The Ultimate Game Jam Guide

By Quinten Muyllaert
Published : 26-11-2024
Last Updated : 16-08-2025

A Project like this will always remain a work in progress, I will be adding more content in the future. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any suggestions or feedback.

Planned Content

Main guide.*/gamejam page

• "Uncursing guide" for making sure your game gets indexed on itch.io
• How to make sure your itch.io page is appealing
• Game UI accessibility tips
• More resources & further reading links
• Collapsing sections on the sidebar table of contents
• A guide to version control (Git)

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• What is a Game Jam?
• Finding a Game Jam to Participate In
• • Things to consider when choosing a game jam
  • Think you found a jam? Now what?
• Preparing for the Game Jam
• • Will you be participating alone or in a team?
  • • Writing a good "Looking for team" post
    • Engage with other's "Looking for team" posts too!
  • Setting up your development environment
  • • Things to think about
    • Test your setup!
  • Joining the jam
  • Setting up a project page
  • • Top
    • Pricing
    • Uploads
    • • Embed options
    • Community & Visibility
    • Save your changes!
    • Adding team members
    • Optional: Filling in metadata
  • Giving & Receiving Feedback
  • • Giving feedback
    • Receiving feedback
    • Spamming "feedback"
  • TO BE CONTINUED
• Resources & Further Reading
• • General Resources
  • Communities
  • Assets & Tools

Introduction

Want to participate in a game jam but don't know where to start? I got you covered! This guide will help you get started with game jams, and provide you with tips and tricks to make the most out of your game jam experience.

I first Game Jam I participated in was June 2024. Since then, I've participated in 9 other major game jams, and I've learned a lot along the way. I hope this guide will help you get started with game jams and make the most out of your experience.

What is a Game Jam?

A game jam is a game development competition where you make a game in a limited amount of time, usually taking anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. They are a great way to challenge yourself, learn new skills, and meet other game developers.

Yes this means from scratch, you can not continue working on a game you already started... Wikipedia Definition "Game jam"

A game jam is an event where participants try to make a video game from scratch.

Finding a Game Jam to Participate In

There are many game jams happening throughout the year, both online and in-person. In this guide I will focus on online game jams, hosted on itch.io, as they are the most accessible and beginner-friendly. It is also the type of game jam I have the most experience with.

To find a game jam to participate in, you can visit the itch.io game jam page and browse the list of upcoming game jams.

I recommend starting participating in a game jam with at least a week of development time, as it will give you enough time to create a small game without feeling too rushed, but also not too long that you lose motivation. I also would definitely recommend participating in a jam that has plenty of participants, as it will give you a sense of community. You will be able to play other people's games, get feedback on your game, and maybe even make some friends along the way.

Things to consider when choosing a game jam

• Date:
  When does the jam start? Do you have enough time to prepare? Do you have any other commitments during the jam?
• Duration:
  How long does the jam last? Do you have enough time to participate?
• Weekend placement:
  Does the jam start / end on a weekend? This can be convenient if you have a full-time job or school.
• Discord / Community:
  Does the jam have a Discord server or other community platform? This can be a great way to meet other participants and get feedback on your game.
• Theme:
  Does the jam have a theme? Do you like the theme? Can you come up with a game idea based on the theme?
• Accessibility:
  Is the jam beginner-friendly? Are there any restrictions on who can participate?
• Tools / Engine:
  Are you allowed to use any tools or engines? Do you have experience with the tools or engines allowed?
• Solo / Team:
  Are there restrictions on team size?
• Prizes:
  The chance a first-time participant will win a prize is very low, but it can be a nice bonus if you do win.
• View on premade assets / AI generated assets:
  Some jams have restrictions on using premade assets. Also a lot of jams do not allow the use of AI generated content. (like DALL-E or Stable Diffusion, Github Copilot, Tabnine,...) If this is a dealbreaker for you :
  !!!DON'T CHEAT, FIND A DIFFERENT JAM!!!.

Note: Most jams have a theme, this is either voted in advance, voted at the start of the jam, or given by the organizers. It is very rare for a theme to be given before the jam starts, but it can happen.

Think you found a jam? Now what?

Once you think you found a jam that looks interesting read the jam's rules & guidelines even if you already have! This is very important! Nobody likes to get disqualified because they didn't follow the rules.

Do not "rules lawyer" - This means that you should not try to find loopholes in the rules to gain an unfair advantage. This is not in the spirit of the game jam and can lead to disqualification. Also, do know if a rule is unclear, try taking the most conservative interpretation of that rule, if it's unclear to you, it might be unclear others too!

If you have any questions about the rules, you can usually ask the jam's organizers or the community of the jam.

Does it look like you can follow the rules? Great! Now it's time to prepare for the jam.

Preparing for the Game Jam

There are a few things you can do before the jam starts to make sure you are prepared.

Will you be participating alone or in a team?

If you are participating in a team, make sure you have a team ready before the jam starts, There is no exact science to finding a team nor how much time ahead you should start looking, just go with your gut feeling.

I suggest looking for a team on the jam's Discord server (if available) or on the jam's itch.io page. You can also ask friends if they want to participate in the jam with you. You can also ask small/large general game jam communities if they have a team looking for an extra member.

You can also join my Game Jam Discord Jamlytics, where we discuss game jams, share data & stats, and help each other out.

Jamlytics Discord

And I also have been working on a Game Jam Teamfinder that you can use to find a team or a team member across any game jam on itch.io. It is still in alpha, but works already better than most chat channels or Discord forums, where messages can get lost in the noise.

If you can't find a team don't be afraid to participate alone! A lot of people do this, and it can be a great way to learn new skills and challenge yourself without the pressure of working in a team.

Even if you are participating alone, it can be a good idea to join the jam's community! This way you can still ask questions, meet other participants, post progress,.. In general this is a great way to keep motivation high.

Writing a good "Looking for team" post

A lot of people looking for a team will post a message like this:

Sadly, this is not a very good post. It doesn't tell much about you, and you are leaving out a lot of logistically important information. I'll give you an example of how I would write a "Looking for team" post (asumming no prior jam experience):

You can see it like casually applying for a job.

This post tells a lot more about you and what you can bring to a team, it also incorporates Markdown to make it more readable. (You can use Markdown on itch.io & Discord)

Main points it covers:

• What you can do, and what software you are familiar with.
• What you are looking for in a team.
• When you are available, and your timezone.
• It shows previous work (portfolio / files).
• What languages you speak. (If there are besides English)
• It also shows you are eager to learn. 😉

Engage with other's "Looking for team" posts too!

If you see a post that you think you could work with, don't hesitate to reach out to that person. You can also ask them for more information about their skills and experience. Don't be afraid to ask questions! I would recommend asking them in a private message, so you don't clutter other people's posts!

If you found a team, don't forget to edit your post to say you found a team!

Setting up your development environment

Do this at least a day before the jam starts! You don't want to spend the first day of the jam setting up things and not actually working on your game.

If you are working with a team, discuss which tools you will be using and make sure everyone has them installed and set up correctly. Don't be stubborn about the tools you use! If you come to an agreement with your team to use a certain tool, don't be the one that says "I don't like this tool, I'm going to use my own". This will only cause friction in the team and will make the jam less enjoyable for everyone.

Things to think about

• Game Engine:
  Which game engine will you be using? Unity, Godot, Unreal Engine, Construct, ...?
  You can also go for a custom engine, but I would not recommend this for your first game jam.
• Version Control:
  Are you going to use Git, SVN, or another version control system?
  NEVER EVER EVER WORK WITHOUT VERSION CONTROL! ESPECIALLY IN A TEAM!
• Communication:
  How will you communicate with your team?
• Sound / Music:
  What will you use for sound effects and music?
• Art:
  What tools will you use for creating art assets?
• "Optional" Brainstorming tools:
  Are you going to use a whiteboard, a mind mapping tool, or something else to brainstorm ideas? You can use tools like FigmaJam, Draw.io, tldraw, Obsidian, PureRef or Miro.
• "Optional" Task Management:
  Are you going to use a task management tool like Trello, GitHub Projects or Google Sheets to keep track of tasks and progress?
• "Optional" Game Design Document:
  Are you going to write a game design document? If so, what tools are you going to use? (Some jams require a GDD) Good tools for this Google Docs, HackMD, Notion, Obsidian, ... Prettymuch any plain text editor will do.

This is not an exhaustive list, but it should give you an idea of what you need to think about before the jam starts.

Test your setup!

Make sure everything is set up correctly and that you can build a small test project in your chosen game engine. This will save you a lot of time and frustration during the jam. My recommendation is to make a small project :

• A box that moves with the arrow keys
• A box that changes color when you click on it
• A box that plays a sound when you click on it
• A background image
• A box using an animated sprite
• Have the source posted on an external version control system (like GitHub)

Once you have this working, try building the project and see if it works on your target platform (Windows, Mac, Linux, Web, ...). Also try uploading it to itch.io under a dedicated private test project.

If you can do all of this, you are ready for the jam!

Joining the jam

Once you have everything set up, found a team (or decided to go solo), and read the rules, it's time to join the jam on itch.io.

If you haven't already, you will need to create an itch.io account to participate in the jam.

Go to the jam's itch.io page and click the "Join Jam" button. This will allow you to submit your game once the jam starts. You will also receive notifications by email when the jam starts and ends, and possibly other important updates from the jam's organizers.

Make sure everyone in your team joins the jam!

You can always click the "Join Jam" button later even if the jam has already started, but I recommend doing it as soon as possible so you don't forget. You can also leave the jam at any time if you change your mind. Do note if the submission period ends, you won't be able to join / submit anymore.

Setting up a project page

Once you have joined the jam, you can set up a project page for your game. This is where you will submit your game once the jam ends.

From the dashboard, click on the "Create new project" button to create a new project for your game.

Note: If you are working in a team, only one person needs to create the project page! I suggest this person will be the team leader or the person that is the most active.

Fill in what you can, you can always come back and edit it later.

The project page is quite large so I'll break it down into sections:

Top

• Title:
  Choose a catchy title for your game. Try to keep it short and memorable as it will be the first thing people see when they see your listing. Check online if the name is already taken by another game.
• Cover Image:
  Equally important as the title, people say "don't judge a book by its cover" but when it comes to gamejams people will absolutely go for covers that look interesting. (Gifs work as covers!)
• Project Url:
  This is up to you, either copy the title or add the jam name to it.
• Classification:
  Choose game. This is a game jam after all.
• Kind of project:
  This will depend on your target platform, I 100% recommend going for HTML as it's the most accessible platform. And malware is less likely to be spread through HTML games.
• Release Status:
  Choose "Prototype" as you will be making a game in a limited amount of time. Feel free to change this to "Released" before submitting your game if you don't plan to continue working on it after the jam.

Pricing

Always always always set the price to "No payments". Otherwise your game will not get indexed by itch.io until they manually approve it. This can take a few days and you will lose out on a lot of potential players.

Uploads

This is where you will upload your game BEFORE the deadline. You can upload multiple files, so you can upload a Windows, Mac, Linux, and Web version of your game if you want to. I highly recommend making test builds after every major feature you add to your game. This way you can catch any issues early on and not have to scramble to fix them at the last minute.

If your engine supports it, make sure to upload a Web version of your game. (Web, HTML5, WebGL, WASM ) are common terms for this.

Embed options

If you have a Web version of your game, you will find embed options here. I recommend setting it to "Embed in page" & "Manually set size" and setting the width to 1280 and the height to 720. This is a clean 16:9 aspect ratio and will look good on most screens. If you do not have a proper Fullscreen button programmed in your game, I recommend checking the "Allow fullscreen" option. This will allow players to play your game in fullscreen mode.

If your game is also fully functional on mobile, you can also check the "Mobile Friendly" option. This will make the game playable on mobile devices. Only check this if you are 100% sure your game is fully functional on mobile!

Never check "Automatically start on page load" as this can buffer the loading of the itch.io page. Only use this if you have a very small game that loads instantly. (< 10MB) Itch staff, if you read this, please adopt loading priority & HTTP/2.

If you have a Godot game and it does not load also check the SharedArrayBuffer option. Note enabling this option will cause video embedding to not work.

Community & Visibility

• Community:
  Make sure to set this to "Comments" so people can easily give you feedback on your game.
• Visibility:
  Set this to "Draft" and keep it that way until right before you hit the submit button at the end of the jam. This way the itch algorithm won't fire off. They have random checks on updates and if you update your game too much it can be seen as spam and your game can be delisted as a result.

Save your changes!

Don't forget to save your changes! And always close the page after saving, this way you won't accidentally overwrite your changes when hoarding tabs. (Happened to me more than once)

Adding team members

If you are working in a team, you can add your team members to the project page. This will allow them to edit the project page and upload files to the project. This will also show their names on the project page and give them the ability to rate other games in the jam.

On the project page go to "More" and then "Admins".

Here you can add your team members by their itch.io username. Make sure to also tick the "Display as contributor" box so their name will show up on the project page.

(When you add a team member, you get prompted to send them a confirmation link. You NEED to send this link to your team member and have them click it, otherwise they won't be shown as a team member.)

Optional: Filling in metadata

This is purely optional, but filling in metadata may help your game get more visibility via the itch.io search engine.

Giving & Receiving Feedback

Feedback is an important part of the game jam experience. It can help you improve your game and learn new things. It can also help you make new friends and connections in the game development community. Most game jams have a feedback period after the submission deadline, some jams assign judges to play and rate the games, some jams the participants play and rate each other's games. And some are fully open for the public to rate.

If you can not rate a jam game, you can still give feedback by leaving a comment on the game's page or the game's submission page. Note: on itch.io it can get a bit confusing at first with there being 2 pages for your game, the project page and the submission page.

Giving feedback

When giving feedback, try to be constructive and specific. Instead of saying "I didn't like the game", try to explain why you didn't like it and how the developer could improve it. If you liked the game, don't just say "I liked the game", try to explain what you liked about it and why. This will help the developer understand what they did right and what they can improve on. Grab a few mechanics, art assets, or sounds that you liked and mention them in your feedback. And get a few things you didn't like and mention them too. Try to make the post 2/3 positive and 1/3 negative.

Also look at some of the other feedback given to the game, try finding something that hasn't been mentioned yet, and "+1" feedback that you agree with.

Receiving feedback

When receiving feedback, try to be open-minded and take the feedback as constructive criticism. Don't take it personally if someone doesn't like your game, everyone has different tastes. Also never "attack" the person giving feedback, even if you don't agree with their feedback. You can ask for more information or clarification, but don't be rude about it. Let's say you get a comment like :

Instead of replying :

or

You could reply with :

Spamming "feedback"

Don't spam feedback, this is not only annoying but can also get you disqualified from the jam. I know who you are, I know what you did, and I will find you, and I will hunt you down. This is a very serious offense and can get you banned from itch.io.

Itch.io's TOS

The same goes for spamming Discord servers, Reddit, or any other platform.

TO BE CONTINUED

Oh! You reached the end of the guide, (for now) I hope you found it helpful. This guide is still a work in progress, I will be adding more content in the future. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any suggestions or feedback. I decided to publish early because a lot of it's info is already useful for some people within the community!

Resources & Further Reading

General Resources

• Jamlytics - Game Jam Teamfinder (ALPHA)
  A tool made by me to help you find a team or a team member across any game jam on itch.io.
• OG Uncursing Guide
  A guide I made to help you get your game indexed on itch.io.
• Gamedev Accessibily Guidelines
  A comprehensive list of accessibility guidelines for game developers.
• Kristoff Red's (Redline) Game Jam Guide
  A great video guide on game jam strategy.
• Progzy's Indie Game Compendiums Repository
  A collection of awesome documents on game development, design & marketing.
• Inbound Shovel's Game Design Shorts
  Gamedev in short form, great for quick tips and tricks.
• Roadmap.sh
  A great resource to learn about game development.
• Daniel Shiffman's Git(hub) Guide
  This video series will help you get started with Git and GitHub (version control), from a non-programmer perspective.
• Serket Studios' Game Design Documents - A Comprehensive Guide
  A comprehensive guide on how to write a game design document.
• Jason Hall - Develop.Games
  A great website to encourage you to develop games.

Communities

• Jamlytics Discord
  A great community for game jam data enthusiasts.
• Inbound Shovel Discord
  A great community for game developers, very beginner-friendly.
• Brackeys Discord
  A great community for game developers, with an encredibly active moderator team.

Assets & Tools

• Itch.io
  A great platform to host your games and find game jams.
• OpenGameArt
  Open-source game assets. Great for prototyping.
• Input Prompts
  A collection of CC0 licensed icons of every input device you can think of.
• Kenney Assets
  Kenny makes & publishes a lot of open-sourced game assets, great for prototyping.