📆Duration: Mon, Apr 6 - Fri, Apr 10 2026

📢Submission deadline: 4/10 by 8:00 AM

💭Theme: Short & Sweet

• Interpret/incorporate as you wish!
• Following the theme is optional!

You should join this Game Jam if you want to…

• get your feet wet with game development
• learn something
• make something playable
• have fun

Getting Started

Register here!

You must join the Discord server to participate! Link is in the form above.

You will need a GitHub account to collaborate and submit.

What is a Game Jam?

A game jam is a short, time-limited event where developers, artists, and designers collaborate to create a video game. Participants usually work around a shared theme, encouraging creativity, experimentation, and rapid prototyping rather than polished final products.

For beginners, game jams are a great way to learn by doing. You don’t need to be an expert. Many people join with little or no experience. You can work solo or in a team, and roles can include programming, art, music, writing, or game design.

Most jams (like this one) allow you to use existing tools or assets, so you can focus on learning and finishing a small project. The goal isn’t perfection! It’s to complete something, gain experience, and have fun.

Some game jam entries go on to become fully published games, such as…

• Baba Is You
• Celeste
• Superhot
• Hollow Knight
• Surgeon Simulator

This video gives a nice overview: https://www.youtube.com/embed/3QYq0HOneIg?si=G8r7SHV0NNSFuqB3

Rules and Guidelines

1. You are encouraged to brainstorm / begin work sooner!
2. Teams are optional but recommended (2-4 people)
   • You can recruit members from other departments! (Do you want original art, music, sound design…?)
3. 2D games only
4. Following the theme is optional
5. Use of AI is allowed as long as you disclose it
6. No preexisting/ongoing personal projects can be submitted
7. You may not submit anything offensive/obscene/hateful/etc. Keep content appropriate for a general audence.
8. Research and ask questions!

Schedule

Before the Jam:

• Register
• Join Discord Server
• Familiarize with any tools you plan to use (see Resources below)
• Brainstorm ideas

Apr 6 (Monday): Virtual Kickoff Meeting

• 10:30 AM on Discord
• We will go over rules, give advice, and announce the theme
• Repository setup
• Start working on the game!

Apr 6-9 (Mon-Thurs)

• Work on the game
• Mini devlog updates at the end of each day

• Playtest sessions if you want to share your game

• Must be playable by day 2 (even if ugly/buggy), improve in following days
• A bonus challenge will be revealed in the middle of the week! Those who complete the challenge will recieve an award.

Apr 9 (Thurs): Collaborative Crunch Session

• Time: 3:30 to 5:00 PM
• Location: ECS 321

🚨 Submission deadline: 4/10 by 8:00 AM

Final Day (Fri 4/10): Showcase + Contest

• Presentations:
  • Each team will deliver a brief (~5 min) overview of their game and process
• Judging:
  • Vote begins after submission deadline and ends right before the winner announcement
• Awards:
  • 🥇 Best Overall
    • Game will be given a featured status in the Mocs Arcade!
  • 🎨 Best Art
  • 🧠 Most Creative
  • 😂 Funniest Game
  • 🧩 Best Use of Theme
• Playtesting session to try out each others’ games!

Even if you don’t win, we are looking for more games to add to the arcade! Talk to us about adding your game to the Mocs Arcade.

Making your Game

Tools

You can build your game using simple, beginner-friendly tools.

Recommendations:

1. Pygame
2. Godot

Other engines + tools can be used if you feel comfortable. Just let us know what you will be using.

1. Pygame

Pygame is a free, open-source library for making 2D games in Python.

• Handles graphics, sound, input, and basic game logic
• Beginner-friendly. Start with just Python knowledge

Pygame Community Edition Official Site

Pygame basic tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/embed/blLLtdv4tvo?si=lXQ7dtIKV_k7Src1

If you haven’t used VSCode before, you should probably familiarize yourself with it if you are going to build your game using PyGame.

VSCode setup for Python: https://www.youtube.com/embed/9o4gDQvVkLU?si=odk4pwgKAfwjVAjH

2. Godot

Godot is a free, open-source game engine used to create 2D and 3D games. It includes built-in tools for graphics, physics, scripting, and scene design, so you can build games without needing many external programs.

It’s beginner-friendly thanks to its visual editor and simple scripting language (GDScript, similar to Python), making it easy to prototype and develop complete games quickly.

Tutorials:

There are plenty of great tutorials and resources on YouTube and online.

Godot platformer in 20 seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thgdTkxeNJY

Bouncing ball in Godot in 20 seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaT8veJJKOQ

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🔍 For more detailed information, see the Tips and Resources document

Overview of Resources

You may and are encouraged to use templates and resources online!

You can also use AI to generate skeleton code, functions, ideas, etc.

Constraints and Design Tips

Games should be 2D only

Design Constraint Examples:

• 🕹️ One Button Game
• 🧱 Single Mechanic Only
• 📦 One Screen Game
• ⏱️ 30 Seconds of Gameplay
• 🎮 No Player Movement

Recommendation:

• Choose at least 2 constraints if you don’t want to be in dev purgatory for days!
• One button + one screen + 30 seconds

Scoping

• A tiny finished game is better than a big unfinished one!

  • Good examples:

    • Click to stack blocks
    • Dodge falling objects
    • Rhythm tapping game

  • Bad examples:

    • Open-world RPG ❌
    • Online multiplayer ❌
    • Story-driven adventure ❌

• If your idea sounds like a full Steam game, it’s too big.

Game = Goal + Obstacle + Feedback

• Example:

  • Goal: Survive
  • Obstacle: Falling rocks
  • Feedback: Sound + score

That’s all you need for a complete game!

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Ready to get started? Register now!