I have seen many different answers and haven't found the specific one I am looking for. I am working on a horror game called “Lights Out”. I have not shared it yet, and won't until I finish the game AND find out if I need to remove the jumpscares or not.

I found out that apparently jumpscares are not allowed on scratch. They obviously aren't going to be allowed in regular projects because that would scare people without warning, however according to a lot of other people, even if you have a warning it still is not allowed. I am not sure if this is true. Also, is it allowed if you make it so it is automatically toggled off when you start the project? and you can only turn them on manually? I have not been able to find out. I know that FNAF games were banned on scratch. However those games were banned because it contained scary content all around and caused people to have nightmares, not just the fact it contained jumpscares. Also the jumpscares in my game I made myself using the scratch vector, they are not realistic and are not nearly as scary as FNAF games.

I have not been able to find an actual specific answer on whether they would be allowed if I put a warning AND made it so they are toggled off on default.

Some people say they are allowed, some people say they aren't at all, some people say they are only allowed if they aren't that scary. I saw a lot of different answers from different Scratchers in other topics asking this question and I am not sure who to believe.

I am pretty sure a Scratch Team Member made a post about something like this, but I'm not sure if it was only talking about FNAF games or all games with jumpscares.

So are jumpscares allowed if I have them off on default and put a warning? And if not then where does it say in the rules?

If they are not allowed, I will remove all jumpscares from Lights Out before I share it.

Jumpscares may be allowed if they are mild. Like a character pops up without scary noises. But the best way is no jumpscares at all in order to keep it for everyone or even better to make sure it's not removed.

It doesn't matter if there's a warning and a toggle. The same guidelines apply. However, some jumpscares are allowed, but the restrictions are very strict. Here's the disclaimer given on the Scratch Wiki page:

Scratch Wiki wrote:

Keep in mind that Scratch is a site for all ages. Never use frightening sounds or images. A funny sound or a comical scream that goes along with a cartoony drawing can be played, but never use images that would appear in real screamers. Failure to follow these rules will likely get the project unshared, and lead to alerts or bans.

However, jumpscares aren't the only problem. Horror projects generally aren't allowed. Based on your brief description, it sounds like it might be too intense for Scratch. Make sure to avoid making it too frightening, and be aware that it could be marked NFE by a moderator (or even taken down).

Ninja'd

The_UnknownKing wrote:

I have not been able to find an actual specific answer on whether they would be allowed if I put a warning AND made it so they are toggled off on default.

Using warnings for some projects for jumpscares, etc. is counterintuitive because everything on Scratch must be appropriate for a large audience. If the Scratch Team reviews an inappropriate project with a warning, they would just simply neglect the warning and assess the project itself.

I am pretty sure a Scratch Team Member made a post about something like this, but I'm not sure if it was only talking about FNAF games or all games with jumpscares.

You can take a look at the topic here. Although it mainly addresses FNAF games, the topic addresses some common situations.

In a general sense, it is best not to incorporate anything which is inherently scary (such as jumpscares etc.) in the first place.

jackson49 wrote:

It doesn't matter if there's a warning and a toggle. The same guidelines apply. However, some jumpscares are allowed, but the restrictions are very strict. Here's the disclaimer given on the Scratch Wiki page:

Scratch Wiki wrote:

Keep in mind that Scratch is a site for all ages. Never use frightening sounds or images. A funny sound or a comical scream that goes along with a cartoony drawing can be played, but never use images that would appear in real screamers. Failure to follow these rules will likely get the project unshared, and lead to alerts or bans.

However, jumpscares aren't the only problem. Horror projects generally aren't allowed. Based on your brief description, it sounds like it might be too intense for Scratch. Make sure to avoid making it too frightening, and be aware that it could be marked NFE by a moderator (or even taken down).

Ninja'd

I looked at the example project of what would be an acceptable minor jumpscare. If I change all the jumpscares to not scary images then would it be allowed?

The_UnknownKing wrote:

jackson49 wrote:

It doesn't matter if there's a warning and a toggle. The same guidelines apply. However, some jumpscares are allowed, but the restrictions are very strict. Here's the disclaimer given on the Scratch Wiki page:

Scratch Wiki wrote:

Keep in mind that Scratch is a site for all ages. Never use frightening sounds or images. A funny sound or a comical scream that goes along with a cartoony drawing can be played, but never use images that would appear in real screamers. Failure to follow these rules will likely get the project unshared, and lead to alerts or bans.

However, jumpscares aren't the only problem. Horror projects generally aren't allowed. Based on your brief description, it sounds like it might be too intense for Scratch. Make sure to avoid making it too frightening, and be aware that it could be marked NFE by a moderator (or even taken down).

Ninja'd

I looked at the example project of what would be an acceptable minor jumpscare. If I change all the jumpscares to not scary images then would it be allowed?

Only if the sounds that are in the jumpscare are not violent (F. e calmly saying “Boo”)

Crispydogs101 wrote:

The_UnknownKing wrote:

jackson49 wrote:

It doesn't matter if there's a warning and a toggle. The same guidelines apply. However, some jumpscares are allowed, but the restrictions are very strict. Here's the disclaimer given on the Scratch Wiki page:

Scratch Wiki wrote:

Keep in mind that Scratch is a site for all ages. Never use frightening sounds or images. A funny sound or a comical scream that goes along with a cartoony drawing can be played, but never use images that would appear in real screamers. Failure to follow these rules will likely get the project unshared, and lead to alerts or bans.

However, jumpscares aren't the only problem. Horror projects generally aren't allowed. Based on your brief description, it sounds like it might be too intense for Scratch. Make sure to avoid making it too frightening, and be aware that it could be marked NFE by a moderator (or even taken down).

Ninja'd

I looked at the example project of what would be an acceptable minor jumpscare. If I change all the jumpscares to not scary images then would it be allowed?

Only if the sounds that are in the jumpscare are not violent (F. e calmly saying “Boo”)

what would be considered a violent sound?

To be honest, they are “kinda” allowed. Yes, there are some random 7 year olds that ignore the warnings and get scared for the rest of their life, but, just try to keep it like “not frightening”. Just like what it said in the wiki, keep it cartoony.

Probably gratingly loud, screaming or shrieking kinds of sounds that would typically make someone jump or panic in the moment because of how sudden and explosive it is.

Yes, as long as it follows the Community Guidelines and is not in any way a horror game.

-MovingDay- wrote:

Probably gratingly loud, screaming or shrieking kinds of sounds that would typically make someone jump or panic in the moment because of how sudden and explosive it is.

According to the wiki, certain screams are allowed, I just used the default scratch scream so I think it is ok, I also used a disorted audio. But the audio plays after the first scream so it is not part of the initial scare

UI-coder wrote:

Yes, as long as it follows the Community Guidelines and is not in any way a horror game.

It is supposed to be a horror game, but there is nothing scary about it besides the jumpscares which I have now made scratch friendly.
None of the sprites are in any way scary anymore. The title screen is probably scarier than the jumpscares now.

The_UnknownKing wrote:

Crispydogs101 wrote:

The_UnknownKing wrote:

jackson49 wrote:

It doesn't matter if there's a warning and a toggle. The same guidelines apply. However, some jumpscares are allowed, but the restrictions are very strict. Here's the disclaimer given on the Scratch Wiki page:

Scratch Wiki wrote:

Keep in mind that Scratch is a site for all ages. Never use frightening sounds or images. A funny sound or a comical scream that goes along with a cartoony drawing can be played, but never use images that would appear in real screamers. Failure to follow these rules will likely get the project unshared, and lead to alerts or bans.

However, jumpscares aren't the only problem. Horror projects generally aren't allowed. Based on your brief description, it sounds like it might be too intense for Scratch. Make sure to avoid making it too frightening, and be aware that it could be marked NFE by a moderator (or even taken down).

Ninja'd

I looked at the example project of what would be an acceptable minor jumpscare. If I change all the jumpscares to not scary images then would it be allowed?

Only if the sounds that are in the jumpscare are not violent (F. e calmly saying “Boo”)

what would be considered a violent sound?

A load RAAAAAAAAAAAH or a a loud bang.