On the 23rd of October, the organisers of the Dream Disc ‘24 Game Jam revealed their forthcoming event to the world, and, in the days that have since passed, their announcement has produced quite a buzz, not only within our niche scene, but across the wider gaming world too.
For some, the title of this hotly anticipated 'jam' may be confusing though, so let me break it down in lay terms. A game jam is a time-restricted event at which developers of various kinds will conceptualise and begin creating games. Much like a musical jam, the idea is that people with complementary skills will band together, sometimes with total strangers, and experiment in an open-minded environment. The hope is that the focused attention these conditions produce will result in some innovative results. Alas, it’s always a possibility that some of the outputs will be hideous abominations, but the learning and networking experience can be useful in and of itself nonetheless.
In the case of the Dream Disc’ 24 Game Jam, developers are being encouraged to congregate online around itch.io and the Simulant Discord between Friday 20 December and Friday 3 January to “collaborate, build, tinker and show off” their projects. That being said, projects that were begun prior to these dates can be submitted, and entrants are welcome to drop by and introduce themselves whenever they may wish. In another wise move from the organisers, it’s also the case that, in addition to games, software utilities and even hardware can be accommodated for too.
So, that clears up the sticky issue of what ‘jam’ means. What about the ‘Dream Disc ‘24’ part? Well, thanks to one of the event’s main sponsors, Orc Face Games, the top ten entries (as judged by public vote and expert panel) shall subsequently be featured on a physical CD-ROM to be made available to the public for the cost of shipping alone. If that wasn’t enough incentive, there is also a cash prize pool to be shared by the top three entrants. This currently stands at close to $900 USD, and in a peculiar twist of fate has been buoyed by advertising income that had been set aside for a contest to be hosted by the website DCEmu 15 years ago that never materialised. Those funds are now finally being put to good use thanks to one of the administrators of that OG website, darksaviour, digging them out all these years later. Of course, the pot is likely to grow further too as news spreads and additional donations are received.