Submissions open from 2025-03-20 23:00:00 to 2025-04-06 21:59:59
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The Discord

https://discord.gg/Akn8bCME5R

The Theme

The "THRILL & EXHILLERATE" Game Jam 2024 theme is "Locked In".

You are free to interpret the theme in different ways and explain how you implemented the theme when you submit. You will not be disqualified from the jam if your game doesn't adequately fit the theme.  

Rules

Eligibility

It's open to anyone, from anywhere, of any age. You can work alone or in teams.

More details

If you're under the age of 13, a parent or guardian should upload the game

There is no limit on the number of people per team, and people can be in multiple teams. You can submit more than one game.

Only one person needs to join itch.io and submit the game. However, if others on the team also join itch.io, they can be tagged as contributors. (On your game's itch page, pick "Edit", "More", "Admins", and follow the instructions). 

Your Game

You must upload a digital game to itch.io, which is playable by someone using a Windows PC, with nothing more than a keyboard or mouse. It should not require additional hardware or software to run.

The game should be suitable for a general audience, so please avoid strong language and excessive gore. And your game should not contain nudity, or hateful language or visuals.

You may use any game engine, as long as you can export a file that can be uploaded to itch. We recommend Unity, Godot, and Game Maker.

You can support controllers and other peripherals, as long as keyboard or mouse also works. And you can upload builds for Mac, Linux, Android, etc, as long as you also have a Windows or browser version.

You should not require the user to download additional software from external sources. If your game requires additional files (like DLLs) they should be included in the download and not require separate installation. 

The itch upload limit is 1GB. You can compress your game as a ZIP, RAR, or 7Zip file (ZIP is preferred). You can also upload larger files via Butler if you really need to.

You can have online features like multiplayer servers and leaderboards - but files hosted outside of itch.io must not be modified or updated during the jam period - with the only exception being to ensure compliance with itch.io rules (i.e. removing a rulebreaking leaderboard name).

Tools and Assets

You may use pre-existing code and can use whatever art and audio assets you have the legal right to use, but you shouldn't make stuff ahead of time that is specifically for this jam.

Voting and Winners

When the jam finishes, everyone is invited to play the games and rate them against three criteria: Immersiveness, Enjoyment, and Uniqueness / Creativity. These add up to your overall rating, which will be revealed at the end of the voting period.

After the jam, host Daniel Greipel will play the top 50-rated games in the overall category, and make a video.

Legal Stuff

- Anything you make during the GMTK Game Jam is your property. GMTK claims no rights or ownership of your game. 

- Any game submitted to the GMTK Game Jam may show up in a GMTK YouTube video without your express permission.


Useful Stuff

Tools and assets (Copied from the GMTK Game Jam) 

Here are some places where you can find art, fonts, music, and sound effects for your games.

Many of the assets are eligible for use in the jam but check the license before using and provide credit in your game’s description!

Art

Fonts

Audio

Tools

This Overview Structure is inspired by the GMTK Game Jam, as it is a great Game Jam, and thus, a great Benchmark.