Lo-Cal Gain Jam: Dates and Theme Submission!

Forum News
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UPDATE: The Jam Theme submission form is now closed! Thank you for your suggestions!

First thing’s first, mark the dates in your calendars for the Lo-Cal Gain Jam start and endpoints!

Start Date: Saturday 12th August, 12 noon PDT (UTC-7)

End Date: Saturday 26th August, 12 noon PDT (UTC-7)

The contest will run for the standard two week duration that regulars will be familiar with, with extra time available in the unlikely event of any site issues. It is therefore strongly recommended for anyone participating to also join us on our Discord server Discord to stay in communication. (Note: if the link doesn’t work, just click on the Discord icon in the top right!)

All entries will need to be posted in their own submission thread in the Gain Jam Forum section, once opened, in order to count for the contest - seasoned Jam veterans will know the drill by now. The Gain Jam forum section will be unlocked soon! Again, if any site complications impact the creation of submission threads, we will adjust the competition length accordingly.

Along with the forum, the Gain Jam channel on Discord will also be opening soon for those wanting to get a head start on forming teams and the like.

For the benfit for newcomers to the Gain Jam, I’ll be issuing further rules and details about the contest closer to the time so stay tuned!

Theme Submission

Now with the preamble out of the way, onto the bit that most of you are interested in: the theme! As stated previously, the theme will be proposed by a member of the community - that means one of you! All are welcome to submit a single theme idea using the form below:

(NOTE: Will require a Google account profile to enter! Sorry about this, but this is a means to prevent the form from being hijacked by trolls or spammers. No profile information is saved!)

Guidelines for submission

  1. No abuse or gibberish.

  2. No paragraphs or short stories. Minimum of 1 word to a maximum of 1 short sentence.

  3. Keep it simple and accessible. Try to avoid being too exacting and specific. A broad theme can be open to many different interpretations of varying complexity.

  4. Avoid divisive topics. You can freely explore such themes within a game entry but forcing a hot topic upon others is not called for.

  5. Avoid just suggesting “weight gain”. Yes, I respect your focus, but the theme of weight gain is already implied and baked into the Gain Jam! This is an opportunity to get the community to explore a cool theme so stretch yourself!

Remember: you only get one* submission so make it count! Any theme submissions that fail to meet the above criteria will be rejected from the final draw (as well as provide a giggle for me and the staff) so spend your theme submission wisely!

*To all of our @patreon supporters, you will be granted one bonus theme submission entry! Please DM me (@AlexKay) your extra submission idea, following the same guidelines as above. Please mark the DM with the subject “BONUS JAM THEME”.

All theme submissions, both the form and Patreon Supporter bonus, will be open for two weeks as of today, closing by Wednesday 26th July, 12 noon PDT (UTC-7), and a draw conducted shortly thereafter to determine the theme for the Jam.

As a reminder, here’s a list of all the previous Gain Jam themes for ideas:

  • Holidays
  • In the workplace
  • Weight-based mechanics
  • “Hands off” indirect gameplay
  • Greed

So with that all said, have fun with coming up with a killer theme and getting ready for the Jam! More details to come in two weeks!

18 Likes
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Are we allowed to add some explanation of (or commentary on) our theme suggestion? My theme should be pretty self-explanatory, but it couldn’t hurt to add a little descriptive blurb.

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It needn’t be necessary! Part of the fun of a jam is in interpreting the theme, allowing for some uniquely novel and creative interpretations that can twist or subvert an innocuous premise.

Think of the theme as less of an instruction that all must adhere to and more of a creative launching point for people to ricochet off. If your idea needs to be prefaced then your focus might be slightly too narrow - some may well catch on to your original intent but joy can also be had in someone taking things in a wholly new and exciting direction.

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Understood. Thank you. I also noticed that you described the theme selection as a “draw.” Does that mean that it is a random, lottery-style selection out of the pool of eligible entries?

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Correct! The draw will take place soon after the 26th and the theme revealed upon the jam starting in earnest next month on the 12th.

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please share the best :smiling_imp:

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Less than 48 hours remains before the submission form for suggesting the Gain Jam theme will be closed!

Get your theme idea (along with your bonus suggestion DM’d to me if you’re a Patreon supporter!) in before it’s too late!

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UPDATE: The Jam Theme submission form is now closed! Thank you for your suggestions!