This is interesting because game jams are/were definitely an Itch.io thing and not a DTRPG thing. In addition, DTRPG normally keeps their smaller sales and promotions a secret until they start. Their regular sitewide sales are well known, but most people don’t know the dates of them. This one has a clearly publicized start date when you can guarantee to get your title added homepage exposure.
Building Pocket Quest around a hashtag also gives you free social media exposure.
What I am also pleased about is that publishers have been asking for a game jam format for a while, and we got one. I don’t know if this was from DTRPG worrying that game jams were drawing publishers away from DTRPG and towards Itch.io, or whether it is part of looking at the few things that Itch.io do well, and trying to emulate them on DTRPG. Either way, it works.
When I put 3Deep up for sale on DTRPG, I made the game Open Game Content. I naively thought that people would jump at the chance to hack the core rules into their own games. What I didn’t realize is that there are a wealth of OGL games, creative commons games, and compatibility licenses already out there.
The OGL is often associated with D&D and the OSR movement, but there is not a shred of D&D DNA in 3Deep. It shares more in common with Traveller, Car Wars, and Hero System than anything TSR wrote.
So the OGL has been sat a the back of the book all this time.
Pocket Quest is about creating new games. If you want to create a submission but don’t want to go through creating an entire system, you are welcome to hack 3Deep into a new mini-game. The entire rules can be condensed onto two sides of US Letter paper, I know this because there is a two-page rules reference at the back of the book. The rules are setting neutral, so you can hack it into anything you like.
If you would like a free copy of the core rules and the compatibility logo, get in contact and I will send you a complimentary copy. Just use the form on the Contact page.