Backrooms Game Jam
Explore the Endless Abyss in the Backrooms Game Jam!
Calling all adventurous game developers and creators! Are you ready to dive into the unknown and bring the spine-chilling mystery of the Backrooms to life? Join us for an exhilarating game jam hosted in collaboration with the Game Maker software!
Embark on a thrilling journey through the vast and labyrinthine depths of the Backrooms. This immersive game jam challenges you to craft engaging experiences that captivate players, transporting them into a realm of eerie corridors, flickering lights, and hidden dangers lurking around every corner.
Mark your calendars, gather your courage, and join us for the Backrooms Game Jam powered by The Sandbox’s Game Maker software. Unearth the untold stories of the Backrooms and let your creativity shine!
🏆Rewards
50,000 SAND will be split amongst the top entries the following ways:
- 1st place: 10,000 SAND + Backrooms assets bundle.
- 2nd place: 6,000 SAND + Backrooms assets bundle..
- 3rd place: 3,500 SAND + Backrooms assets bundle..
- 4th to 10th place: 1,500 SAND each.
- Best Newcomer (best new game jam participant. Must be KYC to verify that this is their first time participating): 1,000 $SAND.
- Rising Star (one or more participants who have shown great creator growth over the course of 1 or more previous game jams): 1,000 $SAND.
- Honorable Mentions (games specially picked by the judges outside of the Top 10): 1,000 $SAND.
Up to 10 winners may be picked between the Best Newcomer, Rising Star, and Honorable Mentions categories as the judges see fit.
By submitting your entry, you accept to be contacted by a Game Maker Fund representative. Placing in the Top 10 awards contestants with the potential to be onboarded to the Game Maker Fund.
📅Important Dates
- The Game Jam begins on June 19th, 2023.
- The deadline to complete and submit your entry is July 2nd, at 3pm UTC.
- Submissions gathering and voting will take place from July 3rd till July 28th, 2023
- The results will be announced on July 29th, 2023.
💯Judging Criteria
The entries are judged on a 24 points scale divided into the following categories:
- Overall Creative Idea — (5 Points)
→ Is the idea unique and engaging? - Level Design — (5 Points)
→ Is it easy to find its way inside the game?
→ Is the terraforming visually appealing / coherent with the game?
→ Is the progression curve challenging? - Game Design — (5 Points)
→ Does the game have interesting mechanics?
→ Is the logic well-designed so it’s fun to play? - Playability — (5 Points)
→ Does the game work properly from start to end?
→ Does the player experience bugs? - Bonus Points: Wow Factor — (Up to 2 Points Extra)
→ Outstanding assets and artistic direction.
→ Unique features.
→ Outstanding atmosphere / immersion. - Bonus Points: Vision— (Up to 2 Points Extra)
→ Is your vision from your moodboard using Scenario well thought out and captivating?
💡Moodboard and using Scenario’s AI Generator
Share your moodboard and get extra points!
Fill out this template and showcase a moodboard of your experience using the image generation AI Scenario. Please note that the outputs showcased in your moodboard need to be in voxel.
You will be able to upload it in the submission form, it will bring you extra points.
Moodboard template: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XBctWn32oI6_lu82Q8tW1O3K0SrpqCPF/edit#slide=id.p1
- Up to 2 extra points (part of the Vision criteria).
How to use Scenario’s AI Generator
You can access Scenario through our Discord server to boost your productivity. To access these channels, you will first need to assign yourself a role in the *✨｜personalise* channel, select the Scenario Game Jam Participant one and you will be able to see the category appear with the Scenario channels.
To generate a design you need to start a prompt. Each prompt must include the word “voxel”. There are five different channels for five different types of prompts that you can generate: plants, vehicles, props, NPCs and buildings.
Here are some documentations on how to use Scenario’s Discord Bot:
To learn more about The Sandbox and Scenario partnership go here.
Why using AI Scenario?
Scenario is a powerful AI-driven tool providing game designers with a plethora of benefits that boost their creative potential. Here is why you should use it:
- Save time: Scenario eliminates the tedious and time-consuming process of manually creating moodboards. Traditionally, game designers had to scour the internet, magazines, and various sources for visual references, trying to capture the desired atmosphere and aesthetic of their game. With Scenario, however, game makers can simply input a few keywords AI generates comprehensive designs instantaneously. This saves a tremendous amount of time and effort, allowing designers to focus their energy on refining their ideas.
- Boost inspiration: Scenario introduces game makers to an extensive collection of diverse and inspiring visuals. The AI has been trained on a vast array of artistic styles, genres, and historical references, enabling it to generate moodboards that cover a broad spectrum of moods, atmospheres, and visual aesthetics. This vast database of imagery serves as a boundless source of inspiration, sparking new ideas and pushing designers to think outside the box.
- Iterative design process: As game makers iterate on their ideas, the AI can generate multiple moodboards with different themes or elements, allowing designers to compare and contrast various visual directions.
🖌️Tutorials at Your Disposal
Don’t worry if you’re new to game development or unsure where to begin. The Backrooms Game Jam provides you with an array of handy tutorials to kick-start your creative journey. These ressources will guide you through the game-making process, helping you refine your skills and create an unforgettable Backrooms experience.
Tutorial videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_AqeWVYruhp8tBYPZN10Pm1b1sVLAHh-
A game example has been added on the Game Maker gallery to give you some inspiration. The name of the game is “Backrooms by Game Lab".
✅ Submitting Your Entry
We will be using the Game Maker “Gallery” feature as a form for submissions.
You MUST also submit your game to the following form link: https://forms.gle/Mj2jh54xBVEy8GhT8
WARNING! If you submit your entry to the Game Jam gallery but do not submit it to the form linked above (or vice versa), your entry will not be eligible!
Slow down — check everything! Take the time to read the submission form and the requirements before submitting your entry. Feel free to check the Game Maker and the VoxEdit Academies to make the best out of both tools.
The goal is to submit a qualitative experience, rather than rushing and submitting a half-finished one.😉
⚠️Important Entry Guidelines
- Your entry must be designed in the Game Maker software.
- Your entry must be made on the GM 0.8.3 version.
- Your entry can include assets you’ve created yourself.
- Your entry must have some playability (quests, missions you name it).
- Your entry must be unique and not a direct copy of any existing experiences (similarities are fine, exact copies are not!).
- Spamming the gallery with a number of low quality experiences just to try and fit into the 4th-10th places may result in all your entries being disqualified.
- You must upload an uncut and unedited video of a full playthrough of your game to the submission form. The video must be showing at least 5 minutes of gameplay.
- Once submitted, it is not permitted to update your entry before the final results are out.
- Do NOT use copyrighted characters, names, people, logos and other copyrighted material in your Game Jam entries.
- You may take inspiration from an IP’s brand, work, and values.
- Not completing the submission steps correctly (see below) may result in your entry being ineligible.
- The judging will be done by The Sandbox’s staff and in collaboration with The Council.
What makes an entry valid?
- Game length should be at least 5 minutes (excluding timed, collection quests).
- Use at least 25 unique assets.
- Follow the storyline/theme.
- Experience must be created after the start date (any experiences built for previous game jams cannot be used).
- The Sandbox staff members have the right to remove any entry as they see fit.
❓Game Jam FAQ
Who can join the Game Jam?
Anyone who is eligible to create an account at The Sandbox can enter the Game Jam.
Can I use other people’s assets?
No, you cannot use assets that you haven’t created or purchased. Using assets created by another user without permission will result in your experience being disqualified. Default assets created by “TSB-Account-1” and “SandboxGame” are free to use.
Are teams or studios allowed?
Yes! You are welcome to work independently or as a team/studio of no more than 4 members per team.
Where can I get the Game Maker and/or VoxEdit from?
Here are the official links:
Where can I find guides for the Game Maker and VoxEdit software?
Check out the tutorials page on The Sandbox’s official knowledge base here. It’s super effective, if you are a beginner!
You can also join our Discord community, where creators often share tips with each other and post their own tutorials. You can also share your entry with the community for feedback, if you wish.
