GMC Jam Discussion The Classic GMC Jam 32 - 8 year anniversary

GameDevDan

GameDevDan

Former Jam Host
Moderator
GMC Elder


THEME:

CONQUEST


The GMC Jam is a WILD game development contest run every 3 months by the GameMaker Community. This is the 32nd such jam marking 8 years of its existence! (Phew).

Members compete to make the best game possible over the course of just 72 hours.​

GMC Jam 32 will take place on the following dates:

February 22nd, 2019 12:00 UTC - February 25th, 2019 12:00 UTC
(Countdown Clock)


  • Any GMC member can take part in the GMC Jam. You must use GameMaker to create your game.
  • Games must be made between 12:00 UTC on February 22nd and 12:00 UTC on February 25th, and posted in the games topic.
  • You may use resources such as graphics, sounds and scripts that were made prior to the jam, as long as the bulk of your work takes place during Jam weekend.
  • You may create one post per entry in the games topic. You may create this post before your game is finished and continue editing that post to update your progress, in fact you are encouraged to write a devlog!
  • All entries must have a download link in the Games Topic before it closes at 12:00 UTC on February 25th.
  • All entries must work on Windows as a standalone executable / compressed zip folder. No installers please. Your entry can also work in HTML5 and on other platforms, but only the Windows build will be judged.
  • All entries are encouraged to follow the Jam theme. It isn't mandatory to do so, but you'll often get more favourable reviews from your peers!
  • You may participate alone or in a team of up to 3 members. See the "teams" section below if you're looking for teammates.
  • Haven't got a copy of GameMaker? You can get a temporary license just for the jam here! https://account.yoyogames.com/promo/gmcjam32
That's all you need to know, but more information will be available in the Games Topic when it opens!


  • As soon as the Jam ends on February 25th at 12:00 UTC, a zip folder of the games will be created and posted in the voting topic so that players can download all the entries at once if they wish.
  • Voters will then have around 2 weeks to play and rank the games and voting will close on March 12th at 12:00 UTC.
  • Any member of the GMC can vote, even if they didn't enter the jam. You cannot vote for your own entry. Votes shall be posted in the voting topic.
  • Voters are encouraged to rank as many games as possible, and their final votes must include at least their top 3 games. More information on this will be provided in the voting topic when it opens.
Boring technical info about how the votes are counted: Entries receive points based on where each voter ranked them, following the formula 1/(rank+1). So if a voter puts a game 1st, it gets 0.5 points. If a voter puts a game 6th, it gets ~0.143 points. These are all added up by the Jam Host to find the overall rank for each game.

That's all you need to know, but more information will be available in the Voting Topic when it opens!


Main Prizes
  • The winner(s) will get the exclusive title of "GMCJam Champ" currently held by @Acr515 and @Ralucipe
  • The winner(s) will also get to decide the Theme of the next GMC Jam
  • The top 3 entrants, as well as winners of the "Best Of" categories will win personalised banners for their forum signature and a place in the Hall of Fame topic
  • YoYo Games have offered 3 gift codes for GameMaker: Studio 2 to the winner(s) of the jam!

Community Prizes

Members can offer their own prizes for the GMC Jam. PM me, @GameDevDan , and I'll add your prize to the list. NOTES: You should offer something based on your skills, rather than a commercial prize. You will also need to handle giving out the prizes yourselves after the end of the jam.
  • @Bingdom - Starting from 4th, I'm willing to reward every 4th person (up to the 20th) a free avatar drawn by me, with your description.
  • @Alexx - I'd like to offer up 5 copies of my forthcoming book to 5 random entries: http://www.learngamemakerstudio.com/
  • @NAL is offering:
    Early, immediate-access PC Steam copies of Tick Tick Pass to the top 10 entries as well as to any Best Of winner that does not place in the top 10 with an entry
    Steam PC copies of Maddening Euphoria to anybody that enters with a game, or posts qualifying reviews - contact me for codes
  • @dadio - Every entrant gets special commercial use license for 500+ fonts.* https://www.dafont.com/darrell-flood.d4895
  • @JeffJ - Awesome. I'll offer keys for Spoiler Alert to the top 5 entries - free choice between Steam version or Nintendo Switch version.
  • ...no more prizes, why not submit one?


You may enter the GMC Jam as part of a team (up to 3 members). Sometimes collaborating as part of a team can help you to e-meet new and interesting people. Here we will list people looking for teammates. If you want to be added to the list, send me @GameDevDan , a private message with the skills you are offering.

  • @OverLogic (GRArthas) is a Programmer looking for a Pixel Artist.
  • @iKiwed I'm searching for a team since I'm not a good programmer. I'm more like an artist and I do pixel art.
  • @John Andrews - I'm a skilled programmer searching for an artist, it can be pixel art, or normal art, as long as it's an artist.
  • EXAMPLE: ( Member ) is a ( Skill ) looking for a ( Other Skill )...


The more people that enter the jam, the more fun we'll all have! Spread the word far and wide. Use the hashtag #GMCJam on Twitter (and other social media networks), join the Discord Chat, and talk about your games on the GameMaker Reddit. You are, of course, encouraged to talk about the Jam as much as possible here on the GameMaker Community. Create a devlog on the Work In Progress forum if you dare, and definitely post your thoughts, comments and memes in this very discussion topic!

You can also change your signature to tell other GMC members about the jam:

Signature Image:


BB Code:
Code: 
[url=https://forum.yoyogames.com/index.php?threads/the-classic-gmc-jam-32-8-year-anniversary.58659/][img]https://i.imgur.com/baNezXw.png[/img][/url]
 
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Relic

Relic

Member
Single theme eh? Hope for a fairly free set of weekend nights to be able to get in this one.
 
GameDevDan

GameDevDan

Former Jam Host
Moderator
GMC Elder
Relic said:
Single theme eh?
Click to expand...
Yeah I've gone back to the old ways for this "Classic" 8th anniversary Jam! However if you and @FrostyCat want to contribute a theme still (as was promised to 1st, 2nd & 3rd in the last jam) I'm happy to carry that over to GMC Jam 33.
 
Siolfor the Jackal

Siolfor the Jackal

Member
Wonder how i will go going back to a 3 day jam after that 10 day one.
And finally, no exam on the last day! It's a day after this time haha.
 
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GVmG

GVmG

Raechel
I have awakened

It's Jam time baby!

Admittedly last time didn't quite work out for me despite more hours than usual but it was still just as fun. Looking forward for this classic edition.
 
FrostyCat

FrostyCat

Member
GameDevDan said:
Yeah I've gone back to the old ways for this "Classic" 8th anniversary Jam! However if you and @FrostyCat want to contribute a theme still (as was promised to 1st, 2nd & 3rd in the last jam) I'm happy to carry that over to GMC Jam 33.
Click to expand...
I could contribute a theme if you like, but I'll be fine too if we go back to the one-theme standard and just have the top entrant decide what it is. The 3-theme jams sometimes made it difficult to tell which theme an entry was meant to be using, so I'm open to having a clearer focus this time.

Think this over first, and if you want to go back to 3 themes, PM me and I'll submit a theme.

By the way, I'd like to thank everyone for submitting their votes and critique on my Jam #31 entry. If I end up submitting another strategy game for this Jam, I'll be sure to include an easy AI this time.
 
dadio

dadio

Lemon Overlord
Forum Staff
Moderator
"The 3-theme jams sometimes made it difficult to tell which theme an entry was meant to be using, so I'm open to having a clearer focus this time."
This.
1 Theme also makes it easier to make Jam specific promo images/memes etc.

Also, you're entering Ross? Nice!
Seeya on the battlefield! :)
 
Alice

Alice

Toolmaker of Bucuresti
Forum Staff
Moderator
FrostyCat said:
The 3-theme jams sometimes made it difficult to tell which theme an entry was meant to be using, so I'm open to having a clearer focus this time.
Click to expand...
In case of the recent Jam, it felt more like "one theme was so widely applicable it matched games that focused on other themes instead".

I wonder how it'll turn out with a single theme this time. It can be pretty hit and miss *cough Newton's Laws of Motion cough*. With 3 themes to choose from the risk of too specific theme is somewhat mitigated... though last time the problem was too generic theme instead. ^^'

Also, I better get back into the programming... except programming is what I do for living... except right now I do more of documentation/design instead of coding (which also may fall into programming category, though it's not something people immediately think of when they hear about programming)... well, either way, I think I know what I'll be working on over the course of the following month.
 
GameDevDan

GameDevDan

Former Jam Host
Moderator
GMC Elder
Great to see such enthusiasm! Please spread the world, tell your friends & followers. I wanna see 50+ entries this time!
 
dadio

dadio

Lemon Overlord
Forum Staff
Moderator
It's been a long time since my last participation in this illustrious Jam, and I know Dan's doing his damnest to make this one really rock...
so, as a token of my appreciation for this fine community and as a gesture of good will between best buddies, I have sworn to Dan, on pain of death, that I shall create a genuinely proper REAL GAME this time...

 
Ralucipe

Ralucipe

Member
GMCJam Champ
We finally submitted a theme.

It took days of brainstorming and internal debate for us to settle on something. We're very aware of the complaints about some of the recent themes, and with our selection being the sole theme of this jam, we certainly felt an added pressure to choose something that had a good balance between broad and restrictive. As I wrote elsewhere, our #1 priority was to pick a theme that forced jammers to be creative with their game mechanics, without forcing them down a specific path.

That all being said... I think you guys will like this one.
 
iKiwed

iKiwed

Member
Hi I'm basically new in Game Maker Studio and I've heard Game Jams really help you to get experience, so I'd like to join in for the first time!
I'm searching for a team since I'm not a good programmer. I'm more like an artist and I do pixel art.
I can share with you some of my works if it's needed.
 
GVmG

GVmG

Raechel
oof so, I'm changing ISP in the next few weeks and my old one is having a hissy fit about our contract, and contacting them has been hell, BUT

But everything should be fine. Hopefully it doesn't take too much time (or, worse, my actual internet) during jam times. I do have nearly 100gb of mobile data (god bless iliad's literally insane cheap mobile plans) in case of emergency tho, so that should be fine.

QuickEDIT: 8 letter theme, that's somewhat standard isn't it I feel like PLATFORM is a bit too generic (really it's just a video game macrogenre lmao), while POTATOES is... well, delicious and probably incorrect, although we've had "TRAINS" before so I still wouldn't be that surprised if it turned out to be correct lol

We don't know if there are spaces or symbols in the theme either. Could end up being RE-START, or THE BART (or DIE BART, in German).
 
S

SamSam

Guest
If you take the list of the 3000 most used english words and only keep the height characters ones, you end up with the following 308 words :
abortion
absolute
academic
accident
accurate
activist
activity
actually
addition
adequate
advanced
advocate
aircraft
alliance
although
American
analysis
announce
anything
anywhere
apparent
approach
approval
argument
artistic
athletic
attitude
attorney
audience
baseball
bathroom
behavior
birthday
boundary
building
business
campaign
Canadian
capacity
category
Catholic
ceremony
chairman
champion
changing
chemical
civilian
clinical
clothing
collapse
colonial
complain
complete
computer
conclude
concrete
conflict
confront
Congress
consider
constant
consumer
continue
contract
contrast
convince
coverage
creation
creative
creature
criminal
criteria
critical
cultural
customer
darkness
daughter
decision
decrease
delivery
Democrat
describe
designer
detailed
dialogue
directly
director
disagree
disaster
discover
disorder
distance
distinct
district
division
document
domestic
dominant
dominate
downtown
dramatic
earnings
economic
educator
election
electric
emission
emphasis
employee
employer
engineer
enormous
entirely
entrance
estimate
European
evaluate
everyday
everyone
evidence
exchange
exciting
exercise
existing
exposure
external
facility
familiar
favorite
fighting
football
frequent
friendly
function
generate
governor
graduate
greatest
headline
heritage
historic
homeless
hospital
identify
identity
incident
increase
indicate
industry
innocent
instance
interest
internal
Internet
invasion
investor
involved
Japanese
judgment
language
learning
lifetime
literary
location
magazine
maintain
majority
marriage
material
medicine
military
minister
minority
moderate
moreover
mortgage
mountain
movement
multiple
musician
national
negative
neighbor
normally
northern
numerous
observer
occasion
official
operator
opponent
opposite
ordinary
organize
original
overcome
overlook
painting
perceive
personal
persuade
physical
planning
platform
pleasure
politics
portrait
position
positive
possible
possibly
powerful
practice
pregnant
presence
preserve
pressure
previous
priority
prisoner
probably
producer
progress
properly
property
proposal
proposed
prospect
provider
province
publicly
purchase
question
reaction
recently
recovery
regional
register
regulate
relation
relative
relevant
religion
remember
reporter
research
resemble
resident
resource
response
romantic
sanction
scenario
schedule
security
sentence
separate
sequence
shooting
shopping
shoulder
slightly
software
solution
somebody
somewhat
southern
specific
spending
standard
standing
straight
stranger
strategy
strength
strongly
struggle
suddenly
supposed
surprise
surround
survival
survivor
taxpayer
teaching
teaspoon
teenager
tendency
terrible
thinking
thousand
threaten
together
tomorrow
training
transfer
ultimate
universe
unlikely
vacation
valuable
variable
violence
whatever
whenever
withdraw
workshop
yourself
Don't know if this is very relevant... And this doesn't include "potatoes". Maybe I should find a list with plurals.
 
GVmG

GVmG

Raechel
Alright, some semi-serious guesses, supposing signs or spaces are possible in the theme
- COLOURED (britain op)
- NO_COLOR (usa op)
- JAPANESE (this would make me way too happy)
- YOURSELF (would actually be kinda interesting I think, not too restrictive but still very thematic)
- UNIVERSE (*sci-fi intensifies*)

And what I like to call the TIME TRAVEL TRIO
- TIMELORD
- TIMESTOP
- RE-START
 
ghandpivot

ghandpivot

Member
Trying to clear my schedule to fit a jam, I've been unable to join the most recent few due to increasing workload. I've got an idea which is held back by a mathematical problem that I've now got 2 weeks or so to wrap my head around
 
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