ShuffleComp 2025

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Shufflecomp
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Hi everyone! ShuffleComp is coming back for 2025-2026.

ShuffleComp is a musical interactive fiction competition, first ran in 2014, where you make games based on songs chosen by fellow entrants. It has two phases: first, entrants submit a playlist of 8 songs. Then, playlists will be randomly created from the provided songs and sent to the entrants, and you’ll make games based on these playlists.

How it works:

  1. Sign up for the game jam and/or submit a playlist of up to 8 songs here. This is due by December 15, 2025. You can make games without submitting songs, or submit songs without making games, but it is recommended that you do both. Songs from people not making games will only be used if there are not enough songs otherwise.

  2. By December 20, if you indicated that you’re interested in the jam, you’ll receive a list of 8 songs by email, randomly selected from other participants’ submissions. Now, you’ll write a game (or up to 3 games) based on some of these songs. You can submit songs to this jam page.

  3. Games are due by January 19, 2026. After which, you’ll be able to vote for the following two weeks.

Sign-ups and music submissions

You must sign up using the above form before submitting a game; if you submit a game without signing up via the form, your entry will be removed.

Rules for games:

  • Games should be interactive fiction in some way.

  • Games should be based on at least one of the songs you received, but can use any number of songs. You can interpret “based on a song” however you’d like.

  • Games should not include any generated AI content.

  • You can submit up to 3 games, using different songs or the same songs.

  • Voting will be based on the use of songs and the overall game goodness.

We’ll also be talking about the jam on the Neo-Interactives Discord.

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Are there restrictions on the kinds of songs people are allowed to submit? What are the rules on songs with NSFW content or political content?

Also, it’s mentioned that no more than 2 songs can be by the same artist, but is it still fine if all the songs revolve around a central topic, as long as they’re by different artists? For example, though I won’t do it this year, I’ve long imagined submitting a full roster of Five Nights at Freddy’s fan songs to torment people.

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I’m not an organiser so don’t take my word as final but last year all the songs I submitted were on the theme of the end of the world and that was fine. I am intrigued by the idea of ShuffleComp having random enemy encounters.

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