#bringoutyourghost

Do you have WIPs that you've put on indefinite hiatus?Projects you've started and then abandoned or forgotten?Then this is the place for you.

The Bring Out Your Ghosts Jam is a place to show off the ghosts of the game development process. Abandoned or forgotten WIPs. Overly ambitious projects that never got off the ground. Notes and ideas for games that never came to be.

The name and timing of the jam is inspired by the Ghost Festival (or Zhongyuanjie) in East Asian tradition, a time when the ghosts of the deceased are said to visit the living. Imagine being visited by the ghosts of dead WIPs. What would they say?

Inspired by the Bring Out Your Dead Jam, hosted by Emily Short.

Rules

Incomplete and abandoned games, ideas, notes, etc. are all welcome.

Projects updated because of this jam are also okay. If you decide to revisit (or finish!) an old abandoned project because of this jam, that's great!

As with the original Bring Out Your Dead Jam, it would be nice if you include some context in the Author's Notes when submitting. How did your project come about? Why was it abandoned or forgotten? What lessons can be learned from the process? This is optional but encouraged :)

While the creators of this jam come from the interactive fiction community, any games, physical games, text, etc. are allowed.

Games should not include any generated AI content (incl. Cover Image/Game Page). Entries using AI/LLM will be removed.

Assets used must be listed and credited.

No hate speech or spam entries.

Limit of 3 submissions per person.

The Jam is open to any language.

Do you have WIPs that you've put on indefinite hiatus?Projects you've started and then abandoned or forgotten?Then this is the place for you.

The Bring Out Your Ghosts Jam is a place to show off the ghosts of the game development process. Abandoned or forgotten WIPs. Overly ambitious projects that never got off the ground. Notes and ideas for games that never came to be.

The name and timing of the jam is inspired by the Ghost Festival (or Zhongyuanjie) in East Asian tradition, a time when the ghosts of the deceased are said to visit the living. Imagine being visited by the ghosts of dead WIPs. What would they say?

Inspired by the Bring Out Your Dead Jam, hosted by Emily Short.

Rules

Incomplete and abandoned games, ideas, notes, etc. are all welcome.

Projects updated because of this jam are also okay. If you decide to revisit (or finish!) an old abandoned project because of this jam, that's great!

As with the original Bring Out Your Dead Jam, it would be nice if you include some context in the Author's Notes when submitting. How did your project come about? Why was it abandoned or forgotten? What lessons can be learned from the process? This is optional but encouraged :)

While the creators of this jam come from the interactive fiction community, any games, physical games, text, etc. are allowed.

No hate speech or spam entries.

Limit of 3 submissions per person.

The Jam is open to any language.

Do you have WIPs that you've put on indefinite hiatus? Projects you've started and then abandoned or forgotten? Then this is the place for you.

The Bring Out Your Ghosts Jam is a place to show off the ghosts of the game development process. Abandoned or forgotten WIPs. Overly ambitious projects that never got off the ground. Notes and ideas for games that never came to be.

The name and timing of the jam is inspired by the Ghost Festival (or Zhongyuanjie) in East Asian tradition, a time when the ghosts of the deceased are said to visit the living. Imagine being visited by the ghosts of dead WIPs. What would they say?

Inspired by the Bring Out Your Dead Jam, hosted by Emily Short.

Rules

Incomplete and abandoned games, ideas, notes, etc. are all welcome.

Projects updated because of this jam are also okay. If you decide to revisit (or finish!) an old abandoned project because of this jam, that's great!

As with the original Bring Out Your Dead Jam, it would be nice if you include some context in the Author's Notes when submitting. How did your project come about? Why was it abandoned or forgotten? What lessons can be learned from the process? This is optional but encouraged :)

While the creators of this jam come from the interactive fiction community, any games, physical games, text, etc. are allowed.

No hate speech or spam entries.

Limit of 3 submissions per person.

The Jam is open to any language.

The Neo-Interactives is a hub for Interactive Fiction and IF-adjacent jams, moderated by Autumn Chen, Lapin Lunaire Games (Jinx), and Manonamora.

We organise small and unranked game jams throughout the year, each with different constraints, rules, and length!

We welcome any form of IF: from parser, to choice-based, to visual novels, and even kinetic pieces! We do not restrict creators to any program or format, or language. If your entry is interactive and focuses on the text, come submit it! We only ask that you include trigger warnings when relevant.

If you have any questions, shoot us an ask!

Join our Discord! - Join the current Jam!

At the end of each jam*, we will create an IFDB page for every entry. The IFDB, or Interactive Fiction Database, is an IF game information catalogue, creating a historical record of the IF landscape. *Contact the mods for question or if you don't want to be included. BOYG is also excluded.

If you share your submission on Tumblr, tag @neointeractives or tag the relevant jam so we can find you!

List of Jams:

Bare-Bones Jam, where creators must keep the basic UI of their chosen program.

Bring Out Your Ghost, for abandoned or forgotten projects.

Neo Twiny Jam, where creators can only write 500 words.

Single Choice Jam, where creators can only give the player one choice.

And more!

Past Events: