Asylum Jam seeks horror titles without negative depictions of mental illness

Asylum Jam, a 48-hour game jam inspired by a Kotaku column which called out horror titles for stigmatizing mental illness, will run from Oct. 11 - 13, the event's organizers informed Polygon over the weekend.

Like many themed game jams that have come before it, the Asylum Jam will require its participants to create a game or prototype within the time limit while following a single rule.

"You should not use asylums, psychiatric institutes, medical professionals or violent/antipathic/'insane' patients as settings or triggers," the rules state. "This jam is to show that you can still create a great horror experience without using inaccurate stereotypes of those who suffer from mental illness, or the institutions that support them in diagnosis and recovery."

Sign-ups for the event are not yet available, but the Asylum Jam website will be updated "closer to the event" allowing development teams to pledge their participation.

[Thanks, Lucy!]