Godot Wild Jam
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| Abbreviation | GWJ |
|---|---|
| Formation | September 2018 |
Founder | Kati Baker |
| Website | godotwildjam |
Godot Wild Jam is a game jam competition. It was founded by Kati Baker, known online as Bakenshake, and was first held in September 2018.[1] Participants are required to create a video game that fits within a given theme in nine days utilizing the Godot game engine.[1]
Competition structure
[edit]Godot Wild Jam is held twelve times annually on the second Friday of every month.[1] Themes are announced at 4:00 PM ET on the first day of the jam, before participants are given nine days to create a video game that fits within it. In October 2019 (Jam #14), wild cards were introduced. Participants were given three (or four) optional limitations, announced alongside the theme. After the end of the competition, participants are able to play and rate other submitted games to determine the winners. There is no prize money for the winner, only the title of Wildling which is the name of the creature in the GWJ logo.
Inclusion of Wildcards
[edit]GWJ started including Wildcards as additional, optional challenges for participants to further stretch their game development skills. This was an incentive for long time participants to work outside their comfort zone and try something new. It took inspiration from Global Game Jam's Diversifers[2], and the concept continues to be utilized in other game jams such as Game Off 2024 by GitHub[3]. All Wildcards are created in house by the GWJ team's graphic designer.
Promotion and Relation to Godot Engine
[edit]GWJ and Godot Engine support each other but operate independently. When GWJ launched, the Godot Engine endorsed it through their social medias[4]. As GWJ continued to grow, the Godot Engine asked Baker to speak at GodotCon 2021[5] to further promote the jam. While it is not the official Godot Engine game jam, GWJ has strong ties to the team.
In 2022, Baker traveled to the Game Developers Conference to speak on a panel about GWJ and share the benefits of being part of a game development community[6]. The panel included other notable game jam community members such as JC Lau and Tarja Porkka-Kontturi of Global Game Jam.
In 2024, GWJ and Godot Engine collaborated together to create a weekend game jam called Wild and Proud[7] to highlight and promote game jams made by LGBTQIA+ creators and/or about LGBTQIA+ topics.
Running twelve times annually, GWJ has helped create over 6,500 games in the Godot Engine and encourages participants to test the latest engine version to find bugs. It also encourages them to be contributors to the engine themselves, since Godot Engine is open source. This has led to previous GWJ winners, or Wildlings, joining the Godot Engine team such as Adam Scott.
Game Development Values
[edit]The jam is cognizant of the attitude and values often highlighted in the industry such as crunch and game accessibility. They take great strides in promoting accessibility and inclusion by providing participants templates and tools[8] for use in their jam projects. The length of the jam, nine days, was specifically chosen to provide two full weekends for participants, including families, to create a small game without crunch. The templates and tools are provided at no cost to participants and are maintained by a member of GWJ. It is one of the few game jams to include game accessibility as a judged category and encourages participants to be mindful of who their players are.
Published Games
[edit]Here is a list of GWJ entries that have been published and released as complete games.
| Jam # | Title | Developer | Release Date | Platforms | Stores | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | MacOS | SteamOS + Linux | |||||
| 48 | Batography | SporkTank | January 2025 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Steam Itch.io Cool Math Games |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "About - Godot Wild Jam". Godot Wild Jam. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ "Global Game Jam 2025 Diversifiers are Here! | Global Game Jam". globalgamejam.org. Retrieved 2025-08-02.
- ^ "Game Off 2024". itch.io. Retrieved 2025-08-02.
- ^ Engine, Godot. "Godot Wild Jam". Godot Engine. Retrieved 2025-08-02.
- ^ Godot Engine (2021-02-06). Godot Wild Jam's story - Kati Baker - GodotCon2021. Retrieved 2025-08-02 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Game Career Seminar: Full Circle: From Game Jams to Industry and Back". gdcvault.com. Retrieved 2025-08-02.
- ^ "Wild and Proud". itch.io. Retrieved 2025-08-02.
- ^ GodotWildJam (2025-07-23), GodotWildJam/gwj-accessibility-scripts, retrieved 2025-08-02