Gaming Like It's 1925: Last Week To Join The Public Domain Game Jam!

from the there's-still-time dept

Sign up for the Public Domain Game Jam on itch.io »

It's now been almost a full month since works published in 1925 entered the public domain in the US, and that means we're nearing the end of our public domain game jam, Gaming Like It's 1925 — but it's not too late to get involved! After all, plenty of game jams only run for a couple of days, and you've still got an entire week to cook up an analog or digital game based on newly-public-domain material and compete for one of our great prizes.

Check out the game jam page for the full rules and some links to public domain works you could draw on, as well as game design tools for designers of all experience levels. Even if you've never tried making a game before, a week is plenty of time to learn the basics of Twine or Story Synth, and anyone can try their hand at thinking up a roleplaying or party game — we've had winning games that are nothing more than some rules in a text document.

The jam runs through January 31st and then our judges will begin playing the entries to select winners in six categories (the winners of the 2020 jam are linked below, and you can read our judges' thoughts on them here):

• Best Analog Game (Previous Winner: The 24th Kandinsky)
• Best Digital Game (Previous Winner: You Are The Rats In The Walls)
• Best adaptation of a 1925 work (Previous Winner: The Hounds Follow All Things Down)
• Best remixing of multiple sources (Previous Winner: 192X)
• Best “Deep Cut” from a work not listed on any of the round up articles (Previous Winner: Legends of Charlemagne)
• Best Visuals (Previous Winner: Hot Water)

We've already gotten a handful of submissions and we're anticipating many more as the due date approaches, so hurry up and join the jam to get your game in the mix!

Sign up for the Public Domain Game Jam on itch.io »

Filed Under: game jam, games, gaming like its 1925, public domain

Gaming Like It's 1925: Less Than Two Weeks Left To Join The Public Domain Game Jam!

from the not-too-late dept

Sign up for the Public Domain Game Jam on itch.io »

The clock is ticking — we're past the halfway point of January, and you've got just under two weeks to submit something for Gaming Like It's 1925! We're looking for analog and digital games that are inspired by and/or make direct use of materials from works published in 1925, which have now entered the public domain, and giving away prizes for the best ones in multiple categories.

Check out the game jam page for the full rules and some links to public domain works you could draw on, as well as game design tools for designers of all experience levels. The jam runs until January 31st and then our judges will begin playing the entries to select winners in six categories. The winners will be able to choose one of or great prizes:

• The Working Futures anthology of speculative fiction
• A deck of Working Futures Cards which you can use in scenario planning
• Our board game CIA: Collect It All (a remake of the public domain CIA training game)
• A Techdirt t-shirt (e.g. Copymouse)
• Digital copies of Behind the Magic and Premise

Check out the winners of the 2019 and 2020 jams (which used works from 1923 and 1924 respectively) then sign up for the jam and get designing. We've already got a few entries this year, and we can't wait to see more and play everyone's games!

Sign up for the Public Domain Game Jam on itch.io »

Filed Under: game jam, games, gaming like its 1925, public domain

Gaming Like It's 1925: There's Still Plenty Of Time To Join Our Public Domain Game Jam!

from the mine-that-domain dept

Sign up for the Public Domain Game Jam on itch.io »

We're just over a week into our third annual public domain game jam, Gaming Like It's 1925, and it runs until the end of the month so there's still plenty of time to sign up and start working on an entry! We're looking for analog and digital games that are inspired by and/or make direct use of materials from works published in 1925, which have now entered the public domain, and giving away prizes for the best ones in multiple categories.

It doesn't matter if you're an experienced game designer or someone who's never tried it before — the beauty of the public domain is that it supplies a growing wealth of inspiration and assets for you to use, and the beauty of modern game design tools is that you can dip your toe in without any particular expertise or technical knowledge (and we've got links to several tools that can help over on the game jam page). Entries can be as simple as a one-page set of rules for a game to be played in person (or perhaps over Zoom, given our current circumstances) or as complex as a full-fledged video game, and anything in between. There are six categories to compete in (the winners of the 2020 jam are linked below, and you can read our judges' thoughts on them here):

• Best Analog Game (Previous Winner: The 24th Kandinsky)
• Best Digital Game (Previous Winner: You Are The Rats In The Walls)
• Best adaptation of a 1925 work (Previous Winner: The Hounds Follow All Things Down)
• Best remixing of multiple sources (Previous Winner: 192X)
• Best “Deep Cut” from a work not listed on any of the round up articles (Previous Winner: Legends of Charlemagne)
• Best Visuals (Previous Winner: Hot Water)

Sign up for the game jam on itch.io where you can also read the full rules and find links to lists of 1925 books, plays, films, art and music, including stuff from many notable 20th century creators like Aldous Huxley, Gertrude Stein, Zora Neale Hurston, Pablo Picasso, Charlie Chaplin, Irving Berlin, and Louis Armstrong. You've got until January 31st to submit your entries after which they will be played by our amazing panel of judges from both the game design and copyright worlds.

Check out the winners of the 2019 and 2020 jams (which used works from 1923 and 1924 respectively) then sign up for the jam and get designing. We've already got a few entries this year, and we can't wait to see more and play everyone's games!

Sign up for the Public Domain Game Jam on itch.io »

Filed Under: game jam, games, gaming like its 1925, public domain

Gaming Like It's 1925: The Third Annual Public Domain Game Jam Starts January 1st

from the new-year,-new-games dept

Sign up for the Public Domain Game Jam on itch.io »

Lots of people will be exchanging gifts tomorrow, but we all get one on January 1st when new material enters the public domain in the US for the third year in a row — and, also for the third year in a row, we're hosting our public domain game jam, Gaming Like It's 1925. We're looking for designers of all stripes to create games using some of the works from 1925 that are running out of copyright protection in the new year, and offering prizes in a bunch of categories. We announced this one a bit early to give people time to make plans, and you can sign up on the jam page on itch.io before it officially launches on New Year's Day!

You may have heard about The Great Gatsby entering the public domain, but while it's one of the highest-profile 1925 works, it's not alone: works by Agatha Christie, Aldous Huxley, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Noël Coward, Zora Neale Hurston and more are joining it, along with films like Harold Lloyd's The Freshman and Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush — and that's not even mentioning the artworks and musical compositions. Our jam page has links to several lists of 1925 works including Duke University's always-excellent roundup.

We're long-time believers in the value of a robust public domain and this game jam is all about showing the kinds of amazing new things that are created when old works are opened up. Get all the details on itch.io including complete rules, categories and prizes, and the list of judges — and get ready for January 1st when it's time to start gaming like it's 1925!

Sign up for the Public Domain Game Jam on itch.io »

Filed Under: game jam, games, gaming like its 1925, public domain

Gaming Like It's 1925: Get Ready For The Next Public Domain Game Jam

from the it's-jam-time dept

Sign up for the Public Domain Game Jam on itch.io »

In a couple weeks, the public domain in the US will expand for the third year in a row, as works published in 1925 finally run out of copyright protection — and just like we have for the past two years, we're celebrating and showing off the benefits of a robust public domain with a game jam: Gaming Like It's 1925.

We're inviting everyone to try their hand at using newly public domain material from 1925 to create a digital or analog game this January. Whether you're an experienced game designer or just someone trying their hand at it, the public domain is an excellent source of all kinds of game material from story inspiration to art and music assets, so sign up for the jam at itch.io. The jam page has full details on the rules, links to some lists of material entering the public domain, and information on easy game-building tools that can help newbies and veterans alike with the challenge of creating a game in a month.

As usual, we'll be awarding prizes in six categories (the winners of the last jam are linked below, and you can read our judges' thoughts on them here):

• Best Analog Game (Previous Winner: The 24th Kandinsky)
• Best Digital Game (Previous Winner: You Are The Rats In The Walls)
• Best adaptation of a 1925 work (Previous Winner: The Hounds Follow All Things Down)
• Best remixing of multiple sources (Previous Winner: 192X)
• Best “Deep Cut” from a work not listed on any of the round up articles (Previous Winner: Legends of Charlemagne)
• Best Visuals (Previous Winner: Hot Water)

We've also got another great panel of new and returning judges this year:

• Anil Dash
• Clio Yun-su Davis
• Jim Greer
• James Mendez Hodes
• Carolyn Homer
• Kathryn Hymes
• Albert Kong
• Randy Lubin
• Katherine Maher
• Mike Masnick
• Jason Morningstar
• Jamila R. Nedjadi
• Hakan Seyalioglu
• Lizzy Stark
• April Kit Walsh

Gaming Like It's 1925 officially kicks off on January 1st, the same day that the new material enters the public domain, and runs until the end of the month — but you can sign up now and start making plans. Both of the past jams have resulted in some really cool, creative games that demonstrate why a growing public domain is so valuable, and we're all excited to see what our participants come up with this time around!

Filed Under: game jam, games, gaming like its 1925, public domain