Winter ZotJam
This is an open game jam intended for students attending Universities in California .
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THEME: TBA
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JUDGING CRITERIA
- Theme Relevance
- Conveys the theme in a direct or original way
- Creativity
- Demonstrates complexity or originality within the game's mechanics or environment
- Fun and Engagement
- Creates a gameplay loop that is highly replayable or unforgettable
- Ambience
- Presents an environment that is both immersive and relevant to the game
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JUDGING CATEGORIES
- Judges’ Choice
- Judges will be asked to play the Top 5 Highest Rated Games based on the overall rating and will be providing their rankings through the same judging criteria.
- Only 3 Games with the Highest Average Rating will earn their respective prizes
- Judges will be asked to play the Top 5 Highest Rated Games based on the overall rating and will be providing their rankings through the same judging criteria.
- Audience’s Choice
- Awarded to the Game with the Highest Average Rating that is also not chosen by the Judges as a 1st Place or 2nd Place winner.
- I.e., Judge’s Choice 1st and 2nd cannot earn the Audience’s Choice prize. If Audience’s Choice is Judge’s Choice 3rd, Judge’s Choice “4th” becomes Judge’s Choice 3rd and the former Judge’s Choice 3rd earns the prize for Audience’s Choice.
- Awarded to the Game with the Highest Average Rating that is also not chosen by the Judges as a 1st Place or 2nd Place winner.
- Best Beginner Project
- Awarded to the game that has the “Most Potential” as determined by the VGDC @ UCI ZotJam Committee.
- “Most Potential” is a mixture of low-experience jammers (an experienced jammer on the team disqualifies the team from earning this prize), good execution across all previously stated categories, and demonstrated/communicated effort.
- “Low-experience” jammers are jammers that have participated in 2 or fewer game jams as indicated on their Itch profile.
- Awarded to the game that has the “Most Potential” as determined by the VGDC @ UCI ZotJam Committee.
- Department’s Choice
- Officers of each department in VGDC @ UCI will be picking the game that they believe will best demonstrate a knowledge of their department's discipline
- Best Non-Video Game Game in a Video Game Game Jam which can be Experienced by a Wide Range of People
- Awarded to the Game with the Highest Average Rating that is not a video game, i.e. board games, in-person games, etc.
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PRIZES
- Judges’ Choice
- 1st Place - $20 Steam Gift Card per person
- 2nd Place - $10 Steam Gift Card per person
- 3rd Place - $5 Steam Gift Card per person
- Audience’s Choice
- $10 Steam Gift Card per person
- Best Beginner Project
- Keyboard and/or Mouse
- Department’s Choice
- Best Art - TBA
- Best Audio - TBA
- Best Design - TBA
- Best Presentation - TBA
- Best Programming - TBA
- Best UI/UX - TBA
- Best Writing - TBA
- Best Non-Video Game Game in a Video Game Game Jam which can be Experienced by a Wide Range of People
- Tabletop Simulator per person
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RULES
- Deadline for all submissions to the jam are due Sunday, January 18 @ 4:30PM PST. There will be a grace period of 10 minutes to submit your build to the jam, but you are not allowed to edit your build whatsoever during this period.
- If any premade assets are used, be sure to properly credit each asset on either your itch.io page, game, or readme file.
- Do not sabotage or interfere with other teams during development. If you do, you will be kicked out of the jam and all future jams. There will be no warnings.
- You can only have a Max Team Size of 6 People
- No nudity, intense gore, or illicit drug references. Keep it PG-13.
- Be polite. Be considerate. Have a plan to be mindful of everyone you meet!