The Ultimate BYOG Jammer Resources

How to Succeed in BYOG (and any other Game Jam!)

Taking part in a Game Jam means three things – Making a game, successfully submitting it, and taking care of yourself. (And of course, also winning the sweet prizes in BYOG 😉). So check out our recommended best practices on how you can maximize your Jam experience:

Before You Start

• 🤝Form a well-balanced team. You can use the Gamedev.in Discord to start scouting and meeting your jammers.
• 🙋‍♀️Find trustworthy jammers, you need to be sure it’s with someone you can trust and rely upon to be with you till the finish line. Especially in online jams!
• 🔬Don’t be afraid to be experimental. You can play previous BYOG entries and winners and take inspiration on how to experiment with the theme and create your original vision for the jam.
• 🕒Create a schedule/timetable for your game’s milestones (Game Idea, features, polishing, submission, etc) so that you don’t stray too much and be in panic for the submission.
• 🔨Do not spend too much time choosing tools (game engines, art software, etc.), choose the ones you are most proficient with and start creating!
• 🎭Plan to make a short and good playable experience, rather than long gameplay that might take hours. People usually play a game jam game for a few minutes.

During the Jam

• 🛌Take care of your rest and sleep. Have snack/water breaks! Take your eyes off the screen from time to time. It’s no fun doing a game jam if you feel burned out.
• ⚠️Keep making progressive builds, you don’t want to get a nasty surprise at the submission hour when you make a build for the first time, and nothing works. Have a working build always ready, even if it’s not the final one, just in case.
• 🖼️You do not need to have the perfect game idea, perfect code, the perfect art for the game jam. Cut corners whenever necessary. Keep in mind that you do not have much time. You always need to aim for a successful submission.
• 🐛There will be bugs, and that’s ok. A good enough playable game is better than a perfect idea.
• 😖If something is not working, then feel free to pivot! You do not want to be stuck on something (game idea, feature, art, etc) for too long.
• 🗣️Remember to be social! It’s one of the huge parts that makes online game jams such as BYOG fun. Be active on Discord, Twitter, etc. and share your progress and also see what your fellow jammers are up to!
• 😸Do not take stress. Game jams are all about creating games and having fun!

Submission & Beyond

• 📖Carefully go over the submission guidelines for BYOG. You don’t want your game to be disqualified for avoidable reasons. (such as usage of AI art, asset flips, duplicate submissions, etc.)
• ⌛Avoid the last minute rush to submit. There are more likely to be glitches and huge server loads when everyone submits the build at the same time.
• 📺Check out the official BYOG submission video for more tips.

After the Jam

• 🎮Aim to play the games fellow jammers made and try to provide friendly, constructive feedback.
• 🧑‍🎨Spruce up your game’s submission page to make it more inviting and attractive. Add screenshots, how-to-play, and your game description.
• 👨‍💻If your game jam project is open source, make sure you have the permission to upload all your assets, to avoid any potential copyright troubles.
• 📢Keep checking out GameDev India’s social handles and discord for further updates and announcements.
• 🫂Pat yourself on the back, making a game in such a short amount of time is no joke!

Game Jam Secrets – Extra Special Tips!

Do you wonder what many Jam winning games have in common? Why are these games so pleasant to look at, fluid to play and so captivating?

The answer lies in these important (and mostly overlooked) points that you should definitely keep in mind:

• 🎨Having a good colour palette is an easy but crucial point to make your game look visually consistent. Use a site such as Coolors to easily generate aesthetic, eye pleasing colour combinations for your game art.
• 🔉Do not forget audio! It’s a simple but very essential step in polishing your game that will breathe life into it.
• 🐰Make your game easy to play at the start (also provide proper instructions on how to play) – you do not want to create a very complex/challenging gameplay at the very start of your game – this will cause frustration for anyone trying to play your game.
• 🏆 Sense of humour, simple graphics and intuitive controls. Most of the successful jam games have these three things present. Aim to meet these criteria!

Resources for your Dream Jam Game

Here are some handy resources where you can find tools, assets, and anything else you will need to create your jam game. Save some time, and go through these links to find everything that you will possibly need:

• Watch the AMA with BYOG Crew on how to make the best out of a BYOG.
• Global Game Jam (GGJ) organisers’ Jammer Resources Doc: Resources for Jammers – Google Docs
• Website dedicated for game jam resources: Welcome – Game Jam Resources
• Kobikoto’s extensive list covering everything A-Z on GitHub: kobitoko/Game-Jam-Tools-Resources

Submissions Guidelines

To ensure that your submitted game doesn’t get disqualified for any reason, please follow the following guidelines very carefully.

It is your responsibility as a participant to ensure the submitted game is in a playable state and that the game page on Itch has all the required information for the Jury to play and test the game.

We will automatically disqualify a game without any prior intimation if:

• The submission doesn’t have a playable build attached to it.
• The attached build contains malware, spyware, crypto miners, or other malicious programs that harm a computer or a device.
• The submission contains pornographic, tasteless, discriminatory, disrespectful, or hate speech content, either as text or media.
• The submission is a duplicate or a copy of another submission.
• The submission is an asset flip.
• The submission breaks the rules of the jam.