Well, it looks like it’s time to talk about removing the Source Code requirement from Ludum Dare. For 12 years, one of the key differentiating factors between the Compo and Jam has been the requirement for source code. You were never required to GPL the code, just share it. It still belonged to you. Alas, this generosity is getting abused more and more these days.

• Many games on Unity Asset Store (via Reddit)
• Chameleon Run iOS
• Water Miner
• Money Theft
• BallKeeper (not sure if code was stolen)
• …

Please help me out by posting other reports of abuse in the comments. I seem to get these every so often, but I’ve neglected to keep a record of them. I will add them to the list above.

Proposal: Source Code is Optional

There are definite benefits to everyone sharing source code, so we don’t want to discourage it. But at the same time, the internet sometimes abuses good thing, and the source code has been abused for a few years now. Not to mention, some companies make it difficult to report fraudulent apps, so I would rather err on the side of the community and make it entirely optional. That’s my thinking anyway.

This ultimately means that the difference between the Compo and the Jam are the following:

• Compo is Solo, Jam is Solo or Teams
• Compo is 48 hours, Jam is 72 hours
• Compo assets must be created in 48 hours, yourself. Jam assets can come from anywhere (pre-existing, Google Image Search, etc). In a way, using 3rd party assets is *like* working in a team, even if you’re solo.

Share your thoughts in the comments.

For reference, an older discussion on this topic.