Hello! I am running Game Jam for the first time called Pump Up The Jam. It’s a relaxed Jam where you make a game that involves things blowing up like balloons. This would be your games like Dig-Dug, Kirby, or Klonoa, but you can take the theme as far as you want!
It will run from March 27th to March 31st, with voting occurring for two weeks after the Jam ends.
Thank you for your time, hope you check it out! If you have anymore questions or advice for me please share them. 
Good luck, I hope you get lots of entrants. Its a bit strange to give the theme out so early though, I thought part of the fun was waiting to find out what the theme was. It’s too long of a jam for me to take part, but congrats on running your first jam. I hope it goes well.
Thank you! It’s mainly for flexibility, so people who want a tight deadline can do so, and people who want more time can do that as well.
But now that you mention it, it might benefit from a moderately tighter range; the extra flexibility might actually demotivate people. Maybe I’ll cut it down to a five day range at the end of march? I’ll think about it. I really appreciate your feedback!
That’s iteration at work!
I may not be the type of person who enjoys game jams, but I see their value for the game dev community.
Glad you decided to post here, and welcome to the forum.
Hello! The new date & time has been set to March 27th to March 31st. I’ve updated the Jam to have a secondary theme that will be announced at the start of the Jam. I’ve also included some examples of games in the description. I hope this makes the Jam more interesting to people!
I think I might join this!
I havent really had much time for anything for ages, but I have some breathing room now; so you should see my entry 
Hello! I’ve made some changes to the description and included a secondary, optional theme that will only be announced at the start of the Jam. I’ve mainly changed the examples used to reflect a broader scope for the Jams theme. I’ve also moved some rules around and shortened some rules to remove ambiguity. Here is the new description for posterity:
Yep.
Pump Up The Jam is a game jam all about things that inflate, or making things inflate!
Here are some examples of games that use this theme in some way:
Astro Bot: Players can use the Octo-Balloon power-up to rise up and stay floating for a while, usually to avoid hazards or reach new areas.
Balloon Fight: Float around on balloons, and try to pop the balloons of others so they fall.
Dig Dug: Players must use a pump to inflate their enemies to pop them and get points. Players can also keep enemies partly inflated so they cant move, allowing the player to drop rocks on them for even more points.
World Of Goo: Use Balloon Goo’s to help keep parts of your goo structures lifted.
Kirby: Being able to puff up repeatedly allows Kirby to float across the level, which is a key part of the games movement across multiple Kirby games.
Animal Crossing: Balloons carrying gifts can be popped and usually contain items the player can use.
These are good starting points for creating your own pneumatic mechanics!
At the start of the Jam, a secondary, optional theme will be announced. It’s a surpriiiiiisse.
Rules:
You may use any engine you’d like!
Your game can only be for this Jam and its theme. You cannot (and should not really) cross-post your Jam games to other jams.
It is recommended - but not required - to have web builds available for your game. You can also offer local downloads for Windows, Mac, Linux, ESP32, etc, but make sure you trust the software you download before you run it!
Any use of AI in your project is forbidden and will instantly disqualify you. If you try to hide your use of AI in your project I will break into your home and toast all of your bread, on the REALLY HIGH setting too.
No hateful language or conduct is allowed. We should be supportive and constructive with each other, and intolerance will not be tolerated. Do onto others as you would have others do onto you.
No adult or NSFW entries are allowed. Adult entries will be disqualified. Games that lean into being arousing are not recommended.
You must include a copy of your source code / project files with your submission as a separate download, similar to that of Ludum Dare, I think it’s a fantastic learning tool to see how others have built their games. You own your own code and do not need to license it unless you’d like to. If you do decide to license it, I recommend permissive open source licenses such as Apache 2.0 or MIT.
Criteria:
There are five criteria for the jam:
Theme: How well does the game use the theme? Does everything click right, or does it feel shoe-horned in?
Creativity: How unique is the game, and does this uniqueness play into the games strengths?
Gameplay: How much fun are you having with the game? Do you find yourself replaying it again?
Atmosphere: How well does the game engage you emotionally, if at all? Is there any dissonance between you and the game?
Enginneering: How well built is the game? Is it stable? Is it optimized? Is it hard to control?
This is all highly subjective, so please make sure to leave constructive feedback on peoples games and let them know how you feel!
This Jam will run from March 27th to March 31st, and you can update your entry with bug fixes and features up until the Jam ends. After that, any further modifications can be grounds for disqualification (because of voting obviously). You are welcome to make a new page for future updates.
If you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask in the community tab. Have fun!
I’d like some additional feedback if anyone has any suggestions! I want to try and have something solid before the one month mark if possible. Thank you again! 
