Visual novel jam
A VN Jam, or a Visual Novel Jam, is a type of game jam, an event in which participants try to make a game from scratch within a limited duration of time. VN Jams are game jams that exclusively focus on visual novels or visual novel-like games.
Common Rules
Duration
Visual novel jams are commonly one to two months long events with exceptions that may last for shorter or longer periods of time (e.g., O2A2). Check the specific jam's rules to double check.
Pre-Jam
Visual novel jams may specify that participants can submit previously worked on projects (e.g., Winter VN Jam). Check the specific jam's rules to double check.
Commonly allowed pre-jam preparation for visual novel jams that do not allow participants to submit previously worked on projects include:
- Team recruitment
- Story outlines
- Character sketches
Themes
Visual novel jams are not necessarily themed. Some jams such as NaNoRenO do not restrict participant game topics. Others such as Spooktober VN Jam maintain rules on allowable content and topics (in the case of this example, "spooky or Halloween themed"). Check the specific jam's rules to double check on genres, themes, rules on adult content, and other potential restrictions.
Engines
- Main article: Visual Novel Engines
Engine choice (e.g., Ren'Py, NaniNovel) is typically not restricted in visual novel jams. Check the specific jam's rules to double check.
Examples of VN Jams
- NaNoRenO, a visual novel jam hosted by sakevisual, held annually between March and April.
- SuNoFes, a visual novel jam hosted by Alte, held annually in the summer.
- Spooktober VN Jam a judged visual novel jam competition hosted by DevTalk, held annually in September in preparation for October.
List of VN Jams
- Main article: List of VN jams
Overview of all relevant VN jams, organized by month.
Significant VN Jams
Simplified overview of 10 jams whose events have produced most amounts of entries. For details and exceptions check individual jam pages.
| Jam | Game Types | Duration | Partial Completion | Prior Work | NSFW | Theme / Restriction | Most Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NaNoRenO | VN | 1 month | allowed | not allowed | allowed | --- | 185 (2022) |
| Spooktober VN Jam | VN | 1 month | allowed | not allowed | not allowed | spooky, horror, Halloween | 112 (2021) |
| O2A2 VN Jam | VN | 1 week | not allowed | not allowed | allowed | --- | 96 (2021) |
| Winter VN Jam | VN | 1 month | allowed | allowed | not allowed | winter, cold | 77 (2021) |
| SuNoFes | VN and narrative | 2 months | allowed | not allowed | not allowed | --- | 69 (2021) |
| Yuri Game Jam | any game | 2 months | allowed | allowed | allowed | yuri, FxF | 66 (2017) |
| Valentine's Jam | VN | 1 month | allowed | allowed | allowed | romance, Valentine's | 51 (2021) |
| TyranoJam | VN | 1-3 months | not allowed | not allowed | not allowed | TyranoBuilder engine | 44 (2021) |
| Yaoi Game Jam | any game | 2 months | allowed | not allowed | allowed | yaoi, MxM | 36 (2020) |
| Otome Jam | any game | 2 months | allowed | allowed | allowed | otome, FxM | 28 (2021) |
