default database is fine.

Sure

Maniacs patch would be allowed as it is allowed under the 2k3 EULA and there is no rule prohibiting in it in the IGMC rules.

You are correct. The Maniacs patch will be allowed as it is allowed under the EULA.

As long as it wouldn't land in Adults Only 18+ you are fine.

As long as it meets the time requirements, this is fine.

Yeah that kind of stuff is fine.

Yep, that is perfectly fine.

Not a problem, you can stream your game dev.

We require commercial use only because we don't want an issue over offering the prize money.

RM2k being left off was an oversight on my part.

1. Yep, not a problem.
2. As per the rules:

"Contest participants can be involved in UP TO TWO submissions. This means you could work on a solo project and collaborate with another team, collaborate on two teams, or even submit two solo projects. If a team uses your resources, but you were not directly involved in the development of the game, then it won't count towards the TWO game limit; same with commissions."

Sure, that's fine.

It can be an existing world/IP of yours.

It's generally best to start from a fresh project.

Games tend to be judged by the complete package, and custom graphics can be part of that. But being about how it works as a complete package, generally how things are used are more important than what are used.

The criteria for the judges is just a single 1-10 score and won't be broken down based on specific parts of the game.

Honestly it is actually an AMAZING time to work on a side game in your existing world. Build up your world's history (or a sidestory), use some assets you've already created. As Tea said, you just can't use already created stuff in the engine (Maps for instance).

RMN is my favorite non-RMW RPG Maker community (even if I rarely find the time to hang out there)

Welcome back to the most exciting game event in the RPG Maker community! We’re happy to share the following frequently asked questions for information to help you on your epic game making journey. If you have questions in addition to the FAQ’s covered here, please ask them in this thread. For a full list of participation rules click ***here***

FAQ

1. Is there a theme this year?

Yes. Resurrection, rejuvenation and/or rebirth are the themes for this year's IGMC. What do those words mean to you? Try to convey your own interpretation of what resurrection, rejuvenation and/or rebirth mean in game form to the best of your ability. You can focus on resurrection, rejuvenation, or rebirth or any combination of the three.

2. What counts for the "Pre-existing assets that were not created specifically for the contest" clause of rule 1 of the official rules?

This clause is mainly focused on allowing people to use pre-existing assets such as RPG Maker resource packs, Unity Store assets, Unity Frameworks, RPG Maker Plugins, and similar items that are publicly available, for purchase or for free.

It does also include materials that you had made for a previous project, as long as you can prove that it was not made for the IGMC project. An example of  proof would be:

• A previously released game containing the material.
• Old posts (Pre-IGMC Rebirth announcement) on forums/blogs that clearly show that it was made for another project.

Other forms of proof are also possible. If you feel that your piece is borderline, please ask @Nick_Komodo or @Tea

3. Are pre-existing ideas allowed to be used?

Of course. We can't really tell when you had an idea, so there would be no way we could judge this. If you already made a demo using the idea though, it becomes more borderline. In that case:

1. You can use no assets from the project that do not fall under the pre-existing assets exemption outlined in FAQ question 2.
2. You can use no programming, or in engine work from your previous version.

In other words, all actual work on the project must be redone from scratch. Even with these caveats, in general, we suggest that you work on a game for which you have never done any engine work, as that will guarantee that your project will not get disqualified for violating this rule.

Who loves game jams? 

Who loves judge and community feedback on their games? 

Who loves cash prizes and supporting a fantastic charity? 

If any of those things sound good to you, you'll be thrilled to hear the wonderful news! 

IGMC is coming back for the summer of 2022!!! 

We've reached far into our bag of holding to find a precious Phoenix Down and have used it to resurrect our favorite community event! Resurrection, Rejuvenation and/or Rebirth are fitting themes now that this exciting contest has been brought back from the abyss.

Come show us your awesome game creations and take part in the biggest RPG Maker contest of the year! 

 CONTEST RULES

1. Your entry must include the theme of the contest. This theme is Rebirth/Rejuvenation/Resurrection. You can choose to use any of these similar, but slightly different words for the theme of your game.
2. Development on contest entries MUST be started after the beginning of the contest June 30th. Commissions for the contest must also be started after the beginning of the contest. Pre-existing assets that were not created specifically for the contest are allowed.
3. Games MUST be submitted by the deadline August 4th. NO LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED! Make sure not to submit at the last minute to avoid missing the deadline.
4. Games MUST be created using a Maker series Engine: RPG Maker 2k, RPG Maker 2k3, RPG Maker XP, RPG Maker VX, RPG Maker VX Ace, RPG Maker MV, RPG Maker MZ, Visual Novel Maker, Pixel Game Maker MV.
5. Game Length: Game must be at least 10 minutes long. Judges will only be required to evaluate a game for 1 HOUR if it passes the screening stage. Any game over 1 hour will be judged only on its first hour.
6. You must have the right to use all software, resources, and tools involved in the creation of the game.
7. You may use resources sold through Komodo in the Degica Shop or via Steam.
8. You may only use user-created resources that are available for modification and commercial use.
9. All resources used must be properly credited.
10. Your entry must not infringe on third party copyright or trademarks.
11. There is no limit on the size of the development team. You can have one person or 10+ people. Keep in mind that prize winnings will only be awarded to the user that submits the game.
12. Contest participants can be involved in UP TO TWO submissions. This means you could work on a solo project and collaborate with another team, collaborate on two teams, or even submit two solo projects. If a team uses your resources, but you were not directly involved in the development of the game, then it won't count towards the TWO game limit; same with commissions.
13. All files required to play the game MUST be included in the download. If the game exe does not run because of missing files, it will be disqualified.
14. No 18+ Content: This includes strong sexual themes and content, graphic nudity, or extreme portrayals of violence. If you're unsure, please follow ESRB guidelines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment_Software_Rating_Board
15. Plagiarism and any other forms of CHEATING are grounds for disqualification. Let's make this a clean and fair competition for everyone!
16. Games must be available in English, but you are welcome to include other translations (just make sure the default language is set to English).
17. Your game submission must be able to run on Windows. You can include additional downloads for other platforms, but only the Windows version will be judged.
18. Contest Judges have the right to penalize or disqualify a submission for reasons including, but not limited to, the violation of the above rules. Judges' decisions are final.

PRIZE CONDITIONS & LEGAL

Prizes will be awarded to the user who submitted the game. Winners will be responsible for all taxes and fees associated with their prize package. If working on a team, please discuss how prize winnings will be split before winners are announced to avoid potential legal issues. The IGMC organizers are not responsible for splitting prize money.

No purchase necessary to participate in the contest. Must be at least 13 years of age to register and submit entries. Additional restrictions on age and nationality are subject to the contestant's local, state, and/or national laws.

Creators retain all rights to their respective works. The contest runners (Komodo) reserve the right to promote the game on the appropriate websites, blogs, social media, etc. as outlined in the prize packages.

If you have any questions regarding these rules, please post them in the FAQ thread here.

Hey @ProjectESPider,

Can you contact us via email at support@rpgmakerweb.com

I have contacts for all the other winners and still needed to get in touch with you in regards to prize. :)

Congrats on winning, the game is super impressive!

I appreciate how understated this is.

We may release the top 20 list and their scores at some point.

For our winners, we'll be contacting you over the next week. Thank you for your patience!

This is it, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! The judges’ scores are in, your votes have been tallied, and we can finally announce the winners of the RPG Maker MZ “Touch the Stars” Game Jam. 120 intrepid developers succeeded in the monumental task of stretching themselves and the RMMZ engine to their absolute limits. But with all contests, a winner must emerge. So, join me in congratulating those who rose to the challenge and placed.

First up is Fan Favorite. While this game does not get a publishing contract with Komodo, the developer(s) get a cash price of $250 USD.

Fan Favorite: Astir Evolution (by Vrouliotis Vasileios)

Cities in the sky have always captivate our imagination, showing us a fantastic world just beyond our grasp. Take on the role of a small robot who struggles to free the residents of Astir City from the threat of the Infestation Liquid, recruiting and training enemies into star followers. As he and his companions learn new powers, their journey will take them from the safety of the city into dangerous territory, all to save their home.

Astir Evolution won “Fan Favorite” with an aggregate score of 4.7.

(Jam Voting Results: https://itch.io/jam/rpg-maker-mz-touch-the-stars-game-jam/results)

Prize: $250 USD

Now that we’ve showcased the game YOU all loved the most, let’s see what the judges decided, and who earned themselves a place on the Komodo Store Front, published for the world to see.

Third Place: Forest Star (by SeaPhoenix)

Take on the role of a cute little monkey who witnesses a star falling from the sky and goes on a grand adventure to find it. Along the way, the adorable simian meets a cast of animals, each with their own motivations for joining our hero. The companion you take affects your ability to overcome certain obstacles, as each possesses their own unique power and personality. Make friends, help others, see the world, and enjoy a multitude of different fulfilling endings.

Prize: $250 USD, and Forest Star will be published by Komodo on Steam 

Second Place: Buffet Knight (by Nowis-337)

Let loose your inner hunger as you follow the powerful Buffet Knight in his quest to rid the land of the nefarious Demon Chef. Along the way, gobble up just about anything and spit it back at your enemies, defeating them and growing in power. Don’t grow too much, though, or you may not be able to contain your insatiable appetite. With gameplay similar to the Kirby franchise, and two very different endings, this game is for anyone who’s a glutton for adventure.

Prize: $500 USD, and Buffer Knight will be published by Komodo on Steam 

First Place: Berry (by ProjectESPider)

The itsy-bitsy spider may have gone up the waterspout, but Berry performs a marathon of fantastic gameplay and amazing fun. Join this adorable arachnid on their adventure to find the tastiest of flies. Along the way you’ll dodge fire bugs, leap across platforms, and follow the dubious advice of questionable cockroaches. Once you get the controls down, you can overcome obstacles and defeat bosses with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Just don’t forget to climb up that proverbial spout again and again until you reach the stars!

Prize: $1000 USD, and Berry will be published by Komodo on Steam

Please reach out and congratulate the winners of the Game Jam, but don’t forget everyone who entered. It takes amazing courage and determination to participate in one of these contests and put your work out for everyone to see. Developers, you made a game, and for that you are all winners.

‍

Hey, I just checked through the downloads I made and sent to the judges (i downloaded all of them that night and compiled them into the groups and the judges downloaded from that not from itch.io), and the version I have in my files matches the file size of your 0.0.0.1.c.r9 and not your 0.0.0.0a version.

Hey, I just checked submissions and I see your game :). (Sorry, I was taking a nap so I could be up at 3am when the jam ends for my time zone >_>)

I'm not sure I understand the question exactly. Just in general you should credit every person you used materials from. You don't have to credit each individual plugin, but you do need to credit each coder/artist/musician/etc. (So if you have 10 plugins, made by 3 different plugin creators, you should credit those 3 people).