Heya CloudNovelist!

The last Chocolate & Sweets Jam was a success! We really enjoyed the entries the CloudNovelist had submitted.

Therefore, we are back with another summer-themed jam called Unforgettable Summer Jam.

From the gentle sway of trees that bid such fond adieu. Songs in a summer breeze a voice so clear, so true.

The glory of such symmetry so more than fills the eye. To the beauty of such poetry this hopeful heart draws nigh

Summer comes yet again. This year, will I have an amazing adventure?

For this year, we have decided to extend the game period to 3 months instead of 1 month as we usually did. Details are as below:

Theme: Unforgettable moments in summer, Summer
Contest Period: June 1st, 2020 - August 31st, 2020.

Optional Prompts:

• I died but the grim reaper never visited me and here I was, wandering in this mortal world, watching over the living and befriending the dead. All I hope was I would not be forgotten as within their memories, I would live on. Then, summer came and it was my first summer I would experience as a wandering soul. What would I do this summer?
  
  
• People said first love was something unforgettable. I was skeptical about that but I never experienced a love so I was not sure but could it be this summer something would happen?
  
  
• Here I was again. Last summer, this scene had been haunting me. I thought it would be over if I could just forget it but today, it came back to me. This same exact scene, this murder scene, it was here again. Too bad, I was the only living witness of the crime and why would they leave me alive?

Something is changing...

There are several rule changes in this jam in comparison to previous jams which we would like to remind you about.

1. You are allowed to submit an existing and ongoing game BUT you have to make sure it is completed by the end of the jam for the entry to be considered valid.
2. Entries with a total word count LESS than 15,000 words needs to be completed by the end of the jam.
3. If you want to submit an ongoing entry, it needs to have MORE than 15,000 published words in total. However, you cannot submit an unfinished ongoing process. All images need to be in place and you must have animated the scene properly.
   
   
4. More rules and details can be found on the contest page.

FAQ

1. Can I start creating the asset before the jam begins?
   Yes. You may start drawing, writing, and preparing for the jams before it begins.
   
   
2. Can I create my project before the jam begins?
   If you want to be considered that your game exists before the jam begins and fall under its category, feel free to do so. 
   
   
3. I want to enter with an existing game but what happened if I completed it before the jam begins?
   Your entry will be considered invalid. You have to update at least once within the contest period for us to consider it valid.
   
   
4. Can I enter with a completed existing game?
   No. If you want to enter with an existing game, you have to make sure it is a demo or ongoing or in hiatus before the jam and finish the game within the contest period.
   
   
5. My script is below 15,000 words, can I still join the jam?
   YES! You just have to make sure your entry is completed by the end of the jam.
   
   
6. Does the word count requirement only count for one route/ending or the total words in the whole game?
   The requirement for the word counts applies to the whole game. You may see the total word count within the Settings of your project. Please be informed that we will only be referring to the published words as the total word count.
   
   
7. I plan to have over 15,000 words script but I will probably publish around 5,000 words only. Is it okay?
   Your choice but it will probably be invalid entries as it is not completed and under 5,000 words.
   
   
8. What is considered as [Completed]? Can I just slap [Completed] label on my entries and call it a quit?
   To prevent the abuse of using the Completed label on incomplete entries, the completed state will be judged accordingly to our staff. Its definition may vary depending on the progress of your entries but generally, as long as it has an ending, we will deem it as completed. However, we will also be judging how completed the ending is. An open ending is fine but it needs to be reasonable. It must have tied all loose knots the story has before we call it an open ending.
   
   
9. What if my story is finished with less than 15,000 words but I have not put any or only a few assets in my visual novel?
   Your entry will be considered incomplete thus will be eliminated from the final ranking. Even if you might have passed our first round of entries screening, please do note we still have the right to eliminate your entry if it ends up being an invalid entry.
   
   
10. I have published more than 15,000 words but I do not finish animating my assets. Will it be a valid entry considering it is eligible for ongoing work?
    No. You need to finish animating and programming for all those words you have published or it will be eliminated.
    
    
11. I want to enter with an existing game and it has over 15,000 words, will it still be a valid entry if it is incomplete by the end of the jam?
    No. An existing game needs to be completed by the end of the jam to ensure it is a valid entry.
    
    
12. How about dress up games? It does not have any words how can it be considered completed or incomplete?
    Dress up games will be considered as completed as long as you can make a fully clothed avatar with at least two variations of clothes, hair, and eyes.
    
    
13. I have more questions!
    Feel free to leave your question under this thread and we will try our best to answer you.

Super duper excited! I'll try my best to get everything done before August! This will be a blast! <3

momoko said: Super duper excited! I'll try my best to get everything done before August! This will be a blast! <3

@momoko Ohooo... looking forward to your entry!

Sweet!

Hey! Risking making a dumb question, what makes something qualify as summer themed? For example, if I were to make up a dress up game, what would I have to do to have it count? would I have to have like sunglasses, or swimsuits? Would I have to have backgrounds like the beach? Or would just "light" (to say it some way) clothes be enough?  Looking forward to the start of the jam!

TinyAngryBunny said: Hey! Risking making a dumb question, what makes something qualify as summer themed? For example, if I were to make up a dress up game, what would I have to do to have it count? would I have to have like sunglasses, or swimsuits? Would I have to have backgrounds like the beach? Or would just "light" (to say it some way) clothes be enough?  Looking forward to the start of the jam!

@TinyAngryBunny it is basically what you said there. We do not have a fixed definition for the summer theme. I guess you could say if we judged the overall feeling as summer then it is summer. You may look up summer fashion to see which clothes can be considered summer clothes. For example, we will obviously not accepting winter coat as a summer theme fashion but the rest can be considered.

DAX said:

TinyAngryBunny said: Hey! Risking making a dumb question, what makes something qualify as summer themed? For example, if I were to make up a dress up game, what would I have to do to have it count? would I have to have like sunglasses, or swimsuits? Would I have to have backgrounds like the beach? Or would just "light" (to say it some way) clothes be enough?  Looking forward to the start of the jam!

@TinyAngryBunny it is basically what you said there. We do not have a fixed definition for the summer theme. I guess you could say if we judged the overall feeling as summer then it is summer. You may look up summer fashion to see which clothes can be considered summer clothes. For example, we will obviously not accepting winter coat as a summer theme fashion but the rest can be considered.

@DAX Got it! Thanks for the clarification! I'm looking forward to the jam!

Hey there I have a question! :D
Are the "optional Prompts" Story starters for inpiration or do we have to include those element in the game?
English is not my first language so I want to make sure that I got everything right.

KuroAkiza said: Hey there I have a question! :D
Are the "optional Prompts" Story starters for inpiration or do we have to include those element in the game?
English is not my first language so I want to make sure that I got everything right.

@KuroAkiza It is OPTIONAL prompts so that means you are not required to use them but you can also use them if you want. They are just inspirations.

For this game jam, are we allowed to enter Visual Novels that contain mature content?

michellekchen said: For this game jam, are we allowed to enter Visual Novels that contain mature content?

@michellekchen yes you can :)

oooh sounds fun! i think i might give it a go, i haven’t done a jam like this in years! 

Can a user share more than one entry and get points for each one?

SPCelena said: Can a user share more than one entry and get points for each one?

@SPCelena You're the first person who's asked that, I'm going to say yes, but if you want to receive points for multiple entries, we're going to take into consideration how much points you can get. In the end, the staff members give out the points.

Sonya said:

SPCelena said: Can a user share more than one entry and get points for each one?

@SPCelena You're the first person who's asked that, I'm going to say yes, but if you want to receive points for multiple entries, we're going to take into consideration how much points you can get. In the end, the staff members give out the points.

@Sonya Ok, thank you!