Have you never joined a game jam?Maybe you've never made a game at all! This is your chance to practice - there are bigger (https://itch.io/jam/gmtk-jam-2026)jams (https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-16)coming (https://itch.io/jam/theveryseriousjuniperdevgamejam)up (https://itch.io/jam/comfy-jam-summer-2026) that you might want to join, this is the perfect opportunity to have a go, figure it all out, and get prepared.
I'll play the games. All of them. With a video, and lots of feedback & advice on what things you might want to focus on!
First of all, ouch. But fair! The best way to improve at making games is tomake and release games. That is common advice, and seems fairly obvious, but there is a missing part.You need to get feedback for that to be useful! And the feedback generally should be clear and actionable - giving good feedback is something that requires practice and patience.
So why me? Hello! I'm Dom (https://domharris.uk/), on Discord I'm theChief, and I've been making games for 20 years. I've released a game solo on Xbox, and I'm currently on the Business Development team atCrazyGames (https://crazygames.com/). My job is helping developers make the best games they can! I have hosted a couple of dozen game jams (including helping with a few bigger ones that you might know), and I've entered over 100 myself. Hopefully that's a good enough appeal to authority to get you on board...
This jam isunranked, there are no results, it is just a place to learn and have fun. I can't believe I have to say this but please don't just submit old projects. This is a jam for learning, it isn't free feedback. Youshould avoid AI, and youfollowing "full game"tutorials. You can Google things, and find tutorials forspecifics, but full game tutorials and blind copy/pasting will mean it takes longer for you to learn.
You can start now if you like! I'm around in the server I linked above, feel free to ask for help :)
Not this time!Most jams on here will have a theme, but the goal here is to get you to release a game. That's hard enough as it is, and if you don't know where to start...
I've got you covered!Here's a simple top down shooter, it should be straightforward to implement, and has a lot of room to expand and improve the game feel. You do not have to do this to take part in the jam!
Don't suffer in silence! If you get stuck on a bug or don't know how to implement something, head over to a Discord Server (https://discord.gg/49fZxfxe4V) and ask there. I've linked to Juniper Dev's server because it is generally a great place for new devs, and I'm active there - please do ping me @_thechief 😁
You can use whatever you like, but if you don't have a tool of choice yet, here are some great places to start:
Make sure your game is playable! Here are a few tips for a smooth submission:

Friday, May 29
2:00 PM → 7 days later 2:00 PM GMT+0
Online
Link available after registration