For game jam entrants
Your jam games, after the jam
A weekend, a theme and something that runs at the end. Keep every jam game on one page with what you built, how it placed and a button to play it.
Jam games make good portfolio pieces
A jam game is small, scoped and finished, which is more than most side projects can say. It shows that you can pick an idea under a theme, cut it down to what fits in 48 hours and ship. Career guides for game developers keep saying the same thing: a handful of strong, playable projects beats a long list of unfinished ones, and the reviewer has to be able to play them.
The trouble is that jam games end up scattered across jam pages and an itch.io profile that lists them without context. On makerhandle each jam game gets a card with a screenshot, and a project page that explains it.
Say what you made, and with whom
Most jam games are team efforts. Use the role field for your part ("programming and the level generator", "art and sound"), credit your teammates in the write-up, and put the jam and its date in the timeline. Add the theme and the result as highlights, for example "Theme: Built to scale" or "#14 overall of 900 entries", only as the jam reported it.
Tags like Ludum Dare, GMTK Game Jam, Godot or Pixel art make the list easy to scan, and a gameplay clip on YouTube shows the game in ten seconds to someone who will not download it.
itch.io stays the place to play
Each game links to its itch.io page with the itch.io button, and a browser build there is the fastest way for anyone to try it. If a jam game grows into something bigger, mark it Building or Coming soon and add its Steam page: the button reads Wishlist on Steam until it is out. The rest can be Discontinued, which is honest and keeps visitors from expecting updates.
Stats show which games get the clicks and where visitors came from, without cookies. See analytics.
For students and people looking for work
If you are applying for game jobs, turn on Open to work and add your resume as a PDF. Hackathons work the same way, see the hackathon portfolio, and students can start from a first portfolio. If the jam team becomes a studio, the page for indie game studios covers the next step, and the game developer page covers a solo catalog.
Free covers five games and three templates. Pro is $20 a year for unlimited projects and a custom domain. A presskit can wait until something is headed for release.
Questions
Should I put game jam games in my portfolio?
Yes, the ones that are fun to play and show a skill you want to be hired for. Say what your part on the team was and link a build that runs.
My jam game is only on itch.io. Is that enough?
For playing it, yes. A portfolio page adds what itch.io does not show at a glance: your role, the jam, how it placed and what you learned.
How do I credit my jam team?
Name your teammates in the write-up and use the role field for your own part.
Is it free?
Yes, for up to five projects. Pro is $20 a year.
Save your jam games
Free for up to 5 projects. Pro is $20/year.