
Magical girls. What kind of thoughts might that inspire? Transformation sequences, cute outfits, magic, surely, and best of all, girls kicking you-know-what in the neverending battle against evil (or less-than-good, anyway), right? Well, that’s what I’ve come to experience across various anime, manga, and fan projects, anyway. Ah, which brings me to… Magical Girl Game Jam #8, as it is (almost) right around the corner!
So, first up, rules! Wait. No. Themes. Yes, plural, and there’ll be a grand total of six to choose from (as you’re only required to pick one). Simple enough. Except, you know, they won’t be revealed until “sometime in February before the jam actually begins”. Perfectly fair.
Now, with that taken care of, rules! Unfinished games are allowed (#314159), submissions must be free to play (#99742), and no pornographic materials (#3028). Do keep in mind, however, that those are but a few hand-picked highlights, so do hit the jam page for the full rundown. Would be a shame to spend all that time on something, only to have it disqualified from Magical Girl Game Jam #8, after all.
‘When?’ Oh, from August 14th, 2023 to September 13th, 2023, there shall be magical girl game jamming, right here. So I’m gonna wrap this up with a quote from the Magical Girl Game Jam #8 page: “the Magical Girl genre, or Mahō Shōjo (魔法少女) in Japanese, is a genre about cute girls having cute magical powers“. Of course, there is more to it than that, but this should at least help you get started. Don’t forget to make use of #MGGJ and #MGGJ8 if you tweet about the jam. Best of luck, and you know, have fun!
(Screenshot source: Magical Girl Game Jam #7 submission, Saving The Last Petal.)