If you are under the age of 13, you will need your parent or legal guardian to create an itch.io account for you, create a game and upload a game and then submit to the jam.

You can participate solo or in a team, with a maximum of 5 members. You can submit more than one game.

Only one person needs to join itch.io and submit the game. However, if others on the team also join itch.io, they can be tagged as contributors. (On your game's itch page, pick "Edit", "More", "Admins", and follow the instructions).

Here is a short video on how you can add contributors to your game.

You need to upload your game to your Itch.io account page before you can submit it to the BYOG game jam page.

You may use any game engine, as long as you can export a file that can be uploaded to itch. We recommend Unity, Godot, and GameMaker.

You can support controllers and other peripherals, as long as keyboard or mouse also works. And you can upload builds for Mac, Linux, Android, etc, as long as you also have a Windows or browser version.

You should not require the user to download additional software from external sources. If your game requires additional files (like DLLs) they should be included in the download and not require separate installation.

In order to submit your game to Itch.io, your .zip file must be UNDER 1GB. This won't affect most projects, but please be mindful of the size of your game once compressed. If your file is more than 1GB, you may utilize the Butler tool to upload your files to Itch.io. More info on that is here. Also, check out Blendo Itch Uploader, a GUI for uploading projects to Itch.io.

You can have online features like multiplayer servers and leaderboards - but files hosted outside of itch.io must not be modified or updated during the jam period - with the only exception being to ensure compliance with itch.io rules (i.e. removing a rulebreaking leaderboard name).

You can use pre-existing code, libraries, and functions. And make use of generic code for things like menus or input. You can also create things like a blank Unity project, a Github page, or your itch.io profile in advance to save time.

You can use pre-existing sprites, textures, fonts, models, shaders, animations, sound effects, and music - including public domain assets, assets you have purchased, assets you have made yourself, or assets that are (legally-acceptable) derivative works of existing media.

You should credit all external art and audio in your game description.

The BYOG is open to anyone who wants to participate in it. The only caveat is that if you win and want to collect cash prizes (if any), you or anyone on your team will need a valid Indian bank account.

You need to have a valid Itch.io ID and should have signed up for the jam before the submission is due. Only one individual in the team needs to join the jam on Itch. However, it will be useful to have other members registered on Itch, as you can add them to your submitted game as contributors. 

All communication during the jam will be via the Discord channel #byog on Discord.gamedev.in. So yes, you need to be there. 

You can participate solo or in a team, with a maximum of 5 members.

Yes, you can submit as many entries to the jam as you want. 

We prefer Web, Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and Linux, as these will be readily available to the Jury. But if you want to build for any other platform, drop us a message on Discord, and we will see if we can arrange the same for the Jury. No promises though! 

Yes, you can use open-source art or previously created assets (art, music, code, etc.) for this jam or assets from asset stores. You can use anything you legally have the right to use to make a game for this jam.

While generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Midjourney) offer exciting possibilities, we cannot encourage their use during game jams at this time. Several ethical and data privacy concerns surround these technologies, including the use of datasets that may be in the grey area of ownership and fair use.

We understand the appeal of AI tools for rapid prototyping and asset generation. However, the spirit of a game jam is to challenge yourself, learn, and create within a specific timeframe. Relying heavily on AI-generated content can detract from this experience and potentially raise questions about originality and the true extent of your contribution.

We cannot provide individual guidance on what code or assets are permissible in your game submission. Ultimately, we trust you to uphold the spirit of the jam — "build a game in 72h" — as your guiding principle. This means focusing on your own creativity, problem-solving skills, and the joy of bringing your ideas to life within the given constraints.

Remember, game jams are not just about the finished product. They're about the journey, the learning process, and the community you build along the way. Embrace the challenge, push your boundaries, and have fun creating something unique!

You are required to share your Discord username along with your submission. We will reach out to you via #byog on discord.gamedev.in

We recommend joining the jam before it starts. But you can join the jam anytime before it ends on September 22, 2024, at 6:00 PM.

There will be no public voting this year.

It is your responsibility as a participant to ensure the submitted game is in a playable state and that the game page on Itch has all the required information for the Jury to play and test the game. We will automatically disqualify a game without any prior intimation if:

1. The submission doesn't have a playable build attached to it.
2. The attached build contains malware, spyware, crypto miners, or other malicious programs that harm a computer or a device.
3. The submission contains pornographic, tasteless, discriminatory, disrespectful, or hate speech content, either as text or media.
4. The submission is a duplicate or a copy of another submission.
5. The submission is an asset flip.
6. The submission breaks the rules of the jam.

The short answer is yes, but with some constraints. The BYOG will only accept print-and-play downloadable games as submissions. The reason for this restriction is primarily because our jury/voters are located across the world, and it is not possible for us (and unfair for us to ask you) to ship the games to them in the short judging duration. Going forward, we will be exploring more options on how to be more inclusive. We hope you get to jam with us and do fun stuff.

You can submit a mod, pnp game, ttrpg, etc., but it's your responsibility to make sure you can upload it to Itch and provide sufficient information about how to play. In the case of mods, you need to make sure that you can legally distribute the required assets. Remember that there is no guarantee that anyone will download, print, or buy a base copy of a game to play your game. And we can't guarantee that these entries will appear on our live streams.

• BYOG 2018 submissions and results  - https://itch.io/jam/byog-2018
• BYOG 2019 submissions and results  - https://itch.io/jam/byog-2019
• BYOG 2020 submissions and results  - https://itch.io/jam/byog-2020
• BYOG 2021 submissions and results  - https://itch.io/jam/byog-2021
• BYOG 2022 submissions and results  - https://itch.io/jam/byog-2022
• BYOG 2023 submissions and results  - https://itch.io/jam/byog-2023

Join the official Gamedev.in Discord and reach out to the organizers and mods in the #byog channel. We'll do our best to address your queries.

✨ TBD

Please find logos for BYOG and Gamedev India below, which you may wish to add to your project.

• BYOG
• Gamedev India

While we strive to maintain the integrity of the jam, it's impossible for us to individually verify the copyright and ownership of every asset in each submitted game. We do our best to identify and disqualify games that violate the rules, and we rely on the community to report any concerns.

More than simply policing submissions, we see this as an opportunity for open discussion about originality and what constitutes acceptable content in a game jam. Let's use this event to foster a constructive dialogue about these important issues.

• Anything you make during the BYOG is your property. BYOG claims no rights or ownership of your game.
• Any game submitted to BYOG may be used for promotional purposes by our sponsors and Gamedev India without your express permission.
• Ideally, it would be best if you created a significant portion of the game during the jam, but you can use whatever art, audio, or code assets you have the legal right to use.
• Not being an Indian citizen with an Indian Bank account will disqualify a participant from winning cash prizes at the jam.
• No explicitly pornographic, tasteless, discriminatory, or disrespectful content or hate speech is allowed.
• The jam organizers have the final say in any and all proceedings related to the BYOG.
• The rules of this game jam may be changed without any explicit notification to the participants.