We of Surprised Man were all up for being in the LD 22 Jam, as previously stated. Then silly old life got in the way and it turns out we’re going to be busy this weekend. We were sad, despondent even, but then we said this will not do.

So we have a plan. One weekend, probably in late January when we have a free weekend, we’re going to do the Ludum Dare Jam. “Cheating!” you may cry, but no! We are determined to do everything we can to not find out what the theme is between now and then. We’ll vote on them, look at the final list as usual, but on Saturday we go dark. If we accidentally find out the theme we have a backup plan, but hopefully we won’t have to use it.

Still, there’s something about that hard submission deadline that gives Ludum Dare proper a bit of an extra kick. It’s a proper measure of our failure if we don’t manage to make the game. So we needed something else, a stake  that would motivate us at least as much as that deadline.

Both of us intend to set aside ten pounds of our own money. Should we fail to make the game, that money will be donated towards a cause. But not just any. A cause that we really don’t want to give money to, be it political, charitable or otherwise. A cause that the very thought of donating money to sends shivers of repulsion up our collective spine.

The prospect of this weighs heavy on our hearts, fellow jammers, but this is what it has come to. This is how we will make ourselves do the Jam despite not being able to do the Jam.