The Public Domain Jam 2 is all about turning public domain stories and characters into games. Many old stories are public domain, and therefore free to use and make games about! Public domain stories include stories that you may have heard over and over, like Cinderella or Little Red Ridinghood. These stories are free to use and adapt in any way you can imagine. There are also many more lesser known stories that are waiting to become an awesome game. This jam also had a bonus theme of “time/less”. I recorded all of the games in my video compilation series. Below are some of my favorites, in a random order.

Tell-Tale Heartbeatz is a musical game based on Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”. This musical based game is about pressing the right keys at the right time. Edgar Allan Poe is disgusted and scared of the vulture eye that the man living with him has. He is going to sneak into the man’s room and kill him, to get rid of the haunting eye. To do so, you must hit the right keys, as they fall down in strings to the left of the screen. When you hit the right key at the right time, you will move forward, closer to getting the eye out of your life. If you miss a key, or hit a wrong key, the clock on the wall will move forward. Once the clock has run out the time is up and you have failed. After you kill the man the game gets hard, going onto a round of cutting him up. This game is one of my favorite game jam games thus far.

Out, Damned Spot! is a stealth game based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In this game, you play as Lady Macbeth, who is looking to make her husband the king. The only thing that stands in the way of the throne is the current sleeping king. He is at the other side of the castle. You must go through the castle and kill the guards. Once a guard is dead their ghost haunts Lady Macbeth, in the hope of taking revenge! You must go to water basins to clean your hands of the blood of the dead, so that their ghosts may rest. Once the blood is clean, they will stop following you. Be sneaky and claim the throne for your husband!

Goodbye is an elegantly displayed poem. This game is quite simply an amazing poem displayed very well, in an interactive format. The poem and graphics are beautiful, that is really all there is to say.

Princessize is a funny take on Grimm’s Cinderella. This game puts Cinderella’s working skills to the test. Cinderella has always been good at cutting cucumbers for salads. Now, after the golden slipper is left at the ball, she must cut the feet of her sisters to fit the shoe! Each shoe has a different mold. You must cut up the ugly feet of your sisters to fit them into the mold. This silly game is quite entertaining.

The Battles Untold is a multiplayer game using many public domain characters. You can play against AI or against your friends in this fast paced battle! You are able to fight with Dracula, Joan of Arc, Blackbeard and Merlin, with more characters coming soon. Each character has its own set of attacks and moves to be learned. This game is also complete with beautiful graphics and is really fun to play.

#goodbye #Princessize #TheBattlesUntold #PDJAM #OutDamnedSpot #TellTaleHeartbeatz