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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11“Game Bytes is our monthly series taking a peek at the world of gamedev on GitHub—featuring game engine updates, game jam details, open source games, mods, maps, and more,” wrote Lee Reilly, Senior Program Manager, GitHub Developer Relations, in the GitHub Blog’s September 2023 issue. It is a dated roundup, not a report on current releases: its game and engine notes describe what the issue featured at the time, and its jam dates are all in the past.
What Game Bytes covered in September 2023
Published September 29, 2023, and updated January 17, 2024, the issue brings together independent games, development tools, engine news, and game-jam notices. Rather than reviewing or ranking games, it offers a cross-section of projects and activity connected to game development on GitHub.
Games featured in the issue
Roboden: autonomous robotic colonies
Roboden is a real-time strategy game about leading robotic colonies against enemy drones. Its factions are asymmetric, and the player sets priorities for autonomous drones instead of issuing direct orders to each unit. The issue highlighted a release that had added an Inferno environment, with environmental hazards and rewards; that is a description of the release featured in 2023, not a claim about the game’s current version.
Aaaaxy: a puzzle platformer that bends space
Aaaaxy is a challenging, non-linear 2D platform puzzler set in a non-Euclidean world, where the shortest route between two points need not be a straight line. The issue also points to the open-source tools behind it: Ebitengine, a 2D game engine for Go; Oto, a low-level audio library; and Tmx, a tool for parsing Tiled map files.
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Crazee Rider: an Acorn Electron-era racer
To mark the Acorn Electron’s 40th birthday in 2023, the issue revisited Crazee Rider, a motorcycle racing game published in 1987 and written by @KevEdwards in 6502 assembly. Its appearance is a look back at an older game, rather than news of a new release.
Beyond All Reason: large battles and Scavengers
Beyond All Reason is a real-time strategy game built around large battles. The September 2023 issue described an updated Scavengers mode featuring new enemy-spawning mechanics, a final boss, and variant units. Those details reflect the release-era coverage in that issue.
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Knight Dreams: a JS13K game-jam pick
The issue’s game-jam game of the month was Knight Dreams, an endless runner and arcade platformer that appeared in the JS13K competition. Players guide a medieval knight, collecting gems and fighting enemies.
Engine and creation-tool notes
Unreal Engine 5.3
The issue noted Unreal Engine 5.3’s release and GitHub’s role in hosting source access for Unreal Engine subscribers and accepting customer contributions. It also explicitly distinguished this from open-source development: Unreal Engine is not open source.
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TIC-80: a constrained fantasy console
TIC-80 is presented as an open-source “fantasy console”: a deliberately limited environment for making retro-style games, with constraints such as a small color palette, small sprites, and limited sound. The issue names Nibiruman:2080 and Dangerous Dave as examples and describes TIC-80 as a fit for game jams and experimentation.
The game jams listed—and their historical dates
Game jams are time-limited creative events in which developers, often working in small teams, make a game within a set period, commonly from 48 hours to a week. They often use a theme or challenge, though individual formats vary. The September 2023 issue listed the following events as upcoming at that time; their dates have passed.
| Jam | Dates given in the September 2023 issue | Status of those dates |
|---|---|---|
| Ludum Dare #54 | September 29 to October 31, 2023 | Historical |
| Scream Jam 2023 | October 17 to 24, 2023 | Historical |
| Game Off 2023 | November 1 to December 1, 2023 | Historical |
These are the dates printed in that issue, not a current schedule or indication that registration is open.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where to read the original issue
Read Lee Reilly’s “Game Bytes · September 2023” on the GitHub Blog for the original roundup and its links to the featured games and projects.
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