Schedule

Date	Event
November 1, 2024 @ 00:00 UTC	Development begins, approval window opens
November 22, 2024 @ 00:00 UTC	Development ends
November 23, 2024 @ 00:00 UTC	Approval window closes, rating begins
November 30, 2024 @ 00:00 UTC	Rating ends
After November 30, 2024	Results tallied and announced

Content Rules

All gameplay must be original and created during the development timeframe
Games must comply with ContentDB policies
Freely-licensed libraries and assets from third-parties may be used (and is encouraged!)
AI-generated content (code, media, etc) is not allowed, see previous item
Boilerplate is fine, but existing games should not be used as a base
Games must be able to run on the latest version of Luanti (5.10.0, if released by November)
First-party modules must use the gamename_modname name convention (unmodified third-party modules may keep their name, see also Right to a Name policy)

Submission Process

Submit games to ContentDB using the Jam / Game 2024 tag
Games must be submitted and approved BEFORE the approval window closes (late submissions will be denied)
You can technically finish and modify your game til the end of the approval window, you just risk losing approval time
Games may be submitted for approval at any time within the approval window (Nov 1 - 23); Earlier is better
Groups/teams may participate (all members must be included in the Maintainers ContentDB field)
Participants may have multiple submissions

Theme

There is no theme! Creative starting points will be provided.

But a theme prevents people from working before the deadline!

Well, no. It's pretty easy to make most of a game and then mold it to the theme once announced. Honor system.

Restriction breeds creativity! We need a theme!

Restriction can breed creativity. It can also cause participants to overthink or keep them from coming up with relevant ideas. But yes, themes help many come up with ideas faster so they can focus on making games. Instead of a strict theme, creative prompts will be provided for those that want something quick to start with.

The theme sucks!

Welcome back.

Scoring

Scoring is entirely community-driven. Using an interface on this website, anyone with a ContentDB account may log in to participate, allowing everyone to have a voice in the outcome.

How?

Each reviewer will be presented with a randomly sorted list of all submissions to sort (from favorite to least-favorite). The average rank of each package (after automatic penalties) determines its final score. Jam participants can rank every package aside from their own.

Rankings from members who have received 10 or more total "helpful review" points on ContentDB (or have the Editor rank or higher) will have an added 10% weight. These are sort of like "mini-judges".

Badges will also be provided to be assigned to your favorite games for 6 categories: Most Innovative, Most Fun, Best Graphics, Best Audio, Best Humor, and Best Mood. Packages with the most of a badge will be considered the winner in that category (for glory).

Things to Consider

Gameplay	How intuitive and enjoyable is the gameplay? Is it a fulfilling experience? Is there a clear goal?
Innovation	What makes the game unique? Does it have emergent mechanics or clever gameplay?
Content	Is the game well-polished or packed with stuff to do? Is the art and sound consistent and cohesive?

Penalties

Penalties	Reduces final score by 20% (additive)
`Complex Installation` tag	Game should not require external libraries or mod trust
No git repository	Game should use proper source control
Non-free media or license	Game should use completely free assets and licenses

For more details, please review the planning document.

Prizes

Each winner starting from 1st place may choose one (or none) prize from each of the following pools. Selection moves down the ranked list until each prize has been claimed. Winners may choose to give claimed promo codes to someone else.