Welcome to the first-ever Meaningful Games Jam!
This is a beginner-friendly jam hosted by The Indie Diarist where you have exactly 7 days to make a game that means something to you. 🩵 (More on what that means below)
Got questions? Looking for a team? Want to help choose the theme for the jam?
Potential themes will be discussed on Discord. The chosen theme will be selected via community vote before the jam starts. Stay tuned!
The theme will be officially announced 24 hours before the start of the jam. We know this is a little unusual! It's to give you some more time for those initial ideas, which we know can take a lot of time. :3
More details coming soon! ;)
The top 5 games and the category winners will be showcased in a dedicated video on The Indie Diarist's YouTube channel!
The highest rated across all entries will also be offered a special spot on The Indie Diarist podcast. :3
I think every great game starts with a piece of our heart. The aim of this jam is to offer a beginner-friendly space where you can experiment and pour your heart and soul into a project that means something to you, whether you're a seasoned dev or just starting out!
What you personally mean by "Heart" is very much open to your interpretation. We know this will be a very subjective category! As a general direction, just go with your guts. Did you feel that the game carried "meaning" or "heart"? Did it speak to you, or leave you with something after you played it? Maybe it made you tear up like a baby. Entries that tick those boxes may rank high in the "Heart" category. :)
Please keep your submissions original. You will have a chance to brainstorm and plan between the theme announcement and the jam start, but most of the game should be created during the jam period itself.
The only restriction on this is that the source code of your game should be entirely original, and that assets (art, audio, fonts, etc.) should not be made using AI. Other than that, third-party assets are fair game, but please do give proper credit on your submission page.
Theme voting will open a month before the jam starts. You can join our Discord server to discuss the shortlist together.
Third-party assets are allowed, and there are a lot of places on the open web where you can find art, music, sfx, fonts, and more for free! Here's a short list to get you started:
Don't worry! Our community is full of cosy, friendly and welcoming game devs just like you. Hang out with us in our Discord server and we'll help you out!
