Secret Santa 2024 game jam launches on itch.io

With over 641 participants already signed up, this year's Secret Santa game jam is shaping into a big game showcase. For those unfamiliar with game jams, game jams are a chance for game developers to showcase their development skills where they are given a limited amount of time as well as a prompt or theme to build their game. In this case, each developer will first have to "write a letter" providing a short bio, their interests, and a wish list of what kind of game or experience they'd like to receive. At this point, they are assigned a random giftee and receive their letter to begin development. The participating developers have until December 22nd to complete their game or experience and submit it for exchange.

For those with skills other than game development and who would still like to participate, there is an active community of developers looking for help with their gifts on the community tab. Music composition, artwork, 3D modeling, and other forms of asset creation are in significant demand and provide the perfect opportunity to network with other creators. Additionally, team submissions are welcome, but the exchange will still be limited to single users.

To participate, users can find a link to the official Discord server, as well as rules and details on the official itch.io page. Furthermore, there is no hard cut-off date to join the jam, but developers are encouraged to give themselves enough time to meet the deadline. Overall, seeing what games are exchanged this year will be exciting.