Atari is hosting a Jeff Minter-themed game jam from August 11-18

Atari, of all people, have announced that they’ll be hosting a game jam. Titled the I, Rebel: Game Jam, the press release reads, “Entrants are tasked with channeling their inner Minter, crafting a game that both takes inspiration from Jeff’s hypnotic style while also being uniquely theirs.” The submissions will then be judged by Jeff Minter himself, back with a panel from Atari and Digital Eclipse. They will pick “THREE winners to receive a mystery prize pack from Atari valued at over $500.”

So, start with llamas, mix in psychedelic colours, fit in a game there somewhere.

I say Atari “of all people,” because it wasn’t that long ago that they were one of the worst companies out there in the games industry. Since the turn of the ‘20s, Wade Rosen has taken over as CEO, and he came out with a clear retro-focused vision which resulted in the company acquiring old, Atari-adajcent catalogues, remaster houses Digital Eclipse and NightDive Studios, and have funded smaller studios to make Atari adjacent games, like the Atari Recharged series and Yars Rising.

Jeff Minter's I, Robot a spooky eye looks over the playing field. — Could be a screen from Cruelty Squad, but it’s the new I, Robot. (Image via Atari)

SURE, OKAY

Sure, okay, I thought the Atari 2600+ (and by extension, the 7800+) were kind of basic, and few of the aforementioned smaller releases really landed for me, but I was never a fan of Atari’s consoles. Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration was so damned cool for the context it lent the games through old documents and interviews. Really, I’ll get excited when they nab the old Atari Games/Midway catalogue, which could conceivably happen with the rapid collapse of WB Games.

But regardless, the point I’m trying to make is that Atari has better intentions now than it did five years ago. A game jam is really not outside of their wheelhouse now, as they’ve spent a lot of time boosting smaller developers and even the homebrew community. A game jam could bring the indie community closer to them and allow them to build new relationships with folks creating the sorts of games they want to associate themselves with.

It’s also an advertising opportunity, of course. Jeff Minter is currently working on a revival of I, Robot, which the game jam’s moniker references.

If you want to enter, I’ll put the link to the landing page right here. It’s perhaps worth noting that you’ll get a copy of Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter story for participating, and if you submit a finished game, you’ll receive Jeff Minter’s I, Robot. Neat stuff.