Game Jolt

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Game Jolt
Game-jolt-logo.svg
Type of site
Social community platform for content created by gamers
OwnerGame Jolt, Inc.
Created byDavid & Yaprak DeCarmine
URLwww.gamejolt.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
Launched2008
Current statusOnline

Game Jolt is a social community platform for video games, gamers and content creators, hosting fan-run communities for over 1,644,492 games. The platform is home to hundreds of thousands of creators and gamers from all corners of the world - ranging from novice gamers and indie developers, to high-profile influencers and some of the most reputable studios in the industry. Game Jolt was founded by Yaprak and David DeCarmine.[1]

History[]

David began development of Game Jolt in 2002[2] at the age of 14. His intention was to create a platform for gamers where new indie games could be discoverable and quickly playable, and where feedback could be provided directly to the developers, allowing them to continue improving their games. At launch in July 2004 [1] Game Jolt included a public account system, game forums, a chatroom and a large games database, with each game uploaded with the creators' permission.

In December 2008, Game Jolt added a game distribution portal for Flash, Unity and Java games.[3] Game Jolt started accepting browser-based HTML5 games in February 2013.[4][5][6]

David DeCarmine announced on August 8 that he was working full-time on Game Jolt's development,[7] leaving his job at Zulily in the process.[8]

Game Jolt Jams released in early 2014 as a service to allow users to create their own game jams that integrated with the main site.[9][10] A new site launched in 2015 featuring a responsive design, automated curation for both games and game news articles which weighs how recent a game was uploaded and how popular it is ("hot") and filtering options on game listings for platform, maturity rating and development status.[11][12]

In January 2016, Game Jolt released source code of the client and site's frontend on GitHub under MIT license.[13]

An online marketplace was announced in April 2016[14] and released the following month in May, allowing developers to sell their games on the site.[15]

In January 2022 Game Jolt suddenly banned Adult games from appearing on the site, stating in an e-mail to developers that the site had become "social media platform" and they "had to make decisions around the direction and future of the brand which has now included the removal of hosted games with explicitly adult content." And also stated in a tweet "Game Jolt is a platform with a large audience of 13-16 year olds. Our users asked us to clean up, so here we are.” Which was in response to a Tweet by Itch.io saying that site is not for prudes.[16][17]

In November 2014 Game Jolt announced the "Indies vs PewDiePie" game jam, partnering with the popular Youtuber Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg.[18][19] Developers were given a weekend (21–24 November) to create a game with the theme of "fun to play, fun to watch" to suit the Let's Plays entertainment style.[20] Users could rate entries afterwards until December 1 when the scores were counted up. The prize to the top 10 rated games was Felix playing the games on his channel as a means of promotion for the developers,[21] although later he played other entries.[22]

Game Jolt partnered with Felix, Sean "Jacksepticeye" McLoughlin and Mark "Markiplier" Fischbach to host "Indies vs Gamers" in July 2015.[23] The requirements for entries were arcade games using the GJAPI highscore tables, to be made between the July 17–20[24] and the top 5 games were played on the partner's YouTube channels.[25][26][27]

API[]

The Game Jolt Application Programming Interface (usually known as the GJAPI) allows any developer using a game development platform that supports HTTP operations and MD5 or SHA-1.[28][29] Game Jolt advertises that the API can:

  • Create multiple "scoreboards" which collect high scores from players made publicly available on the game's profile and give user accounts EXP[30]
  • Award player's trophies which give user accounts EXP[31]
  • Store game data on Game Jolt's data servers[32]

Competitions[]

Game Jolt has hosted numerous official game development contests with varying requirements and rewards. "Contests" are differentiated from "Jams". A contest on Game Jolt refers to a competition wherein developers have a single theme their game must follow if they enter the competition, and an ordered subjective top games selection is found either from judging by the staff or, with the two recent Indies VSs competitions, community voting. A jam however has no requirements and only an optional theme, which may or may not be judged but with no prizes for the winners.

Contests[]

Date Theme Place
1st 2nd 3rd
13—21 June 2009 Shocking[33] ShockMaze Infidels Shocker: The Electrifying Hero
1—31 August Axiom [34][35] Raimond Ex Paul Moose In Space World No Longer Apart
1—7 November 2009 Minimal[36][37] Spectrum Wing Saut Fetus
24—25 January 2010 Rogue[38][39] Super Space Rogues Tower Climb Flood the Chamber
1—8 July 2010 Indie Game Demake[40][41] Warning Foregone Sulkeis Saucelifter 8-bit
16 January—14 February 2011 Invention Contest[42][43] Fire With a Riot Bun Dun Monica
20 August—24 September 2011 Music Interpretation[44][45] Je Suis Le Diable Rhythmical Jeremy
11—19 August 2012 Fear[46][47] The Room Fragments of Fear Nyctophobia
1—11 March 2013 Chaos[48][49] Void Rogue Blues for Mittavinda Stellar Zero
9—18 March 2013 Party[50] Quantum Party Crasher Super Clean Clean Party Run
21—24 November 2014 Fun to play and watch (Indies vs PewDiePie)[20] Lord of the Horde Kid VS School DANCE!DANCE! PewDiePie
17—20 July 2015 High scores (Indies VS Gamers)[24] Racket Boy Sushido Super Nanny Sleepytime Ultra HD Alpha Omega

Jams[]

Jams are hosted on the weekend. Unlike the contests there is no theme- just work on new games or WIPs. Developers are encouraged to livestream, post screenshots and tweet about whatever they're developing, with no winners are produced at the end.[51][52][53]

April Fool's Day[]

Since 2015 Game Jolt has made announcements on April Fools' Day, often implementing site features that remain accessible beyond 1 April.

Year Announcement
2021 Voice chat[54]
2020 Stickers[55][56]
2019 Stajoltia[57][58]
2018 Dark mode[59]
2017 Redlight & Indie.AF[60][61][62]
2016 Retro Jolt[63]
2015 Actual Reality[64]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Game Jolt Main Page, archived from the original on January 1, 2004, retrieved November 30, 2013
  2. ^ Holo-World! Quality Freeware games!, archived from the original on November 23, 2002, retrieved September 21, 2017
  3. ^ Game Jolt Main Page, archived from the original on December 25, 2008, retrieved November 30, 2013
  4. ^ "Newgrounds now accept HTML5 games". September 24, 2013. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  5. ^ "GameJolt Html5". February 13, 2013. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  6. ^ DeCarmine, David (February 11, 2013). "Distributions and HTML Integration". Game Jolt. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  7. ^ DeCarmine, David (September 7, 2009). "Game Jolt is now indie!". Game Jolt. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  8. ^ "David DeCarmine's LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  9. ^ Wawro, Alex (July 16, 2014). "Run your own game jams with Game Jolt's new manager". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  10. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20140804132905/http://jams.gamejolt.com/. Archived from the original on August 4, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2015. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ^ "Gamejolt Next :: Nuevo diseño, nuevas posibilidades". July 9, 2015. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  12. ^ "We Launched the New Site - Fireside by GameJolt". October 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  13. ^ Game Jolt is Open Source! by @CROS on gamejolt.com (January 12, 2016)
  14. ^ "Selling Games on Game Jolt". April 21, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  15. ^ Francis, Bryant (2016). "Gamasutra - Gamejolt announces indie games marketplace". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  16. ^ "Indie Hosting Platform Game Jolt Suddenly Bans 'Porn Games'". www.vice.com. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  17. ^ Mollie Taylor (January 6, 2022). "Indie store Game Jolt's porn ban has hit games with no sexual content". PC Gamer. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  18. ^ Dimopoulos, Konstantinos (November 13, 2014). "Indies VS PewDiePie: The Game Jam". Gamasutra#IndieGames.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  19. ^ "INDIES VS PEWDIEPIE - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  20. ^ a b "Indies VS PewDiePie". Game Jolt. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  21. ^ "DANCE PEWDIEPIE DANCE! // INDIES VS PEWDIEPIE JAM WINNERS! - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  22. ^ "VIDEOGAME: THE GAME - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  23. ^ Rad, Chloi (July 8, 2015). "Game Jolt Prepares to Launch Indies VS Gamers Jam". Gamasutra#IndieGames.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  24. ^ a b "Indies Vs Gamers | Game Jolt Jams". Game Jolt. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  25. ^ "BEAT UP KIDS! | Indies Vs Gamers Gamejam - Top 5 Winners - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  26. ^ "Fans vs PewDiePie (Indies vs Gamers) - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  27. ^ "BEATING SMALL CHILDREN!! | Super Nanny Sleepytime Ultra HD Alpha Omega - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  28. ^ "What is the Game API?". Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  29. ^ "Game Achievement System". October 13, 2013. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  30. ^ "Scoreboards Guide". Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  31. ^ "Scoreboards Guide". Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  32. ^ "Data Storage Guide". Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  33. ^ "Shocking Contest". Game Jolt. June 12, 2009. Archived from the original on December 1, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  34. ^ DeCarmine, David (June 12, 2009). "Ad Revenue Sharing and Contest". Game Jolt. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  35. ^ "Axiom Contest". Game Jolt. July 25, 2009. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
  36. ^ "Minimal Contest". Game Jolt. October 28, 2009. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
  37. ^ "Minimal Contest Results". Game Jolt. November 19, 2009. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
  38. ^ "Rogue Contest". Game Jolt. January 10, 2010. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
  39. ^ "Rogue Contest Results". Game Jolt. January 31, 2010. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
  40. ^ "Indie Game Demake Contest". Game Jolt. June 28, 2010. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
  41. ^ "Indie Game Demake Contest Results". Game Jolt. July 17, 2010. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
  42. ^ "Invention Contest- Hosted by NAL". Game Jolt. January 16, 2011. Archived from the original on December 1, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  43. ^ "Invention Contest- Hosted by NAL". Game Jolt. March 12, 2011. Archived from the original on July 20, 2014. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  44. ^ "Music Interpretation Contest with..." Game Jolt. August 13, 2011. Archived from the original on December 1, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  45. ^ "Music Interpretation Contest with..." Game Jolt. June 27, 2012. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  46. ^ "Fear Contest". Game Jolt. August 7, 2012. Archived from the original on December 1, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  47. ^ "GameJolt Fear Contest". Game Jolt. Archived from the original on December 1, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  48. ^ "Chaos Contest". . February 22, 2013. Archived from the original on December 1, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  49. ^ "Game Jolt Chaos Contest". . Archived from the original on December 1, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  50. ^ "GameJolt Contest 10". Game Jolt. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  51. ^ "Game Jolt Weekend Jam". Game Jolt. January 31, 2010. Archived from the original on December 1, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
  52. ^ "Game Jolt's Second Jam!". Game Jolt. July 26, 2010. Archived from the original on December 1, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
  53. ^ "GameJolt Weekend Jam #3". Game Jolt. November 28, 2012. Archived from the original on December 1, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
  54. ^ "Voice chat, NOW!". Game Jolt. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  55. ^ "Introducing Stickers!". Game Jolt. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  56. ^ "Stickers are here to stay!". Game Jolt. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  57. ^ "Introducing Stajoltia". Game Jolt. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  58. ^ "Stajoltia". Game Jolt. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  59. ^ "Dark Mode!". Game Jolt. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  60. ^ "Introducing Game Jolt Redlight and Indie.AF". Game Jolt. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  61. ^ "Redlight". Game Jolt. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  62. ^ "Get Indie.AF". Game Jolt. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  63. ^ "Retro Jolt". Game Jolt. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  64. ^ "Introducing GAS". Game Jolt. Retrieved April 1, 2021.

External links[]

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