FPS Pseudo Game Jam Begins: Theme Announced

A fake jam where you make pretend games

It’s not located anywhere and you don’t have to program anything. FPS is looking for written descriptions of the processes and procedures that make up a game, called procedural poems. So, what makes it a jam? First of all there’s a prize. In addition to this prize, if they receive over 20 eligible submissions the winner will also receive a $100 Steam gift card. Second, there’s a time limit–one month.

Theme: Rethinking Conventions

Some potential interpretations include:

• Rethinking traditional genres (i.e. platformers, first-person shooters, etc.) in terms of non-violent gameplay.
• Subverting gender norms in AAA games.
• Inserting social interactions into a conventionally non-social genre.
• Reimagining traditionally single-player experiences in terms of co-op.
• Thinking beyond binaries (good vs evil, hero vs villain, winning vs. losing, etc.) in respect to narrative and gameplay.

For instance, in terms of non-violent gameplay, you could pitch a first-person game where the player’s role is to help rebuild a war-ravaged city between rounds of combat. For turning a single-player experience into co-op, you could rethink the RPG dialogue system as a con-artist simulator, where the objective is for two players to lead an NPC to a desired conclusion through a carefully orchestrated conversation. In any case, the main idea here is to take something familiar and turn it on its head.

You'll be able to submit your ‘game’ (300 words max) through the site up until 11:59pm on July 31st.

To find out more and read an example of a procedural poem, check out the First Person Scholar website!