OFFICIAL Amaze Me Game Jam

rmanthorp

GameMaker Staff
Admin
GameMaker Dev.
Announcing The Amaze Me Game Jam

We are thrilled to be hosting the Amaze Me Game Jam in collaboration with Opera GX. This creative jam is your chance to win prize money and have your game promoted in the Opera GX Discord community of 290,000 members! Submissions are open from 18 - 21 June, giving you plenty of time to submit your game. We can’t wait to see what you create!

If you are just getting started with GMS2 head over to our GameMaker Tutorials page to start learning.

THEME
The theme of the Amaze Me Game Jam is NEON, which you’re free to explore in any way you can think of! The game can contain bright neon colors, take place in a neon-illuminated city, or anything else you dream of!

RULES
  • Games must be made with GameMaker Studio 2.
  • Games have to adhere to the theme.
  • Games must include their project files for verification.
  • Games cannot include themes deemed inappropriate for minors, such as drug use, sexual themes, brutal violence, disturbing visuals, etc.
  • Teams are allowed.
Public voting will begin on the jam page once the submission period has ended. The best-rated games will be promoted in Opera GX’s huge discord community!

PRIZES

First prize: $1500 USD
Second prize: $1000 USD
Third prize: $500 USD
+ featured on Opera GX Discord community and GMS2 Ultimate licences!

To register for the Amaze Me Game Jam just head on over HERE!
 
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Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
I shall be participating in this, especially as I really like the theme! Don't see anything in the rules that forbids ex-employees entering... :bunny:

Although, in seriousness, the rules do seem a little lax. Nothing to stop people sending in previously released games, or more than one game, or games using ripped assets...
 

kburkhart84

Firehammer Games
I also notice that the announce says....
Submissions are open from 18 - 21 June
Does that mean you are supposed to only make your game during that 3 day jam period or does the jam officially start as of the announcement and that period of time is more about submissions. Giving the theme ahead of time makes me think the Jam already started, but the itch page thingy for the submissions says that the Jam starts on June 18th.
 

GMWolf

aka fel666
Its great to see Opera be involved with GM. I hope to see more of this in the future!
I wanted to join the last GMC jam but never found the energy. So i'm not gonna say ill join this one either.
Rules do seem a little lax: nothing stopping people from submitting existing games, or using assets etc. Its different from the GMC jam but not necesarily a bad thing. excited to see how things go.
 

rmanthorp

GameMaker Staff
Admin
GameMaker Dev.
I hear you about the rules. I had brought this up but I think we ultimately wanted the rules light as a bit of testing ground for how we are going to be running future events. I'm happy to hear feedback on this but yes. With the theme in mind you are welcome to toy away with ideas or even get started. Likewise if you can re-use previous assets to fit the theme you are welcome to do so! Obviously don't get stealing things - maybe we should make that clear... If people are uncomfortable with this format we're happy to hear about it and consider a change for future events. :)
 

kburkhart84

Firehammer Games
I hear you about the rules. I had brought this up but I think we ultimately wanted the rules light as a bit of testing ground for how we are going to be running future events. I'm happy to hear feedback on this but yes. With the theme in mind you are welcome to toy away with ideas or even get started. Likewise if you can re-use previous assets to fit the theme you are welcome to do so! Obviously don't get stealing things - maybe we should make that clear... If people are uncomfortable with this format we're happy to hear about it and consider a change for future events. :)
I don't have an issue with the light rules honestly. And there is nothing wrong with a game Jam with a longer period of time either. My thought is more that it should be better clarified if the intention is to have the time, or better enforced (if the rule is supposed to be to only have 3 days) by not exposing the theme early. Either way is fine really depending on what you want. So, did they want to prioritize how much high quality can be done with GMS2? Or is it more about how FAST things can be done at a high level? That would determine which way to go with the rules. It's too late in this case either way since the announcement has already been...announced.
 

GameDevDan

Former Jam Host
Moderator
GMC Elder
I like the format - 2 weeks-ish for a game jam with the submission period loaded on the last few days seems alright to me. Somewhat encourages "new" games because you can't just chuck in an old game straight away and forget about it, but doesn't forbid reusing old content if that is the way you wanna go. Personally I will be more impressed by brand new games made just for the jam but can understand from YYG/Opera's point of view this jam could be used to showcase some really good existing GM games.

I'm hoping to enter something made over the next few weekends. Good luck everyone!
 

Evanski

Raccoon Lord
Forum Staff
Moderator
I want to make something for this, I also already have an idea! but idk if my skills are up to the challenge of the idea.
Plus the two weeks of game making means, even more skilled game devs or teams could make a super polished game that outshines mine.

tl;dr lot of fuel for low self esteem
and mainly i just suck at game art :p
 

kburkhart84

Firehammer Games
and mainly i just suck at game art :p
You have seen my art for the last 2 game jams....I certainly suck at art. The whole 3d pre-render thing is a poor attempt at getting around it. At the least I get "adequate readable" art but certainly not high quality.
 

GMWolf

aka fel666
The brilliant thing about the theme is that you can do well with just a bunch of random shapes and "additive blending" switched on. Boom: NEON GRAPHICS.
when i started out with GM (wow over a decade ago now!) I used to eclusively make wireframe art and use the glow effect in the sprite editor for lots of neon themed games. Since then my art hasnt progressed on bit.
 

Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
  • Games must include their project files for verification.
One thing... Will this be made public? If I use my MP assets I don't want them to be made free and publicly available, or if I implement an online highscore system I don't want the internals made public so that people can cheese the scoreboard. If it's only YYG/Opera that'll view the source then that's fine... but if you're hosting the Jam through Itch, then that would suggest that the source has to be public too? Can you clarify this please?
 

Alice

Darts addict
Forum Staff
Moderator
So, to sum it up:
1. The submissions themselves will be open between 18-21 June, but we are welcome to get started right away.
2. Using pre-existing assets (be it graphics, audio or code frameworks) is perfectly acceptable, as long as there's no stealing (no unlicensed use).
3. It's yet to be answered whether the submitted project files will become publicly available or not.

Have I got it right? I want to make sure, because I'm interested in this Jam and am willing to put in quite an effort, but also want to avoid any misconduct.
 

Xor

@XorDev
This sounds super fun! I'm thinking of all kinds of glowing shaders
I'll try to participate!
 

drandula

Member
Yeah I would like to know too if source needs to be public 🤔 as source is only needed for verification purposes by YYG.
 

rmanthorp

GameMaker Staff
Admin
GameMaker Dev.
One thing... Will this be made public? If I use my MP assets I don't want them to be made free and publicly available, or if I implement an online highscore system I don't want the internals made public so that people can cheese the scoreboard. If it's only YYG/Opera that'll view the source then that's fine... but if you're hosting the Jam through Itch, then that would suggest that the source has to be public too? Can you clarify this please?
Thanks for reminding me on this one! I want it not to be public (for the reasons above) but I needed to check the way to do that in itch.io!! So I'll get back to you but yes. Ultimately we won't be sharing source - it's just for proof of GMS2.
 

rIKmAN

Member
Nice to see Opera getting more involved with GMS related stuff, hopefully the start of things to come.

I also like the length of the jam, the light rules and the theme but as others have said it would be good if you clarify rules on using assets and whether they have to be made yourself or whether asset packs etc can be used, as well as the public/private project files concern that Nocturne brought up.

EDIT:
Ah you posted re: the source as I was typing, cool.
 
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Posh Indie

That Guy
I might need to try to make time for this one. It has a decent length of time and a decent submission window...
 

Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
Thanks for reminding me on this one! I want it not to be public (for the reasons above) but I needed to check the way to do that in itch.io!! So I'll get back to you but yes. Ultimately we won't be sharing source - it's just for proof of GMS2.
Thanks for that Ross! Knowing that this is being talked about is great and I hope that you can confirm 100% the source won't be public sometime soon. I'll still enter something I think, but the scope may be affected if it turns out it is going to be public after all...
 

rIKmAN

Member
Thanks for that Ross! Knowing that this is being talked about is great and I hope that you can confirm 100% the source won't be public sometime soon. I'll still enter something I think, but the scope may be affected if it turns out it is going to be public after all...
Just submit Mesh, sit back and light a cigar... 😄
 

Posh Indie

That Guy
Thanks for that Ross! Knowing that this is being talked about is great and I hope that you can confirm 100% the source won't be public sometime soon. I'll still enter something I think, but the scope may be affected if it turns out it is going to be public after all...
Yeah, if everything will be open sourced I will know only to use @Nocturne's assets going into this (Kidding! I would never do that to anybody, haha)
 

Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
Yeah, if everything will be open sourced I will know only to use @Nocturne's assets going into this (Kidding! I would never do that to anybody, haha)
LOL! But.... actually, that's a good point and another problem with open sourcing... If a user has a paid asset from someone in their game, then making it public goes against the standard MP EULA section on distribution I think.
 

rIKmAN

Member
LOL! But.... actually, that's a good point and another problem with open sourcing... If a user has a paid asset from someone in their game, then making it public goes against the standard MP EULA section on distribution I think.
Yeah, that's one of the reasons I asked about clarifying use of bought assets.
 

drandula

Member
If itchio isn't flexible enough for private source verification, then maybe after jam have random tests: ask for source for verification from random population after submission has ended. Also after rating period from winners before announcing them. (Which isn't needed if winners have already verified by take from random population)
 

Posh Indie

That Guy
If itchio isn't flexible enough for source verification, then maybe after jam have random tests: ask for source for verification from random population after submission has ended. Also after rating period from winners before announcing them. (Which isn't needed if winners have already verified by take from random population)
Honestly, just hitting the winners (And all runners up who funnel in behind DQ'ed individuals) with source validation should be enough of a deterrent where it matters. You would be DQ'ing yourself from winning before you even start. At that point why did you even take part if you weren't going to follow the rules (Where the fun and enjoyment comes from) and you can't win (The reason someone would break the rules in the first place)?
 

drandula

Member
Maybe all won't be participating for the win, and it would give risk for getting caught if you try cheat, if random population is also tested. Also it would test some before rating has ended, not just winners. So it would avert situations better, that all people rate popular game, which wasn't made with GMS2 at all. (And somebody can just try pass as GMS2 for "lulz", not trying to win)
 

rIKmAN

Member
Maybe all won't be participating for the win, and it would give risk for getting caught if you try cheat, if random population is also tested. Also it would test some before rating has ended, not just winners. So it would avert situations better, that all people rate popular game, which wasn't made with GMS2 at all. (And somebody can just try pass as GMS2 for "lulz", not trying to win)
It'll be pretty obvious from the game files if it wasn't made with GMS2.
 

Evanski

Raccoon Lord
Forum Staff
Moderator
Wouldnt every GMS2 game in windows be called "runner.exe" even if the user has made it there own name and icon?, I've found while streaming when I want game capture every game in GMS comes up as "runner.exe"
 

Pixel-Team

Master of Pixel-Fu
Wouldnt every GMS2 game in windows be called "runner.exe" even if the user has made it there own name and icon?, I've found while streaming when I want game capture every game in GMS comes up as "runner.exe"
If you use YYC, it will use your game name. Otherwise, the runtime is what is interpreting your game. Hence, runner.exe.
 
Just a shoutout to Yoyo and Opera for setting up things like this. I think it's awesome.

One suggestion:
- A yearly contest on a fixed date, where there is no time limit to complete your game (just a submission deadline for that year, but the game could be X years into development).
Only requirement would be "Made with GMS". I really think that could help showcase the higher-end of the potential of the engine, as opposed to it being good for smaller projects/game jams, etc. as it's now mostly perceived.
 

curato

Member
I will definitely have to think about this one. I don't have a huge amount of time but I really like the theme. I really like neon anything games lol.
 

Roldy

Member
OK I guess I am making a Neon game now.

Quick everyone put your glow shaders on the market place!
 
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JeffJ

Member
What about availability of games - does it have to be freely available as inherent freeware? I am working on a game that fits quite perfect with the theme, but am planning on releasing it commercially down the line, so would have to take that into consideration.
 

Roldy

Member
What about availability of games - does it have to be freely available as inherent freeware? I am working on a game that fits quite perfect with the theme, but am planning on releasing it commercially down the line, so would have to take that into consideration.

Just enter a 'demo version' in the jam.
 

Roldy

Member
That's one option, but I would still like to hear the official word on this.
Yeah, it might not be up to them. I might be remembering incorrectly, but for itch.io, for a jam game to be rated it is free to the participants of the jam, even if it is normally a paid game on itch.io. The jam system makes it free. But that might have changed. But even with that system you can make it a paid game for non jam participants.

But if you could charge for it, then you would be almost guaranteed not to win the jam prize. As no one will pay to play your jam game, so it won't have any jam ratings.
 

Xor

@XorDev
Experimenting with my first "working" concept:


In the middle of space. Lots of bright colors. Fancy lighting and glowing spaceships.
Not sure if I'll go with this yet, but I'm a very visual coder so I wanted to see how it might look before deciding.

EDIT: To clarify, everything is raymarched and made this afternoon. This system supports glowing atmospheres around the asteroids and volume lights instead of point lights. There's lots of potential with this system
 
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GMWolf

aka fel666
Experimenting with my first "working" concept:


In the middle of space. Lots of bright colors. Fancy lighting and glowing spaceships.
Not sure if I'll go with this yet, but I'm a very visual coder so I wanted to see how it might look before deciding.

EDIT: To clarify, everything is raymarched and made this afternoon. This system supports glowing atmospheres around the asteroids and volume lights instead of point lights. There's lots of potential with this system
I see shadertoy has taken you as well.
Lots of SDF raymarching...
If you make a full game with SDFs I'd be very curious to see how it turns out!
 

rmanthorp

GameMaker Staff
Admin
GameMaker Dev.
Yes. Teams are allowed! There's not cap on size but keep it reasonable and team size will be considered when judging :)
 

JeffJ

Member
But my question was more about availability - does it have to be downloadable for everyone or only the judges?
 

rmanthorp

GameMaker Staff
Admin
GameMaker Dev.
Oh. Yes sorry - we want to share it with everyone. Part of the prize is sharing the game to be played on the GX Discord community. There is also the public voting on Itch. Users will want to play the games when public voting starts.
 
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