itch.io

🎮 GOEDWARE GAME JAM - COMMUNITY EDITION #2 ✨

Ready for another round of creating, sharing, and growing together with fellow game developers?

We're back with GoedWare Game Jam Community Edition #2! Just like our first edition, this special jam is fully focused on creativity, collaboration, and learning as a community. It's all about making games in a relaxed, supportive environment where everyone is welcome, from beginners to experienced developers.

Whether you join solo or team up with others, this jam is your chance to experiment, try new ideas, learn new skills, and enjoy the process of game development together.

Games are rated entirely by fellow participants in categories such as gameplay, visuals, audio, and theme. There is no jury ranking or general prize pool this time, but the top entries will receive special community recognition. We also offer a Feedback Award (Amazon gift card) as a small thank you to the participant who provides particularly helpful and constructive feedback. Additional prizes from our sponsors may also be announced!

Tagline: Create | Learn | Enjoy
Format: Relaxed | Flexible | Open to all skill levels

Over the course of 7 exciting days, you will:

• 🎭 Explore the Theme - A surprise theme will be revealed at the start to spark your creativity.
• 👥 Connect with the Community - Join our Discord, meet fellow developers, share progress, exchange feedback, and get inspired.
• 🌟 Showcase Your Game - Submit your project, play and rate other entries, and celebrate what everyone has created.
• 🚀 Grow Your Skills - Try new ideas, experiment freely, and improve as a game developer while learning from others.

📅 Important Dates

• Jam Duration: December 7th - December 14th, 2026
• Theme Reveal: December 7th, 11:00 AM (CET)

🔗 Join the Challenge: GoedWare Game Jam Community Edition #2 @ itch.io
🌐 Connect with Us on Discord: GoedWare's Hub

This edition is all about collaboration, creativity, and enjoying the journey of making games together. No pressure to compete for big prizes, just pure game dev fun, helpful feedback, and an amazing community to share the experience with.

🎮 Jump in, explore new ideas, and be part of our second GoedWare Community Edition! ✨

We’re always open to collaboration and would love to hear from you! If you'd like to support our Game Jam: for example by providing a prize, sponsoring a specific category, or contributing in another creative way, we’d be happy to chat and explore the possibilities.

Sponsorships are a great way to promote your brand, project, or company to a passionate and engaged community of developers, artists, and game lovers.

Simply leave a message below or join our Discord server and send us (GoedWare) a DM. We’ll get back to you quickly to discuss how we can make your contribution part of this special event!

Let’s make something awesome together! 🎮✨

Post here some handy links to free game development resources for your fellow Game Jam participants.

Some resources to help you started:

• Blender, for 3D  models and can also do 2D and/or sculpting: https://www.blender.org
• Kenny Assets: https://kenney.nl/assets | License: CC0 1.0 Universal
• CraftPix.net,  free 2D game assets for arcade, strategy, platformer, RPG and many other game types: https://craftpix.net/freebies/
• Freesound.org: https://freesound.org | License: https://freesound.org/help/faq/#wait-this-is-all-free
• 8bit Sound Generator: https://www.bfxr.net/ | License: You have full rights to all sounds made with bfxr, and are free to use them for any purposes, commercial or otherwise.
• Color Scheme Generator: http://colormind.io/
• Color Scheme Designer: https://paletton.com/
• Open Game Art: https://opengameart.org | License: https://opengameart.org/content/faq#q-how-to-credit
• Piskel,  a free online editor for animated sprites & pixel art:  https://www.piskelapp.com/
• Mixamo, animations: https://www.mixamo.com/
• Tree It, free tree creation tool: http://www.evolved-software.com/treeit/treeit 
• WOWIE Asset Pack (by Jonas Tyroller): https://jonas-tyroller.itch.io/wowie-pack
• LabChirp, a powerful and versatile sound effect generator: https://labbed.itch.io/labchirp
• Kay Lousberg free Game Assets: https://kaylousberg.com/game-assets
• ChipTone, a free tool for generating sound effect: https://sfbgames.itch.io/chiptone | License: All sounds created using ChipTone are free to use for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, under the CC0 licence. 
• Beepbox, BeepBox is an online tool for sketching and sharing instrumental music: https://www.beepbox.co
• Material maker, for procedural materials: https://rodzilla.itch.io/material-maker
• Audacity for editing audio: https://www.audacityteam.org
• Game idea generator, for if you're completely stuck on an idea: http://ygd.bafta.org/resources/game-idea-generator
• Ship Mixer, create ships that perfectly fit the shmup style:  https://kenney.itch.io/ship-mixer (License see link)
• Creature Mixer, create characters that perfectly fit the platformer style:  https://kenney.itch.io/creature-mixer (License see link)
• Some amazing free CC0 low poly places/characters/props: https://elbolilloduro.itch.io/
• Texture tool:  https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker
• Collection of low poly stuff: https://github.com/Miziziziz/Retro3DGraphicsCollection
• Inkscape: a free and open source vector graphics creation tool. https://inkscape.org/
• LibreSprite: LibreSprite is an open source version of AseSprite. https://libresprite.github.io/#!/
• Pixel Art Sprite Mixer. It has 100 Pixel Art Top-Down Animations, attack anims, weapons, swimming, teleporting, energy charging, jumps and ninja runs + more. Also has over 400 Items/Armors.  I made it to help beginners, indies devs & game jammers. https://kingbell.itch.io/pixel-sprite-mixer
• GDD Wizard is a browser-based tool built for jam teams to plan, organize, and finish stronger. Try it out here: https://studio-erza.itch.io/gdd-wizard
• Procedural music generator: https://pernyblom.github.io/abundant-music/, CC0 licence and https://musical-artifacts.com/ has lots of publicly licensed sound fonts for rendering the midi files that abundant music generates.

Use this topic to find team members for the Game Jam or go to our discord channel:  https://discord.gg/PNMKywspdb 

@ Discord there is also a collaboration channel to look for other participants to try to find and form a team.

Feel free to ask questions about the jam here..!

Q: What is the theme for this jam?
A: The theme will be announced on the jam page and on Discord when the jam begins.

Q: Who can participate?
A: Anyone! All experience levels are welcome, and you can work solo or in a team (recommended max 4 members).

Q: Do I need to make an actual game?
A: No! This special edition focuses on creating a cinematic cutscene rather than a traditional game. The goal is to tell a story or create a memorable moment through cinematography, visuals, animation and sound.

Q: How long can my cutscene be?
A: Your cutscene may last up to 120 seconds (2 minutes). There is no minimum duration, so shorter cinematic experiences are welcome too! Only the actual cutscene counts toward the maximum duration. Loading screens, a separate start/replay menu, a separate camera inspection mode and an optional separate end-credits screen are excluded. Credits shown during the cutscene itself count toward its duration. Focus on creating a memorable cinematic moment rather than filling a specific amount of time!

Q: Do I need to display a timer during my cutscene?
A: No! You don't need to display a timer or countdown on screen. Just make sure your actual cutscene stays within the 120-second limit.

Q: Can I use any game engine?
A: Yes! You can use Unity, Godot, Unreal, GameMaker, your own engine or another real-time engine or framework. Just make sure your cutscene meets the jam's requirements.

Q: Can I create a 2D or 2.5D cutscene?
A: Absolutely! 2D, 2.5D and 3D cutscenes are all welcome. What matters is your cinematic presentation and storytelling, not the number of dimensions.

Q: Can I submit a pre-rendered video?
A: No. Your cutscene must be rendered in real time inside a game engine or similar real-time framework. Pre-rendered videos, including videos simply played back inside a game engine, are not allowed. You may include a YouTube or Vimeo video as an additional preview, but you must still submit a working real-time build.

Q: Why do I need to include camera controls?
A: We require minimal camera interaction so we can verify that your cutscene is actually being rendered in real time. For example, you could allow the camera to be moved or rotated using the mouse or arrow keys. A separate camera inspection mode is also fine. These controls are only for verification and should not interfere with the cinematic experience itself.

Q: Can my cutscene include gameplay or interactive elements?
A: The focus should be on cinematic storytelling, so the main cutscene should play without gameplay mechanics, dialogue choices or other player interactions. A simple start/replay button, optional credits screen and minimal camera controls for verification are allowed.

Q: Who can vote?
A: In our game jams, voting is restricted to submitters only. This helps keep voting fair and reduces the risk of coordinated or unfair ratings. Team members who cannot vote are still welcome and encouraged to watch cutscenes and leave constructive comments.

Q: Can I participate in multiple teams?
A: Yes, you can help multiple teams with specific contributions, such as music, sound effects, animation or artwork, as long as you're properly credited. However, you can only be the official submitter for one cutscene. You may not vote on any cutscene you've contributed to, to keep things fair for everyone!

Q: Can I submit multiple cutscenes?
A: No. Each participant or team may officially submit one cutscene. We encourage everyone to focus on creating and polishing one memorable cinematic experience during the 72-hour jam.

Q: Are AI tools allowed?
A: Yes. You may use AI tools to assist with coding, asset creation, animation ideas and other production tasks. However, you must remain meaningfully involved and in control of the development of your cutscene. You should still make the important creative and development decisions, while actively directing, reviewing, testing and shaping the results.

AI-generated content should be used thoughtfully and ethically, and must respect copyright and licensing rules. AI should help you realize your creative vision, not effectively decide or create the entire cutscene for you. Please also be transparent about your AI use. Use itch.io's AI disclosure options where applicable, briefly mention how AI was used on your project page, and answer any AI-related questions in the submission form honestly.

Q: What about music, fonts, animations and other assets?
A: You can use music, sound effects, models, textures, animations, fonts and other assets you already own or are legally permitted to use. Assets from established marketplaces, such as the Unity Asset Store or Unreal Marketplace, are allowed as long as their licenses permit your intended use. Make sure you have the appropriate rights and licenses, respect copyrights and trademarks, and properly credit third-party materials where required.

Q: Can I submit a cutscene that I already started working on?
A: No. Your actual submitted cutscene must be created during the 72-hour jam period. You may use existing tools, templates, assets, plugins, scripts, workflows or libraries if you have the appropriate licenses, but you cannot submit a previously started or completed cinematic.

Q: Can I edit my cutscene files after the deadline?
A: No. Cutscene file edits and uploads are locked after the submission deadline, so make sure your build is ready and working before you submit. You can still update your project page with text, screenshots, images, instructions and other additional information.

Q: Does my submission have to be in a certain format?
A: You must submit a working, real-time game-engine build. Browser-playable and downloadable builds are both allowed. Browser builds are recommended because they make it easier for other participants to watch and rate your cutscene without downloading anything. If possible, please provide a Windows build when offering downloads. Make sure you explain how to start or replay your cutscene and how to use the camera controls for verification.

Q: Can I submit only a YouTube or Vimeo video?
A: No. You may include a video as an additional preview, but it cannot replace the required real-time build.

Q: What are the rating categories?
A: Cutscenes will be rated on Cinematography, Visuals & Art Direction, Audio & Sound Design, and Storytelling & Theme. We also have a separate Feedback Award to recognize participants who provide particularly helpful and constructive feedback on other entries.

Q: How does the judging work?
A: In addition to community ratings, a separate jury panel will review cutscenes and select its favourite entries based on cinematic execution, storytelling, creativity and overall impact. The public ranking is determined by participant ratings and is used for community recognition. The jury ranking is selected independently of the public results. The Feedback Award is selected independently by the organizers and recognizes a participant who provides helpful, detailed and constructive feedback on other entries.

Q: What happens if there are voting irregularities?
A: We take fair voting seriously and may investigate suspicious voting patterns or other unfair behavior. Anyone caught deliberately manipulating ratings or unfairly downvoting competitors may be disqualified and removed from the jam. If serious irregularities make the public results unreliable and a fair ranking cannot be established, we may decide not to officially recognize a Public Top 3. The independent Jury Ranking and Feedback Award are not determined by public voting results.

Q: Can I submit my cutscene to other jams?
A: No. Cutscenes submitted to this edition may not also be submitted to other game jams during the same jam period.

Q: Is there a place to connect with other participants?
A: Yes! Join our Discord server to chat, brainstorm, share your progress and connect with other creators.

Q: What if I have more questions?
A: Feel free to reach out on our Discord, and we'll be happy to help!

We’re always open to collaboration and would love to hear from you! If you'd like to support our Game Jam: for example by providing a prize, sponsoring a specific category, or contributing in another creative way, we’d be happy to chat and explore the possibilities.

Sponsorships are a great way to promote your brand, project, or company to a passionate and engaged community of developers, artists, and game lovers.

Simply leave a message below or join our Discord server and send us (GoedWare) a DM. We’ll get back to you quickly to discuss how we can make your contribution part of this special event!

Let’s make something awesome together! 🎮✨

Q: What is the theme for this jam?
A: The theme will be announced on the jam page and on Discord when the jam begins.

Q: Who can participate?
A: Anyone! All experience levels are welcome, whether you're a beginner or an experienced developer. You can work solo or in a team (recommended maximum of 4 members).

Q: Can I participate in multiple teams?
A: Yes, you can help multiple teams with specific contributions, such as music, sound effects, or artwork, as long as you're properly credited. However, you can only be the official submitter for one game. You may not vote on games you've contributed to, to keep things fair for everyone!

Q: Can I use any game engine?
A: Yes! You can use any engine or framework, such as Unity, Godot, Unreal, GameMaker, or even your own engine. Just make sure your game follows the jam's rules and announced theme.

Q: Can I submit multiple games?
A: No. Each participant or team may submit one game. We want everyone to focus on creating one enjoyable, finished game while also making time to play and provide feedback on other entries.

Q: Can I submit my game to other jams?
A: No. Games submitted to Community Edition #2 may not be submitted to other game jams during the same jam period.

Q: Are AI tools allowed?
A: Yes. You may use AI tools to assist with coding and asset creation, such as art, music, or sound effects. However, you must remain meaningfully involved and in control of your game's development. You should still be making the important creative, design, and development decisions while actively directing, reviewing, testing, and shaping the results.

AI-generated content should be used thoughtfully and ethically and must respect copyright and licensing rules. AI should help you realize your game, not effectively decide or create the game for you.

Please also be transparent about your AI use. Use itch.io's AI disclosure options where applicable, briefly mention how AI was used on your project page and answer any AI-related questions in the submission form honestly.

Q: What about music, fonts, and assets?
A: You may use assets you already own, including those from the Unity Asset Store, Unreal Marketplace, or similar sources, provided you have the appropriate licenses. Royalty-free music, sound effects, fonts, templates, plugins, and libraries are also allowed when their licenses permit your intended use. Make sure all materials respect copyright and licensing requirements, and provide proper credits where necessary. You are responsible for checking the licenses of the assets you use.

Q: Can I submit a game that I already started on?
A: No. Your submitted game must be created during the jam period. You may use existing tools, templates, assets, plugins, code snippets, workflows, or libraries if you have the appropriate rights to use them, but the actual game itself must be developed during the jam.

Q: Can I edit my game files after the deadline?
A: No. Game file edits and uploads are locked after the submission deadline, so make sure your game is ready before submitting. You can still update your project page with text, screenshots, images, instructions, and other additional information. We recommend submitting a few hours early to avoid last-minute problems!

Q: Does my game have to be a certain format?
A: No. Browser builds are recommended because many participants prefer playing games without downloading files, which can help you receive more plays, ratings, and feedback. Downloadable builds are also welcome. If possible, provide at least a Windows version.

Q: Who can vote?
A: Voting is restricted to participants who submitted a game to the jam. We introduced this restriction after experiencing unfair voting behaviour in previous jams. It helps reduce the risk of coordinated voting and attempts to manipulate the rankings. Team members who are not eligible to vote are still welcome and encouraged to play games and leave constructive comments!

Q: What are the rating categories?
A: Games will be rated in four categories:

• Gameplay / Fun / Engagement
• Art Style / Visuals
• Audio / Sound Design
• Theme

In addition, we have a separate Feedback Award for participants who provide particularly helpful and constructive feedback on other games.

Q: How many ratings does my game need to qualify for the final highlights?
A: Your game needs at least 10 ratings to be eligible for our final public leaderboard highlights. Playing, commenting on, and rating other games can help increase your own game's visibility and chances of receiving ratings. The minimum requirement may be adjusted depending on the number of participants and submissions.

Q: How does judging work in this Community Edition?
A: Unlike our regular GoedWare Game Jams, Community Edition #2 has no separate overall jury ranking. The main rankings and category highlights are based on community ratings. We will recognize the Public Top 3 and the highest-rated eligible entries in the individual categories. The organizers will separately select the Feedback Award winner based on the quality and helpfulness of their feedback.

Q: Are there prizes?
A: Community Edition #2 focuses on learning, experimenting, sharing, and having fun rather than competing for large prizes.

There is no general prize pool.

However, we will recognize outstanding entries with shout-outs on the jam page, Discord highlights, and a special Discord role for the #1 Community Favorite. We also have a $40 Amazon Gift Card for the winner of the Feedback Award. Additional bonus prizes may become available if sponsors join this edition. Any such prizes will be announced on the jam page.

Q: What is the Feedback Award?
A: The Feedback Award is our way of thanking someone who goes above and beyond to help fellow developers. The organizers will select one participant who provides particularly helpful, detailed, constructive, and encouraging feedback during the rating period. The winner receives an Amazon Gift Card. The award is independent of the public rankings. You don't need to win or place highly with your game to receive it!

Q: Is there a Devlog or Easter Egg category?
A: Not as separate award categories in this Community Edition. However, you're more than welcome to create a devlog, include Easter eggs, or share interesting development insights. We encourage everyone to document what they've learned and share their experiences with the community. That's a big part of what this edition is about!

Q: What happens if someone manipulates the ratings?
A: We take fair voting seriously. Deliberate vote manipulation or other unfair behavior may result in disqualification or removal from the jam. If serious irregularities make the public rankings unreliable and we cannot establish a fair result, we may withhold or adjust the public ranking highlights. Any such decision will be communicated transparently to participants.

Q: Is there a place to connect with other participants?
A: Absolutely! Join our Discord Server to chat, brainstorm, share progress, ask questions, and exchange ideas with other developers.

Q: What if I have more questions?
A: Feel free to ask here in the community or reach out on Discord. We'll be happy to help! 😊

Use this topic to find team members for the Game Jam or go to our discord channel:  https://discord.gg/PNMKywspdb 

@ Discord there is also a collaboration channel to look for other participants to try to find and form a team.

Post here some handy links to free game development resources for your fellow Game Jam participants.

Some resources to help you started:

• Blender, for 3D  models and can also do 2D and/or sculpting: https://www.blender.org
• Kenny Assets: https://kenney.nl/assets | License: CC0 1.0 Universal
• CraftPix.net,  free 2D game assets for arcade, strategy, platformer, RPG and many other game types: https://craftpix.net/freebies/
• Freesound.org: https://freesound.org | License: https://freesound.org/help/faq/#wait-this-is-all-free
• 8bit Sound Generator: https://www.bfxr.net/ | License: You have full rights to all sounds made with bfxr, and are free to use them for any purposes, commercial or otherwise.
• Color Scheme Generator: http://colormind.io/
• Color Scheme Designer: https://paletton.com/
• Open Game Art: https://opengameart.org | License: https://opengameart.org/content/faq#q-how-to-credit
• Piskel,  a free online editor for animated sprites & pixel art:  https://www.piskelapp.com/
• Mixamo, animations: https://www.mixamo.com/
• Tree It, free tree creation tool: http://www.evolved-software.com/treeit/treeit 
• WOWIE Asset Pack (by Jonas Tyroller): https://jonas-tyroller.itch.io/wowie-pack
• LabChirp, a powerful and versatile sound effect generator: https://labbed.itch.io/labchirp
• Kay Lousberg free Game Assets: https://kaylousberg.com/game-assets
• ChipTone, a free tool for generating sound effect: https://sfbgames.itch.io/chiptone | License: All sounds created using ChipTone are free to use for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, under the CC0 licence. 
• Beepbox, BeepBox is an online tool for sketching and sharing instrumental music: https://www.beepbox.co
• Material maker, for procedural materials: https://rodzilla.itch.io/material-maker
• Audacity for editing audio: https://www.audacityteam.org
• Game idea generator, for if you're completely stuck on an idea: http://ygd.bafta.org/resources/game-idea-generator
• Ship Mixer, create ships that perfectly fit the shmup style:  https://kenney.itch.io/ship-mixer (License see link)
• Creature Mixer, create characters that perfectly fit the platformer style:  https://kenney.itch.io/creature-mixer (License see link)
• Some amazing free CC0 low poly places/characters/props: https://elbolilloduro.itch.io/
• Texture tool:  https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker
• Collection of low poly stuff: https://github.com/Miziziziz/Retro3DGraphicsCollection
• Inkscape: a free and open source vector graphics creation tool. https://inkscape.org/
• LibreSprite: LibreSprite is an open source version of AseSprite. https://libresprite.github.io/#!/
• Pixel Art Sprite Mixer. It has 100 Pixel Art Top-Down Animations, attack anims, weapons, swimming, teleporting, energy charging, jumps and ninja runs + more. Also has over 400 Items/Armors.  I made it to help beginners, indies devs & game jammers. https://kingbell.itch.io/pixel-sprite-mixer
• GDD Wizard is a browser-based tool built for jam teams to plan, organize, and finish stronger. Try it out here: https://studio-erza.itch.io/gdd-wizard
• Procedural music generator: https://pernyblom.github.io/abundant-music/, CC0 licence and https://musical-artifacts.com/ has lots of publicly licensed sound fonts for rendering the midi files that abundant music generates.

Feel free to ask questions about the jam here..!

🚨 Newsflash! Minor Deadline Extension 🚨

We've decided to extend the game jam deadline a little bit by an extra 2 hours! This gives you all some additional time for last-minute polish, final touches, and ensures everyone can submit their game without too much deadline stress.

Please upload early! We strongly recommend trying to upload your game at least a few hours before the deadline. This will help you avoid any last-minute network problems and give you time to verify that your game is playable for other participants.

⏰ New FINAL Development & Submission Deadline: Tuesday, 3 November 2026 15:00 CET

🔧 2-Hour Technical Grace Period

After the submission deadline, there will be an additional 2-hour Technical Grace Period before we lock the uploaded game files.

This gives participants who submitted their game before the deadline a little extra time to fix technical problems discovered around the deadline, such as:

• accidentally uploading the wrong build
• missing files
• a build that does not start
• upload/network problems
• game-breaking build or export issues

Important: The submission deadline is still the final deadline for entering the jam. Your game must be submitted to the jam before that time. If you have not submitted your game before the deadline, the Technical Grace Period does not apply and you can no longer enter the jam.

⏰ Technical Grace Period ends: Tuesday, 3 November 2026 17:00 CET

After that time, game files will be locked and can no longer be edited until the voting period has ended.

📅 Important: The 2-hour extension and the 2-hour Technical Grace Period are absolute and final! 😈 No further extensions will be granted.

You can still edit your project page, including the description, background, colors and screenshots.

Please do not delete your uploaded game files after they have been locked! If you delete them, participants will no longer be able to play your game and you will not be able to upload a replacement until uploads are opened again after voting.

After the deadline the voting period starts:

• Note: In our game jams, voting is restricted to submitters only. This decision was made after some teams in previous jams downvoted all competing entries. Team members are still welcome and encouraged to leave comments of course.
• Please wait until the Technical Grace Period has ended before seriously playing and rating entries, as some participants may still need to replace a broken or incorrect build during those two hours.
• We also have our special Feedback Award + prize: Awarded to the participant who provides the most helpful, constructive, and insightful feedback on others' games. This category values those who go above and beyond with thoughtful comments, tips, and encouragement to help fellow developers improve their games. This choice is not based on any scientific calculations or exact scoring. Instead, we select from a group of participants who, in our opinion, provide thoughtful and constructive feedback. From that group, we draw a name as the award recipient.

Make these extra hours count!

Good luck and happy jamming! 🎮

🚀 GoedWare Game Jam Halloween Edition Part III has officially begun and you can still join us! 3 dev days left!

🎃 Theme: IT ONLY COMES OUT AT NIGHT

🎮 225+ developers have already joined and there’s still plenty of time to jump in and make a game!

Yes, you can use assets you've purchased from Fab in your game jam entry.

🚀 GoedWare Game Jam Halloween Edition Part III has officially begun!

🎃 Theme: IT ONLY COMES OUT AT NIGHT

🎮 225+ developers have already joined and there’s still plenty of time to jump in and make a game!

🎬 Watch the Theme Reveal:

🎃👻 The spooky season is almost here! 👻🎃

Only 1 day to go until the GoedWare Game Jam Halloween Edition Part III!🕸️🕹️

From October 30th to November 3rd, 2026, the jam returns for 4 days of spooky creativity, strange ideas, creepy experiments, teamwork and, most importantly, fun! 🧛‍♂️🦇

🎃 Join Now: GoedWare Game Jam Halloween (Part 3) @ itch.io (175+ already did)
📣  Theme: The theme will be revealed at the start of the jam 

Get ready to Conjure | Creep | Captivate 👻 

🎃👻 The spooky season is almost here! 👻🎃

Only 2 days to go until the GoedWare Game Jam Halloween Edition Part III!🕸️🕹️

From October 30th to November 3rd, 2026, the jam returns for 4 days of spooky creativity, strange ideas, creepy experiments, teamwork and, most importantly, fun! 🧛‍♂️🦇

🎃 Join Now: GoedWare Game Jam Halloween (Part 3) @ itch.io 
📣  Theme: The theme will be revealed at the start of the jam 

Get ready to Conjure | Creep | Captivate 👻 

🎃👻 The spooky season is almost here! 👻🎃

Only 1 week to go until the GoedWare Game Jam Halloween Edition Part III!🕸️🕹️

From October 30th to November 3rd, 2026, the jam returns for 4 days of spooky creativity, strange ideas, creepy experiments, teamwork and, most importantly, fun! 🧛‍♂️🦇

🎃 Join Now: GoedWare Game Jam Halloween (Part 3) @ itch.io 
📣  Theme: The theme will be revealed at the start of the jam 

Get ready to Conjure | Creep | Captivate 👻 

We also noticed it unfortunately and are working on it:

Update on the Game Jam #17 Public Results

We've noticed some unusual voting patterns and suspect possible vote manipulation in the public rankings. We've contacted itch.io Support and decided to wait one week before officially confirming the public rankings, giving them time to investigate. Unfortunately, as jam organizers, we have very limited tools on itch.io to investigate voting activity ourselves. We hope you understand and appreciate your patience. We're sorry for the delay, but we want to make sure the results are as fair as possible for everyone! Thank you all for your understanding and for being part of GoedWare Game Jam #17

We hope itch.io does reply and quickly but they do not always do that. If not we will try to find another solution to this matter that will be the most fair as possible.

Thank you so much for the kind words! 😊 Really happy to hear you enjoyed the game and its atmosphere!

And no worries! As the jam host and a jury member, I make sure to play and rate every single submission. Between playing all the games, reading devlogs and keeping the jam running smoothly, it's unfortunately difficult to leave detailed feedback on every game as well 😅. But playing and rating them all is something I definitely do!

Thank you! 😊 Really appreciate the kind words and thanks for taking the time to play!

Thank you so much for playing and for the detailed feedback! 😊

I really appreciate it and I’m also really happy with it because there are some very useful tips and constructive points in there that I can definitely take with me.

Really cool to hear that the game feels cinematic and gives you that big space opera feeling! 🚀 That was definitely part of the intention, but you never really know how it will come across to someone actually playing it, so I’m very glad that worked.

And thanks for the compliments on the UI as well! That was a pretty important part of the prototype and of the gameplay that’s currently in the game, sso it’s great to hear that it worked well for you. The extra feedback on buttons and selections is a very good point too and definitely something I’ll keep in mind.

And yes, you are completely right about the tutorial 😅 It was actually quite high on my list at first, but as is often the case with game jams... too many ideas and not enough time. Especially while also organizing the jam at the same time 😄

The tutorial slowly got pushed down the list in favor of other features that seemed fun to add. Classic feature creep... one of those very well-known game jam traps and I definitely fell into it this time (again) 😅

So you are absolutely right that a more complete version of the game would need a proper introduction and tutorial to explain how everything works together. There are some tooltips and labels in the current version that explain things like what to drag where and what certain actions do and stats of the pilots, but that is obviously not the best way to teach the player the whole game.

The balancing is also still pretty rough, again mostly because of time management, and I think that probably makes some of the systems and their effects less clear as well.

Hopefully, despite the confusing start, you were still able to enjoy it a bit and have some fun with it!? 😊

I’ll definitely count this as a +1 for making a bigger version in the future, with this feedback properly worked into it of course! 😄🚀

Thanks again for playing, for the kind words and especially for the useful suggestions on how to make it better! 💪

Thank you for playing and for taking the time to leave such detailed feedback! 😊 There is always something useful I can take from comments like this.

I'm really glad the theme worked for you and that the commander approach came across well. The original Wing Commander games were definitely one of the inspirations, but I wanted to look at that kind of setting from the other side of the cockpit and put you in charge of the pilots instead. 

It's also great to hear that you enjoyed the overall experience. I spent quite a bit of time trying to get the space atmosphere, audio and presentation to work together, so I'm happy that came across. And especially that losing pilots actually feels meaningful. Even in a small prototype, I really wanted the player to care about the decisions they make and the consequences afterwards.

And you're absolutely right about the balance and the amount of tactical control at the moment. I would have loved to add more missions, more variety and more ways for the player to influence what happens during them. But you know how game jams go... so many ideas, so little time! 😅

Those are definitely things I would want to expand if I turn this into a bigger game. I'll put another +1 next to that idea now that someone else wants to see it too... maybe I really do need to make proper work of it! 👀🔥

Thanks again for playing, for the kind words and especially for the useful suggestions. And of course, enjoy the rest of the jam! 😊🎮

Thanks for playing and for the kind feedback! 😊
Really happy to hear you enjoyed the game, the art and audio and the mechanics with the people, ships, and decisions. Thanks again! 🚀🎮

Thank you! 😊 Glad you enjoyed it!

I actually had quite a few more ideas I wanted to add, but as usual with game jams, time management was chasing me all the way to the finish line 😅🏃‍♂️💨

Still, I’m really happy with how it came together, so it’s great to hear it already feels like a real game!

Thanks for bringing this up. I can definitely understand why seeing 12 ratings but only 4 recorded downloads would raise questions, and it's good that you reported it!

Unfortunately, as jam organizers we have fairly limited analytics available to us. We cannot see the individual scores people give to games, and we also don't get detailed voting data that would let us inspect a participant's overall rating behavior. So we can't directly check whether someone is, for example, systematically giving very low ratings to other entries.

The download number doesn't necessarily give us the complete picture either. itch.io's statistics may not always update immediately or reflect every possible way someone accessed a game, and itch.io also doesn't require someone to download or launch a game before they can submit a rating. So while the difference between 4 downloads and 12 ratings is certainly worth noticing, we don't yet know what caused it.

We do take possible voting manipulation seriously. Unfortunately, in previous jams we have had cases where people tried to influence the public results by giving very low ratings to competing games. That's one of the reasons voting in our jams is now limited to people who actually submitted a game.

We'll keep an eye on the voting. If anyone else notices something unusual with their ratings or statistics, please let us know as well. Multiple reports or similar patterns can give us a much better indication that something may need investigating.

If we see enough reason for concern, we can also contact itch.io and ask them to review the voting activity, as they have access to information that we as organizers cannot see. If we do need their help, we may also have to give them some time to respond and investigate it.

This is also one of the reasons we've made the Jury Ranking a much bigger part of the jam, with significantly larger prizes. Public voting is still an important part of the jam, but unfortunately there have been attempts in the past to influence public results. The jury ranking gives us a separate evaluation where the games are played and evaluated by the jury itself.

We also have the Feedback Award specifically to encourage people to actually play games and leave genuine, useful feedback. For us, that kind of participation is much more valuable than simply clicking through entries and leaving ratings without meaningful engagement, which is very much in line with the point you made as well.

So we do take concerns like this seriously and we’ll keep a close eye on the voting and on any similar reports that come in.

Thanks again for reporting it! 🙂

Bonus Prizes from Our Supporting Sponsors

In addition to the main prizes sponsored by GoedWare, we also have bonus prizes generously provided by our supporting sponsors. These sponsors help make the jam even more exciting by offering extra rewards for the participants! 

A big thank you to all our supporting sponsors for contributing these additional prizes and helping make this event even better!

Current Supporting Sponsors: 

CraftPix.net is an online store and resource specializing in providing high-quality premium and free 2D game assets for game developers, indie studios, and hobbyists.

CraftPix.net will sponsor the following prizes for the top 3 in the public & jury ranking:

• 1-year Craftpix Membership

__________________________________________

1BITDRAGON is an easy-to-use music creation tool for indie and solo game developers who want to create their own game music without requiring much musical knowledge.

1BITDRAGON will sponsor the following prizes for the top 3 in both the public & jury ranking:

• 1BITDRAGON Steam key

__________________________________________

In addition to the main prizes sponsored by GoedWare, we also have bonus prizes generously provided by our supporting sponsors. These sponsors help make the jam even more exciting by offering extra rewards for the participants! 

CraftPix.net is an online store and resource specializing in providing high-quality premium and free 2D game assets for game developers, indie studios, and hobbyists.

__________________________________________

1BITDRAGON is an easy-to-use music creation tool for indie and solo game developers who want to create their own game music without requiring much musical knowledge.

__________________________________________

Thanks a lot for playing and for the nice words! 😊 It is great to hear that the tension during the dogfights came across well. That was definitely the intention. You have some influence, but at the same time you also have to watch and hope your pilots can handle things, a bit like a real carrier commander. 

And yes, I agree about the choices. I would have liked to balance them better and add more meaningful options, but time management during a game jam is an enemy I think most game developers know all too well 😅

I also really appreciate the detailed feedback. It is always useful to hear which parts worked well and where there was still room for improvement.

Thanks again for playing. I am really glad you found it both fun and tense, because that was what I was aiming for! 🙌

Thank you! Really happy you enjoyed it and I appreciate you taking the time to play and leave a comment! 😊

Thank you for the kind words! 😊

I actually wanted to do quite a bit more, but as often happens during a game jam, my time management caught up with me and I had to start cutting things and wrapping them up much faster than planned.

I would have loved to add more varied missions, options and meaningful choices, but that just wasn’t realistic within 10 days. So I’m really happy it still made such a good impression! 😄

Thanks again😊!

I’d still love to turn this into a bigger project someday, especially if it turns out to be something more people would enjoy too. Wing Commander was one of my all-time favourites and managing the carrier, pilots and missions instead of doing the dogfighting yourself really appeals to me and feels like something a bit different.

That said, I’d also absolutely love to play a proper Wing Commander-style game with modern graphics and gameplay. 😄

And thanks for the kind words about the jam too! We really enjoy organizing it, and it’s great to see people having fun, learning things and actually finishing and submitting a game.

I’m really glad you’ve had a good time and I hope you enjoy the next few days of the rating period too, discover some great games, and get plenty of useful feedback on your own! 💚

Thank you again for the kind and positive words! I’m really glad the game made an impression. And yes... the asset packs definitely didn’t come with everything I needed. 😄

It’s also really cool to hear that you’ve been thinking about a similar indirect-control mechanic yourself. I’d definitely encourage you to try something with it! It creates a very different kind of decision-making compared to direct real-time control, and there’s a lot of interesting potential there.

Thanks again for taking the time to play and share such thoughtful feedback. Really appreciated! 💚

🎃 GOEDWARE GAME JAM HALLOWEEN EDITON (Part 3) 🎃 

Ready to create something spooky?

Join us for the Halloween Edition (Part 3) of the GoedWare Game Jam, starting October 30th, 2026! Whether you’re a solo dev or part of a team, this is your chance to craft a chilling, creative game and share it with a fun community of game makers.

Tagline: Conjure| Creep | Captivate 😈

Over the course of 96 thrilling hours, you’ll:

• 🎃 Embrace the Theme – The secret theme will be revealed at the start to spark your creativity.
• 👻 Collaborate & Connect – Join our Discord to meet fellow devs, get feedback, or find a team.
• 🔮 Showcase Your Work – Submit your game and compete in public voting and jury rankings.
• 🪄 Level Up – Experiment, learn new skills, and push your creativity under time pressure.

📅 Save the Dates:

• Jam Duration: October 30th - November 3rd, 2026
• Theme Reveal: October 30th 11:00 AM (CET)

🔗 Join the Challenge: GoedWare Game Jam Halloween Edition (Part 3) @ itch.io
🌐 Connect with Us on Discord: GoedWare's Hub

Connect with like-minded creators, share your progress, and bring your spooky game ideas to life!

🎃 Create, compete, and celebrate Halloween with GoedWare Game Jam Halloween Edition (Part 3)! ✨

Q: What is the theme for this jam?
A: The theme will be announced on the jam page and on Discord when the jam begins.

Q: Do I need to combine the announced theme with Halloween?
A: Since this is our special Halloween Edition, we'd love everyone to incorporate both the announced theme and a touch of Halloween into their game. You can focus primarily on the announced theme, but we'd like to see some recognizable connection to Halloween as well. It doesn't have to dominate your game or rely on traditional Halloween clichés.
Remember that Halloween / Theme is one of our judging categories!

Q: Is horror required for this Halloween Jam?
A: No, absolutely not! Your game can be horror, but it can also be funny, thrilling, mysterious, magical, cozy, or a mix of different styles! Halloween is much broader than just horror. Think spooky atmospheres, mysterious settings, folklore, trick-or-treating, playful monsters, or even a charming adventure with a Halloween twist. 
You don't need traditional Halloween elements like ghosts, pumpkins, or monsters either. Feel free to interpret Halloween creatively! 🎃

Q: Who can vote?
A: In our game jams, voting is restricted to submitters only. Voting is restricted to participants who submitted a game to the jam. This decision was made after some teams in previous jams downvoted all competing entries. Team members are still welcome and encouraged to leave comments of course.

Q: Who can participate?
A: Anyone! All experience levels are welcome, and you can work solo or in a team (recommended max 4 members).

Q: Can I participate in multiple teams?
A: Yes, you can help multiple teams with specific contributions, such as music, sound effects, or artwork, as long as you're properly credited. However, you can only be the official submitter for one game. You may not vote on any game you've contributed to, to keep things fair for everyone!

Q: Can I use any game engine?
A: Yes! You can use any engine or framework, such as Unity, Godot, Unreal, GameMaker, etc. Just ensure your game fits the jam’s rules and theme.

Q: Can I submit multiple games?
A: No. For this Halloween Jam, each participant or team may submit one entry. Because this jam runs across one weekend, we want participants to focus on making one small, finished game and on playing and giving useful feedback to others.

Q: Are AI tools allowed?
A: Yes. You may use AI tools to assist with coding and asset creation, such as art, music, or sound effects. However, you should remain meaningfully involved and in control of the development of your game. You should still be making the important creative, design, and development decisions, while actively directing, reviewing, testing, and shaping the results.

AI-generated content should be used thoughtfully and ethically, and must respect copyright and licensing rules. AI should help you realize your game, not effectively decide or create the game for you.

Please also be transparent about your AI use. Use itch.io's AI disclosure options where applicable, briefly mention how AI was used on your project page, and answer any AI-related questions in the submission form honestly.

Q: What about music, fonts, and assets?
A: You can use royalty-free music and audio assets you own, with proper credits and licenses. Make sure all assets adhere to copyright and licensing rules. You may use assets you already own, such as those from the Unity Asset Store or Unreal Marketplace. Ensure that all assets are properly licensed and that you have permission to use them. Avoid infringing on copyrights or trademarks.

Assets purchased from established asset stores, such as the Unity Asset Store or Unreal Marketplace, usually include a license that allows them to be used in games. However, you are still responsible for checking the license of the specific asset and making sure your use complies with its terms.

Q: Can I edit my game files after the deadline?
A: No. Game file edits and uploads are locked after the deadline. You can still update your project page with text, screenshots, images, instructions, and other additional information.

Q: Does my game have to be a certain format?
A: No. Browser builds are recommended if you want more players and ratings, because many people prefer not to download files during a jam. Downloadable builds are also allowed. If possible, at least make sure a Windows version is available.

Q: Can I submit a game that I already started on?
A: No. Your submitted game should be made during the jam period. You may use existing tools, templates, assets, plugins, snippets, workflows or libraries if you have the right license and credit them where needed, but the actual submitted game should be created during the jam.

Q: What are the rating categories?
A: Games will be rated on Gameplay / Fun / Engagement, Art Style / Visuals, Audio / Sound Design, and Halloween / Theme, with a special Feedback jury category for participants who provide thoughtful feedback on others’ games.

Q: How many ratings do I need to be eligible for prizes?
A: Each game currently needs at least 10 ratings to qualify for prizes. Playing, commenting and rating other games will help increase your own game's visibility and chances of receiving ratings. The minimum rating requirement may be adjusted based on the number of participants and submissions.

Q: How does the judging work?
A: In addition to community ratings, a jury panel will review games to award their favorite entries. The Feedback Award is selected manually and is awarded to the participant who gives the most helpful, detailed and constructive feedback on other entries.

Q: Is there a place to connect with other participants?
A: Yes! Join our Discord Server to chat, brainstorm, and share ideas with the community.

Q: Can I submit my game to other jams? 
A: No. Games submitted to this Halloween Jam may not be submitted to other game jams during the same jam period.

Q: What if I have more questions?
A: Feel free to reach out in the Discord, and we’ll be happy to help!

We’re always open to collaborations and would love to hear from you!

If you'd like to support our Game Jam, whether by providing a prize, sponsoring a specific category, or contributing in another creative way, we’d be happy to discuss the possibilities.

Sponsoring the jam is also a great opportunity to showcase your brand, project, product, or company to an active community of game developers, artists, designers, and game enthusiasts.

Interested? Simply leave a message below or join our Discord server and send GoedWare a DM. We’ll get back to you and explore how we can make your contribution a great fit for the event.

Let’s make something awesome together! 🎮✨

No, horror is not required for this Halloween Jam.

Your game can be horror, but it can also be funny, thrilling, or a mix of horror and comedy. Just make sure it connects in some way with the theme/Halloween!

Feel free to ask questions about the jam here..!

Use this topic to find team members for the Game Jam or go to our discord channel:  https://discord.gg/PNMKywspdb 

@ Discord there is also a collaboration channel to look for other participants to try to find and form a team.

Post here some handy links to free game development resources for your fellow Game Jam participants.

Some resources to help you started:

• Blender, for 3D  models and can also do 2D and/or sculpting: https://www.blender.org
• Kenny Assets: https://kenney.nl/assets | License: CC0 1.0 Universal
• CraftPix.net,  free 2D game assets for arcade, strategy, platformer, RPG and many other game types: https://craftpix.net/freebies/
• Freesound.org: https://freesound.org | License: https://freesound.org/help/faq/#wait-this-is-all-free
• 8bit Sound Generator: https://www.bfxr.net/ | License: You have full rights to all sounds made with bfxr, and are free to use them for any purposes, commercial or otherwise.
• Color Scheme Generator: http://colormind.io/
• Color Scheme Designer: https://paletton.com/
• Open Game Art: https://opengameart.org | License: https://opengameart.org/content/faq#q-how-to-credit
• Piskel,  a free online editor for animated sprites & pixel art:  https://www.piskelapp.com/
• Mixamo, animations: https://www.mixamo.com/
• Tree It, free tree creation tool: http://www.evolved-software.com/treeit/treeit 
• WOWIE Asset Pack (by Jonas Tyroller): https://jonas-tyroller.itch.io/wowie-pack
• LabChirp, a powerful and versatile sound effect generator: https://labbed.itch.io/labchirp
• Kay Lousberg free Game Assets: https://kaylousberg.com/game-assets
• ChipTone, a free tool for generating sound effect: https://sfbgames.itch.io/chiptone | License: All sounds created using ChipTone are free to use for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, under the CC0 licence. 
• Beepbox, BeepBox is an online tool for sketching and sharing instrumental music: https://www.beepbox.co
• Material maker, for procedural materials: https://rodzilla.itch.io/material-maker
• Audacity for editing audio: https://www.audacityteam.org
• Game idea generator, for if you're completely stuck on an idea: http://ygd.bafta.org/resources/game-idea-generator
• Ship Mixer, create ships that perfectly fit the shmup style:  https://kenney.itch.io/ship-mixer (License see link)
• Creature Mixer, create characters that perfectly fit the platformer style:  https://kenney.itch.io/creature-mixer (License see link)
• Some amazing free CC0 low poly places/characters/props: https://elbolilloduro.itch.io/
• Texture tool:  https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker
• Collection of low poly stuff: https://github.com/Miziziziz/Retro3DGraphicsCollection
• Inkscape: a free and open source vector graphics creation tool. https://inkscape.org/
• LibreSprite: LibreSprite is an open source version of AseSprite. https://libresprite.github.io/#!/
• Pixel Art Sprite Mixer. It has 100 Pixel Art Top-Down Animations, attack anims, weapons, swimming, teleporting, energy charging, jumps and ninja runs + more. Also has over 400 Items/Armors.  I made it to help beginners, indies devs & game jammers. https://kingbell.itch.io/pixel-sprite-mixer
• GDD Wizard is a browser-based tool built for jam teams to plan, organize, and finish stronger. Try it out here: https://studio-erza.itch.io/gdd-wizard
• Procedural music generator: https://pernyblom.github.io/abundant-music/, CC0 licence and https://musical-artifacts.com/ has lots of publicly licensed sound fonts for rendering the midi files that abundant music generates.