itch.io

Usually we run streams to help people with less ratings get more, but unfortunately things IRL have been busy this time around. To answer your question though, yes it's fair. Usually people promote their games on our Discord, and review other jam games (both commenting on itch.io and praising them in-depth on the Discord) to build up good will. Networking is the most important part and I'd recommend taking that approach in the future if you're looking to increase your ratings; it's good practice anyway.

PS. It's disingenuous to claim your late entry was due to an error on itch.io's part. It was clearly due to jam spamming, based on your comment history. If I'd seen that you were spamming, your game probably would not have been allowed to enter. So please don't do that again.

That should work... Unsure why it doesn't. Perhaps try a different browser? Feel free to join our Discord and post in #help if you want to discuss it further in-depth. But for now, I can't see any reason why it wouldn't work.

Here are some late submission links:
Swiftline: https://itch.io/jam/18782/add-game/851492?token=m4COO0uGJTjD3LpZub4HxsW8
TBit: https://itch.io/jam/18782/add-game/837348?token=3vLRRulbNOjtJFt8k6e2hYhmeo

Hi! If you need support you can join our Discord. If we can’t figure it out before the jam ends, I can generate a submission link for you.

For anyone having issues with this room, spoilers ahead...

FIRE ROOM PUZZLE SPOILER

Each stone tablet is an acrostic, and each acrostic contains a number. That number is which chalice should be filled first (eg. the first tablet is "THREE", so the first chalice that must be filled is the third from the left).

Hi!

I enjoyed this endless runner very much, however I had to run a local server in order to play it. Consider checking out https://itch.io/docs/creators/html5 for information on how to get your game playable on the web! If you'd like more help with the process, feel free to contact us at [email protected].

"Love, this would be my greatest revenge"

My Dear Francis is extremely powerful. Overt and sometimes subtle in all the right ways, this one of those rare horror games which delves into the darkest side of humanity, exposes its cruelty, and offers a glimmer of hope that one day we may overcome it.

Thank you for making this game and I hope to see more projects from you in the future.

Hi! It's absolutely fine to use those assets, yes.

I have never in my life seen a 23 MB HTML file lmao, but it works! Have you considered attempting to get it running on your game page? It should be possible.

Yep, sounds fine!

You can use any game framework you wish to use.

Yep, absolutely! You can use any art you have the right to use as long as you credit it!

Hi! Yes, that’s absolutely fine. Although this is a horror game jam, there is no requirement for games to be specifically scary. Many game submissions we get aren’t horror at all and that’s fine.

Hi! I'm glad that you've decided to join our jam!

To answer your questions, firstly, you can indeed use that idea for your jam submission. But secondly, you shouldn't start writing the script yet. The story feels to me just as much a part of a game as the programming is. So I would wait before structuring your story into a series of events, keeping it as a loose, vague series of ideas for now.

Thank you!

Absolutely

I believe Construct 2 exports as HTML5? I’m pretty certain itch.io supports that, but perhaps create a demo project and try uploading it to see if you run into any issues.

Hi! Generally some level of planning beforehand is acceptable - it’s unrealistic to expect everyone to just sit around and wait, people need something to do - but in the spirit of things it’s asked that concept art and ideas are kept to a healthy minimum.

Hi. Firstly, thank you for creating a game for SCREAM JAM 2020. But secondly, general game jam culture dictates that a game is developed during the game jam development period. This is to ensure that everyone participating gets a fair go and that the competition cannot be skewed.

I have now changed the wording to be clearer, but the rule "... BASED MOSTLY ON SOMETHING YOU'VE MADE IN THE JAM PERIOD, PREFERABLY FOR THE JAM ITSELF" existed to clarify that while a game must definitely be created during the jam period, pre-existing ideas can be used. Furthermore, if you have made your game during the jam period, it can be submitted to this game jam even if you primarily wanted to submit it to a different game jam. As long as the rules are followed, it doesn't have to only be submitted to SJ2020.

Starting games early is something we try to heavily discourage, and hope that people don't do in the future, in the hopes of keeping things fair and not having to try to validate each rule-breaking game. However, while breaking the rules, I've looked at your Facebook page and it seems that you're genuine when you say you've made your game in 5 days. Please either send an email to [email protected], or add me on Discord at Jojo#8805 and I'll try to further verify that you began your game when you said you did so that it can be approved.

Thank you!

Hi!

Firstly, no, there is no limit on team sizes, but large teams are a risk... I recommend that teams not be larger than 3-4 people, unless everyone knows each other well.

Also, I've removed your other posts because you made so many so quickly. Please try to not make so many posts in here, people might see it as spam. If you'd like to talk more, we have a Discord! The link is on the jam page.

But anyway, to answer one of your other questions, there is currently no path to people joining the management team. But being active in the community and growing in a way which enables you to help newcomers is a good way if that's your goal eventually.

Thanks!

You absolutely can! After doing some research, I'd also recommend exporting your Powerpoint as a "Single File Web Page" when uploading to itch.io.

Absolutely!

EDIT: You may want to include a non-VR version so that you can get the most people reviewing and trying out your game, but even if it's VR-only that's fine.

It's time to finally announce the results for SCREAM SEAS! We thankfully got a lot of responses from you all. Thanks for sticking around despite the mismanagement this time around. Things will be much better during SCREAM JAM 2020, which is now only 21 days away! If you haven't already joined, now would be a great time to: https://itch.io/jam/scream-jam-2020

Anyway, here are the results!

BEST GAME

1st place goes to Eldritch Escape!
2nd place goes to Adrift!
And finally, 3rd place goes to Amidst the Tide!

SCARIEST GAME

1st place goes to Driftwood!
2nd place goes to Adrift!
And finally, 3rd place goes to Deepness' Adrift!

Congratulations all! I'll be getting in contact with hankworx and Coolberry Industries soon to deliver prizes, but for now it's really late so I'll be heading to sleep! Thanks to everyone for participating, and I'm looking forward to doing it all again next month.

Hey all, voting is finally up here: https://forms.gle/SVg4xtPMPQPXawY96

Hi! Sorry for the inconvenience. It’s been fixed now.

Hi! Yes, voting is indeed broken and we've contacted itch.io support to try and fix the issue. If it's not sorted soon, we'll advise on an alternative voting method.

Thanks for submitting - hopefully we can fix this issue soon!

Yup that’s possible! Are you on Discord? If so, hit me up at Jojo#8805. Otherwise send me an email at josef(dot)[email protected] and we can work it out.

Thanks for the review and praise! There is an option to back out of puzzles (there's a button in the top right corner), but a few people have said it isn't very clear. We'll fix this post jam! Also, we had a couple endings we wanted to go more in-depth on but didn't have time. Hopefully we can get around to those post-jam as well! Again, thanks and I'm still excited to check out Charlamagne!

SCREAM MACHINE is the eighth game jam from serial game jammerists Caveware Digital and SCREAM CATALOGUE! We have run great game jams in the past and over the years have amassed quite an evergrowing community! Check out our jam page!

⚙️ IT RISES ⚙️

Something stirs from within the depths. A cold, mechanical whirr precedes the grinding of gears into motion. Pistons pump, vents hiss, springs creak. Like clockwork the sounds of this contraption create a rhythm that reverberates to the surface. But the purpose to which this machine stirs to motion is uncertain. Does it work to keep the world in motion, or unleash something terrible? Only time will tell...

The OPTIONAL theme for this horror jam is MACHINE - your game could have strange contraptions, be set in industrial dregs, but it's up to you! There is a SPECIAL CATEGORY to recognise games that feature an original machine that serves a story purpose or is used for a game-play mechanic.

Hi Mariso!

If you have not yet joined our Discord, please consider doing so! I think you will be much more likely to find a team there: https://discord.gg/gVQsjh5

Hi Wondard!

I hope you find a team! Please consider posting to the #find-a-team channel on our Discord and giving yourself the "Looking for team" role in the #rules-and-roles channel to give yourself the best chance to find one. Thank you!

Hi all!

We're running a new survey in preparation for SCREAM MACHINE! If you could take some time out of your day to answer some questions to help us improve, it would be a great help to us! Feel free to skip any questions you don't feel like answering.

https://forms.gle/MCgto5J4YzojkfPM8

Hi all!

Just making you double-aware of the existence of our Discord community! We have an active community with over 250 members! You can join it by clicking here: https://discord.gg/gVQsjh5

thank you

These statements have been in each game jam's description since SCREAM CITY and we've seen no content deleted for being too "nasty". It's a vague term because it's hard to cover everything in a rule. If you approach a topic with tact and CW you shouldn't run into any issues unless you decide to make a Nazi game or a game that glorifies sexual assault. The best way to avoid your game being removed is to talk about your game concept in the community (Discord especially) and get opinions.

Stating that the jam itself should be a "positive and inclusive experience for everybody" is absolutely necessary to set the tone for conduct in the community, whether on Discord or here. As hankworx noted, the statement pertains to the jam but not necessarily to games made with it. For example, many games contain jumpscares, and the experience of being jumpscared may not be a positive one for everyone. But one should CW their submissions accordingly so others can exclude themselves as they see fit.

 All in all, please don't worry about being restricted in what you can make. The only issues are if you don't CW (we would ask you to CW with appropriate terms, not remove) or when you tackle sensitive topics in an insensitive way (talk to people in the Discord about our game if you're worried about that). We don't want to remove anyone's game, these are just important contingencies to have in place.

Hi DataGhost!

Incredible work, and congrats on your win! I'm messaging you here to let you know that you've also won the cash prize for SCREAM JAM 2019! You should have a friend request on Discord from someone named Federico. He's from our sponsor, Satoshi's Games, and will be able to sort you out. If you'd prefer not to discuss it over Discord, feel free to email us at mail(at)caveware.digital with your preferred contact method.

Once again, congrats!