I would like to take you a time before the internet, before 3d graphics, before even the likes of Nintendo or Sega. A time when your options for virtual entertainment were limited to the few systems that connected to your television set (the Atari VCS (later renamed the 2600) and the Intellivison), a home computer (such as the Apple ii, Commodore PET / 64, or the Radio Shack TRS-80), or your local arcade, where you'd have to feed coins into machines by the fist-full.
That's right, the goal if this jam is to find a game from before the video game crash of 1983 and Nintendo's revitalizing of the market and recreate it today in your own way. Digging something out of the far reaches of obscurity and bringing it back to life today.
I'm sure you have several questions, so hopefully I will be able to fulfill some of them in this Q&A section:
Q: What games are allowed to be recreated?
A: Any game made before the launch of the Famicom / NES is the rough cutoff. Ideally something from or before 1983, but we'll err on the side of allowing you to make something based on something you are passionate about instead of giving a strict cutoff. If you find something of interest you'd like to remake from 1984/1985 that fits the vibe, then feel free to recreate that.
Q: Aren't all games from before the NES just, like, Pong or Space Invaders or whatever?
A: This is a common misconception! While yes a lot of the titles predating the NES might seem quite primitive and simple by today's standards, they were still made by passionate people with visions that can be learned from today. There's also a lot of games from that era that haven't been remembered as well, but are still part of the history of the medium we all love today.
Q: What does it mean to "Recreate" a game?
A: I would say the goal of this jam is not to remake a game exactly as it was, but to recreate and re-imagine it in your own way. Whether that means remaking the game, only making small tweaks to your liking, or completely re-imagining the game so it's nearly unrecognizable to the original is up to you. The goal is to take the spirit of these old titles that you like and leave what were probably limitations of the technology of the time in the past.
Q: Where can I find games to recreate?
A: One source I can recommend is Moby Games, a database of video games, or going searching through Wikipedia for systems of the time and looking through games.
Q: Why is this jam three months long?
A: I wanted to account for and be accessible to as many people as possible. If you want to make a game in a weekend and submit it, that is more than welcome. If you think it'll take all three months to create your game, by all means take your time and enjoy the process.
If you have any further questions about the jam, please post in the community tab and I'll try to respond as soon as possible.
Rules:
Credits:
Special thank you to Alice, Lars, Nora, Sophie, and others.
Hosted by Raccoon Formality.
