# game-jam

Plans and scopes game development projects under tight jam deadlines, keeping scope locked to the clock so a playable build gets submitted.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 5700 installs · ★ 4506
- Author: gamedev-skills
- License: Apache-2.0 · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/workflows/game-jam/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/game-jam

## What it does

A scope-control and planning playbook designed for events like Ludum Dare and GMTK Jam. The primary goal is delivering a working, playable build rather than an unfinished ambitious prototype. The win condition is simple: submit on time.

It sets hour-by-hour budgets for 48-hour, 72-to-96-hour, and one-week events. The process forces a one-sentence concept pitch, prioritizes getting a 30-second core loop running early, and reserves the final 20% of the clock for exporting and store page setup.

Do not use this for engine scripts or player physics: that code belongs in engine skills like `godot-2d-movement`. This skill handles only schedule enforcement and feature cuts.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills --skill game-jam -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/game-jam/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/game-jam/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills --skill game-jam -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/game-jam/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills --skill game-jam -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/game-jam/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills game-jam
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/game-jam/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills --skill game-jam -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills --path skills/workflows/game-jam
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/game-jam/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills --skill game-jam -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/workflows/game-jam/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- budget development hours for a 48-hour game jam
- cut secondary mechanics under deadline pressure
- verify pre-submission requirements before upload locks take effect
- reserve an export buffer to catch last-minute build breaks

## Example prompts
- Help me budget a 48-hour schedule for Ludum Dare around our one-sentence concept.
- We have 10 hours left in GMTK Jam, what features should we cut right now?
- Run the pre-submission check on our clean build before uploading to itch.io.

## Source text · SKILL.md · Apache-2.0

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 12c74b2f16991e23.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 12c74b2f16991e23
```text
---
name: game-jam
description: >
  Plan and ship a game under a jam deadline: lock scope to the clock, schedule the hours,
  cut features, and submit on time. Use for a game jam (Ludum Dare, GMTK Jam, Global Game
  Jam), a 48-hour or weekend build, or scoping and submitting a jam entry.
---

# Game Jam

Turn a theme and a fixed deadline into a finished, submitted game. This is a planning and
scope-control playbook, not engine code: the win condition is *something submitted and
playable*, not *the game you imagined*.

## When to use

- Use when entering a timed jam (Ludum Dare, GMTK Jam, Global Game Jam, a weekend jam),
  scoping a 48-hour build, or deciding what to cut to hit a deadline.
- Use when the user asks "what can I actually build in a weekend" or "how do I submit to
  this jam".

**When *not* to use:** building the *core loop* in engine code (use the engine skill —
`godot-2d-movement`, `phaser-core`, etc. — or a genre skill like `platformer`); throwaway
experiments with no deadline (use `prototype-fast`); shipping a commercial release (use
`steam-publish` / `itch-publish`).

## Core workflow

1. **Read the rules before the theme drops.** Confirm the jam's *length*, *theme reveal
   time*, *submission deadline (with timezone)*, whether teams/pre-made assets/engines are
   allowed, its *generative AI* policy, which platforms the build must run on (often Windows
   or browser), *where* you submit (an itch.io jam page, or the jam's own site), whether
   uploads lock once the deadline passes, and whether ratings require you to rate other
   entries. Missing one of these disqualifies an otherwise-finished game.
2. **Prep the boring parts in advance** (allowed by most jams): empty project that builds
   and exports, input + a title/end screen stub, an export pipeline you've run once, and a
   font/SFX source you're licensed to use. Day-one time is too precious to spend here.
3. **Theme → one sentence.** Brainstorm 10 ideas in 15 minutes, then commit to **one**
   expressible as: *"You [verb] to [goal] while [constraint]."* If you can't say it in one
   sentence, it's too big.
4. **Scope to the clock, not the idea.** Use the budget table below. Pick **one** core
   mechanic and **one** "hook". Everything else is a stretch goal.
5. **Build the vertical slice first.** Get a 30-second playable loop (start → play → lose/win
   → restart) running early. A complete tiny loop beats a half-built big one.
6. **Reserve the last ~20% of the clock for shipping**, not features. Export, test the build
   on a clean path, capture screenshots, write the page. Builds always break at hour 47.
7. **Submit early, update if time remains.** Upload a working build *well before* the
   deadline; you can usually replace the file until submissions close. After that, many jams
   lock uploads for the whole rating period or allow only declared bug fixes, so the build
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 12c74b2f16991e23

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the 12c74b2f16991e23 tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

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