N64brew Game Jam 2021
It’s back for the second year in a row, the N64 Game Jam 2021 hosted by N64brew! The one last year had a great turnout with 14 submissions and five winners. This year it will be running from when the theme is announced on the 9th of October until the deadline on the 8th of December 2021. The judges will then announce the winners on the 12th of December.
Like last year, I will go through each of the entries to show how they play.
The contestants
Wizard of the Board
Wizard of the Board is a N64 Homebrew game by Daniel Savage and winner of the 2021 64brew game jam. You play as a young warrior who moves chess pieces around to climb a tower and defeat the Demon Queen.
Mission Lost Control
Mission Lost Control is a N64 homebrew game by Team Ultra Rare where you strategically control bases to spawn bots and conquer enemies. It won 2nd place in the 64brew game jam 2021. Congratulations!
Voidblade
Voidblade is an arcade-style N64 homebrew game by Anacierdem where you catch falling shapes with a spinning square blade.
Asteroids 64
Asteroids 64 is a N64 homebrew game by Game Master Plc which replicates the gameplay of the classic Asteroids arcade game.
Bug Game
Bug Game is a N64 homebrew demo made by Team UltraBrew for the 2021 64Brew Game Jam where you play as a cockroach in a 3d arena.
Featherlight
Featherlight is an incomplete N64 homebrew game by Team Early Bird in which you play through a platforming level with a few tricks.
Fission Failure 64
Fission Failure 64 is a homebrew game for the N64 where you play as a scientist in a nuclear power plant keeping the place from exploding.
Bird Kart
Bird Kart is a homebrew game for the Nintendo 64 by Team Zenden where you drive around a race kart in your little bird-mobile.
Power Struggle
Power Struggle is a N64 homebrew game by The Shaders where you control a robot that hijacks other robots to progress in each level.
SUGGOH
SUGGOH by Someone2639 is a homebrew game for the N64 where two players try to replicate each other's drawings for a high score.
Tandem Trouble
Tandem Trouble is a game where you traverse a tunnel filled with lava and fire to save the princess. Made by Team Terminal Viscosity.
ZZ Gunner
ZZ Gunner is a N64 homebrew game by Ryzee119 where you have to remove an alien robot menace which controls your spaceship.
Theme
The theme for this game jam is “Control”! It is up to contestants to interpret what that means and implement it into their game.
Throughout the game jam, some have interpreted it as the game’s controls, the gameplay (controlling characters) or even elements of the story.
Judges
There’s a different set of judges this time, and here they are:
- Giles Goddard (Mario 64, Star Fox 64, 1080 Snowboarding)
- Kaze Emanuar (Super Mario 64 modder)
- LuigiBlood (64DD expert)
- Samuel “Kaiser” Villarreal (Nightdive Studios, Turok remasters)
- Buu342 (N64brew discord admin)
Prizes
The game jam will be donating the pot of money to a charity instead of sending it to the winner. However, the winner will be able to choose which charity the prize money goes to. The starting amount was $100 but the generous public raised this amount to a total of $1,254.38.
Winners
1st place – Wizard of the Board
2nd place – Mission Lost Control
3rd place – Voidblade
There was a fierce competition but in the end these three are the winners. Well done to everyone who participated!
Interview and Discussion
The judges yet again came together to talk to each other and contestants about the game jam’s submissions.
Like with last time, it does put some perspective on what goes into making a game for the Nintendo 64 and how they interpreted the contest’s theme.
