The Rainbow Game Jam 2016 was a game jam created to promote diversity in games. The theme of this jam was “identity”. There were quite a few games entered in this jam, I recorded all of them in my video compilation series. Below are some of my favorites, in a random order.

Who Am I? is a mysterious platformer that has you trying to figure out who you really are. You have appeared in this strange world, with no real direction or things to do. You decide to go forward, finding totem poles that make you think about your life. You must decide if you are happy with who you are, and if you understand yourself and the decisions you’ve made. This takes a lot of life discovery out of you, but it is worth it in the end. As you go through this game, you will find out more about the abilities you have, including the ability to teleport. This will allow you to release an orb that you can then teleport too. It will come in handy when trying to make it through tight spaces! Go on a mysterious journey and find out who you are.

The Call is a slightly creepy platformer that has you going deep into a strange house collecting scrolls with letters on them. This spooky house has something lurking deep inside of it. You are trying to figure out what this is. At the top of the screen there are two scrolls. Each of these scrolls have a letter on it. They will be replaced with scrolls that you pick up throughout the game. These scrolls point either left or right and will become your left or right key to move. As you collect all of the scrolls in the alphabet, the bottom of the screen will light up with the letters you collect. This constant change of how you move adds a lot of challenge to this game. As you get deeper into this house, the environment around you will also change and get darker. Make sure you collect the letters you can reach before moving onto new areas, as sometimes you cannot go back. Eventually, you can only go down. You must figure out what is at the end of this building.

Story of Everyone is an ever-changing game that has you adding your own touch to the story of a young child. This game is very unique, as it will ask to record sounds you make and for you to write out names of characters. Your character is starting out as a baby, but will grow up and change over time. As you grow and move around, you will be prompted to come up with pieces of the story that the narrator has forgotten. Sometimes this means recording a sound or even making a graphic right in the game. These additions to the game are then left in for the very next player to discover and play around with. This creates this user-made story that changes constantly. The base story, which is repeated, is quite simple but shows a character growing up - you start out as a baby, grow older, go to school and even fall in love. Its pretty neat seeing all of the little additions you can make to the game!

AIM is a charming game that has you controlling a robot who has become aware of itself. You are the only robot in a factory full of robots that is aware of itself. You do not know much about you, the other robots, or the world. They only line you can go by is “hard works sets you free”. With this in mind, you take your job very seriously. You must pick up boxes and drop them off at conveyor belts so that the blue robots can collect them and move them. If you put a box on a conveyer belt that does not have a robot on it, and it falls, the game will be over. If a robot makes it to the end of its belt without a box, it will catch on fire in confusion, and the game will also be over. As you get better at these levels, the blue robots start moving at faster speeds. It becomes quite tricky very quickly, but you must continue to work hard. How long will you last?

Rails to Rest is a short game that has you questioning and thinking more about what makes us unique. You start off the game by creating your character, someone who you like and who may look like you. Once you have created the perfect person you enter the game - where you are a ghost. As a ghost, you are able to walk around and talk to other ghosts waiting for the train. Each ghost has a different personality. One is quite angry, the other calm, another quite full of itself. There is also a skeleton conductor who is patiently waiting for you to board the train. As you talk to these different characters, sometimes over and over, you will find you are forced to think about yourself before moving on. Everyone is in the same place as you, each one taking it quite differently. How will you feel in limbo? Where will your train take you?

Elastic Sword is a strange and mysterious game that has you taking on a new kind of job. You are asked to take out some small smiling faces that come near you and your sword. These enemies are quite mysterious, but it is your job. Your sword is made of elastic, so it stretches and bends around. You must move in a way that your sword will hit the enemies, killing them. They will then drop floppy disks, which you can use to upgrade your weapon. At the end of each level, there is a boss that you can destroy. After you have done this, a small cutscene will appear. These cutscenes are interesting - some are of your friend calling you, others of mysterious people questioning your job or offers you have been given. Something does not feel right about this job, but at the same time, it’s so fun destroying the faces and using your strange sword. Figure out what is going on with this weird job, and remember, “repetition is key”…

#RainbowJam16 #WhoAmI #TheCall #StoryOfEveryone #AIM #RailsToRest #ElasticSword