The Global Game Jam (GGJ) stands as a testament to the ingenuity and passion of game developers worldwide. With a mission to empower creativity and collaboration, GGJ’s 2024 event was a whirlwind of innovation, seeing thousands of talented individuals taking part in the fun and friendly task of game creation from January 22nd-28th.
As a proud sponsor of the event, we threw down an additional gauntlet to spark the creativity of jammers even further: The Leonardo.Ai Diversifier Challenge. To get involved, participants were tasked with including assets for their game created using Leonardo.Ai – be it environment, objects or characters (or any combination of the three). We were utterly blown away by the quality of the submissions, and ended up with a challenge on our own hands to decide the winners!
So, without further ado, here are the incredible games that nabbed the top spots in our Diversifier Challenge:
Barkwatch: 2nd Place (Joint) 🥈

Barkwatch received joint second place for environment quality, mood, and design originality. The black and white hand-drawn retro-style game sees the player transformed into a gun-toting dog forced to defend their home against a barrage of sinister creatures during a nightly siege.
The game combines tower defence and 2D shooter mechanics to wonderfully fun and engaging effect. The developers utilised our platform for the game’s beginning and end screens, as well as the haunting forest environment that serves as a backdrop to all the visually stunning (and addictive) action.
Soul of Sir Artorias: 2nd Place (Joint) 🥈

With a title clearly inspired by the iconic and tragic boss of the Dark Souls series, Soul of Sir Artorias delivers a captivating 2D platformer experience in 8-bit retro style. Players feed an offscreen eldritch god various items, with each successful consumption increasing cosmic madness – the aim of the game.
Leonardo.Ai was instrumental in depicting the background, as well as the items (such as beer and vegetables) and of course, the knight himself. It’s weird, it’s fun and it’s a little bit sinister, so we’re sure Miyazaki approves.
Showtime!: 1st Place (Joint) 🥇

Selected as an art, creativity, and gameplay champion, this 2D single-screen high-score game challenges players to embody a rag-doll limbed jester as he is forced to catch and juggle increasingly bizarre items for a monstrous king and baying crowd.
The game features Leonardo.Ai-generated backgrounds, items, and characters, all of which come together to create a fully-functioning and highly addictive game with a strong visual theme and style. In fact, the developer even explained how they consistently used the words “medieval” and “grimy” as prompts to create a cohesive and engaging aesthetic. Brilliant stuff.
Monk Island: 1st Place (Joint) 🥇

This beautifully crafted Italian-language point-and-click game took the crown for texture, style, and cohesiveness. A loving homage to adventure games of the past (with a very clear nod to its inspiration on its 8-bit title screen, if the name didn’t already give it away), the title does actually have its own clear identity once you get started.
Monk Island integrates 3D design with numerous 2D Leonardo.Ai-generated textures and objects, (such as candlesticks, keys, pews, and tiles), creating a visually stunning style that brings the game’s environment and characters to life with exceptional detail, making it hard not to love. Eat your heart out, Ron Gilbert!
For the winners…
Of the many excellent entries we had, the above four took the winning spots in the Diversifier Challenge – the tied winners receive $250 cash and a 12 month Leonardo.Ai subscription, while the runners-up win a year’s subscription.
We also wanted to take a moment to thank each and every game developer who took part. The sheer quality of the games entered into the challenge showcases not only the potential of combining ingenious game-making talent with the streamlined assistance of AI creation, but also highlights the exciting new creative experimentation that has now been made possible with the tools available on Leonardo.Ai.
Congratulations to all the winners for taking on the gauntlet and coming out triumphant– we honestly can’t wait to see what you create next!