Arcade Jam FAQ

The event’s coming up! Have you registered yet? If not, do it now! Not sure if you’re coming? See if the Frequently Asked Questions listed below answers any of the questions you have. We have a generic FAQ link listed in the sidebar, but the Arcade Jam has a few quirks that we want to make sure everyone is aware of, so please check this FAQ if you have any questions.

What’s an Arcade Game?
An arcade game is a type of videogame that was very popular in the 80s and 90s, but have since become kind of a niche. They were large cabinets with an 8-direction joystick and just a few buttons that would let you play for just a few minutes on a “credit” and frequently allowed for one or two players. These are also the constraints that will apply to the games made at this event. We want to encourage players to have short play-sessions and try a wide variety of games. It’s the perfect kind of game to make over a weekend!

Do I have to make an Arcade Game?
Nope! But if you don’t make an Arcade game, or if your game isn’t content appropriate (see below), your game might not make it into the cabinet. If you make a board game it won’t make it into the cabinet either, but don’t take that to mean you can’t do it. We just want people making games!

Will there be a theme?
Yes! It’s a theme that should provide a lot of opportunities for inspiration while hopefully being versatile enough to allow your team to make whatever type of game they want.

Is this an on-site Game Jam or a ScatterJam?
It’s primarily an on-site jam, but the site won’t be open for the entire 48 hours. On-site check-ins begin at the Science Center at 5:00 PM on Friday, September 28th. The kickoff will start at 6:00 PM and we will announce the theme at the end of the kickoff. Jamming will take place on-site at the Science Center from 7:00 PM- 10:00 PM on Friday, 10:00 AM-10:00 PM on Saturday, and 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM on Sunday with demos shortly after. If you’d like, you can always work off-site either the whole time or when the site is closed, but if you’re working with strangers make sure you work in public places.

Can I use any technology I want?
Anything that creates a full-screen Windows 10 executable is fair game. We’re planning on having sample projects in Unity 3D, Unreal Engine 4, GameMaker Studio 2, and other popular engines available closer to the kickoff that demonstrate the button mappings and other recommended constraints.

Will there be diversifiers?
We are planning on publishing a list of arcade-style diversifiers before kickoff, but it honestly depends on whether or not we run out of time doing other stuff.

Will I get a free T-shirt?
We don’t know yet, but we hope you don’t come just for the t-shirts, do you?

Can I make whatever I want?
You can make whatever you want, but there will be some restrictions on what you can show on the demo night (keep what you demo PG-13 or lower), and further restrictions on what will be allowed to go into the arcade machine itself (keep it PGish). We’ll have a more direct list of what’s allowed available at the kickoff, but I wouldn’t use this event as the place to make your “Mortal Kombat, but more blood and sex” game. The Science Center and the St. Louis Game Developer Co-op each reserve the right to reject any game that we don’t feel represents our city or community well or that might scandalize a kid.

What if I already have a game? Can I just submit that?
This doesn’t totally fit into the spirit of the Jam, but if you spent your time at the Jam to make a version that’s more Arcade-like that would probably be fine.

Do I have to pre-register?
PLEASE DO! It will make our lives much easier if we have a sense of the attendee count. (but no, you don’t have to). Here’s the link.

What if I have a question you didn’t cover?
Hit us up on twitter @stlgamedev or @stlgamejam, or contact us through the website http://stlgamedev.com/contact/

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