Submissions open from 2026-05-01 04:00:00 to 2026-06-01 03:59:00
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CONTENT WARNING:
You must be 18 years or older to join this Jam.
If you are 17, you can join the Jam when you turn 18,
otherwise please click away.
This message will not be here on June 1'st 2026



Submissions open from May 1st 2026 at 12:00 AM to May 31st 2026 at 11:59 PM UTC-4


What did you do with the Join Jam Button?!? 

It's gone! You'll need to thoroughly read this Jam Page and then fill out this Five Question Quiz on Google Forms to join the Jam first.  This is to make sure you understand what kind of Jam you're signing up for. 

If anyone shares the answers to the Quiz or the way to Join the Jam, they'll be Removed and Banned from the 2026 Jam. 

https://forms.gle/etNJUf4KMpGMciLt7

What is a MY WOLF? 

A My Wolf is a categorization used to describe various Furry Visual Novels.  For the purposes of this Jam we are going off of the following definition:

Any Furry Visual Novel where the only love interest(s) and/or character(s) that the MC is most intimate with is/are (a) wolf/wolves.

The definition of this trope is not unanimous and is continuously debated.

Examples of MY WOLF's:

What is MAY WOLF? 

In 2023, me (Unagi) and an artist named Cody teamed up to organize a Furry Visual Novel Game Jam in order to “see what the community can do, under a time limit with a hot wolf”.  

53 Visual Novels were submitted and qualified in 2025.

We (as in me, a committee of Administrative Assistants and new artists) are continuing this format but making some changes based on feedback from 2025. 

Contact Information:

If you have any questions that need to be asked in private or some other reason, then here is the contact information for everyone involved except the Artists.

RULES:

  • 1. You can only work on your project during the month of May. 
    • Brainstorming, Plot Outlining, Sketching (that does not lead to direct production of assets), Team Building, Photo Taking & Creative-Commons/Licensed Asset Collecting before the jam starts is allowed.
      • In the COMMUNITY Tab there will be a space where artists will be able to offer special licenses on their art to be used in the Jam and available for use by ALL Jammers if said art is not already CC.  This art can be made before May.
        • Anything licensed under the COMMUNITY Tab will not be given the same level of legal protection by the Administration as the Pre-Made Sprites.
    • You're encouraged to learn and experiment with different skills and story/gameplay mechanics before May.
      • This includes Programming and Engine Building.
  • 2. Submissions will be taken during the month of May.
    • Promotional images and descriptions on the itch.io page can be altered during the Jam Rating Phase.
    • If you want your Submission to be part of the Jam Rating Phase in June then don't add more content nor fix bugs/typos/glitches until the Rating Phase is over.
  • 3. Your submission must fulfill all of the following specifications:
    • Use—at minimum—one of the (premade Wolves) OR (draw yourself or commission someone else to draw your own wolf OC) OR (draw/commission someone else's wolf OC while having explicit permission to use them from the owner.)
    • Have an anthro wolf, or wolves, be a prominent character—protagonist NOT included—to the overall narrative for the majority of the story.
      • The protagonist can be a wolf if there is another wolf that fulfills this specification.
        • Examples from 2025's Jam:
          • A Wolf In Headlights
          • The Curious Case of Route 19
            • Yes, coyotes (brush wolves) are counted as wolves.  Not all canines are.
          • Farewell, Wanderlust
    • Have a word count between 2,000–25,000 words.
      • If stories are first written in languages with low space usage, such as Thai, then we'll go off of an approximation based off of a theoretical English translation.
    • Either be (an Original IP) OR (a side-story, prequel, sequel, midquel, etc to an established IP you own or have explicit permission to use from the owner.)
  • 4. No AI generated or AI assisted assets.
  • 5. Don't violate any of itch.io’s TOS while making the Visual Novel and don't make yourself reasonably vulnerable to a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown by infringing on serious copyrights.  Don’t violate the Geneva Conventions by misappropriating the Red Cross.
    • Additionally, avoid any glorification of sexual violence or infantilization in the Visual Novel.  Do not have a recent history of such glorifications.
  • 6. The Jam Submission must be made free to download.
  • 7. Submissions don’t have to be in English but it is strongly encouraged to have an English translation/patch before the rating phase ends.
    • For example, if you release a VN in German, you can work on and release an English translation/patch during the rating phase.  If you add such versions, make sure those comply with Rule 2.b.
  • 8. Submissions need at least a Windows Version but releasing other Operating System versions before the rating phase ends is strongly recommended.
    • Same policy for uploading new versions as the previous rule.
    • We can point people in the right direction for resources such as Android Build exporting.

WHAT IF I NEED MORE INFORMATION ABOUT A RULE? 

In order to keep this Jam Page condensed, we urge you to ask any questions regarding these rules in the COMMUNITY Tab under the "Further Questions About Rules" Category.

WHAT IF I BREAK A RULE? 

For each of the 8 Rules, we have made Flowcharts detailing the consequences of breaking each rule:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XPU-zQXrpTSPOsIjNmLcU-cgmEF0YbuX?usp=sharing

If you obtain three or more strikes, your submission will only be Permanently Disqualified if there is no reason for further action.

Only look at these Flowcharts if you're worried about breaking a rule. 

HOW DO THE THEMES WORK?

There is a Jam Theme that was nominated and voted on by the public in October of 2025.  The results will be announced two weeks before the Jam Starts in May via email and social media, so make sure to join the jam and follow us over at @MayWolfJam.bsky.social!  How you interpret the Jam Theme is up to you.  The only thing it affects is one of the criteria for Rating.

There is also a Pre-Made Wolf Design Motif that was similarly nominated and voted on by the public in October 2025.   The artists will be encouraged to use a theme for the Wolves' designs which will be Role Playing Game Classes.  Pre-Made Wolf Design Motif only applies to the chosen artists’ design of the Pre-Made wolves, and is separate from the Jam Theme.

WHAT IF I SUBMIT LATE?

The only late submissions that'll be fully accepted and qualified will be those that can prove that they uploaded before the submission deadline.  If you need more time to make your submission in June, you'll need to contact Unagi to ask for up to a two-week Extension with the drawback of the submission being Permanently Disqualified.

Do I have to sign up anywhere to participate?

Besides joining the Jam on this page, nope.  This Game Jam was discussed and organized on the Furry Visual Novels Discord but you're under absolutely no obligation to join it for this jam. The COMMUNITY Tab can be a helpful resource if desired.

How to join our pack of Jammers!

  1. Join the FVN Discord server https://discord.gg/FVN. 
  2. Register as a Developer and fill out the registration form (there’s literally 2 fields to fill up!). 
  3. Read the server rules under Server Info. 
  4. Scroll down to the Development Channels. 
  5. Find the MAY WOLF ‘26 Jam post under the VN-Development-General Forum. 
  6. Click the bell that says Follow. 

ASSETS PROVIDED: 

We're providing .PSD files, each containing a different customizable character you can use with the various layers.

In regard to the licensing of the sprites: you're allowed to use, monetize and commercialize the designs and sprites only if your entry becomes successfully submitted to the Jam.  You must put a link to the Artist(')s(') Socials on the itch.io page and/or in the Credits/About in the VN if you use their art.

The Artists are:

Each artist will make a different wolf while the other two characters’ species will be completely up to each artist

The basic designs of the characters will be uploaded here as they are finished by the Administrative Assistants but the .PSD files will be uploaded when the Jam starts in May. 

By Fuze:

The Monk Wolf



BUT WHAT DO I DO WITH A .PSD? 

A Photoshop Document, is the standard file format that is used across numerous art programs that retains layering information.  If you have no budget then I would recommend GIMP or Photopea.com.

https://www.gimp.org/downloads/ 

https://www.photopea.com/

Is there a prize or any Jam Rating?

There is no prize.  We'll be doing a public judging here on itch.io for at least 6 weeks after the deadline.  We are going to continue to use the Rating Queue to Ratings which means you are given 7 randomly selected Submissions at a time.  Once you rate one, one more will be randomly chosen again that you can select from.

  • The following people are exempt from the Rating Queue:
    • Anyone who Submits something to the Jam.
      • This applies to anyone who assisted in a Submission too.
    • Head Admin
    • Administrative Assistants
    • Artists
    • Streaming Committee Members
    • People who need an exception for the following reasons:
      • Unable to play any submissions in their Queue due to Platforms or Language.
        • See Rule 7 & Rule 8
      • Unable to play any submissions in their Queue due to certain NSFW Content.

Please Contact Unagi or an Administrative Assistant if you need an Exemption from the Rating Queue.

  • The criteria for Judging will be:
    • Implementation of Theme
    • Story
    • Presentation
    • Writing
    • Creativity
  • Anyone can request that their project be pre-disqualified and then re-qualified after the voting to circumvent judging.

Will the Submissions be streamed to help people read for judging?

The Submissions will all be streamed on the FVN Server by the Streaming Committee.  When you Submit your VN, you will be asked if you want your Submission streamed on Discord.  If you put yes, we will contact you after the deadline to see when we can stream your submission and figure out a proper time.  Certain Streams will be recorded such as those made by Teams larger than 6.  Streaming Committee Application will be announced in the COMMUNITY Tab closer to the deadline.

Superlatives! 

We're going to be having Superlatives for the following categories via a public Google Forum that'll be linked at the top of this page:

  • Best Newcomer Developers
  • Best Solo Developers
  • Best Duo Developers
  • Best Trio Developers
  • Best Pre-Made/CC Only Entries
  • Best Audio Direction
  • Unagi's Favorite
  • Administrative Assistant(')s(') Favorite
  • Best Tail Wag
  • Best Paw Scene
  • Best Accessibility Features
  • Most Impressive Feat of Coding
  • Various other awards that'll be randomly chosen by Administration.

Credits

Background CC BY 2.0

Banner CC BY 2.0































































































































































































YOU FOUND IT!