My game has a DO LOOP that loads 35 .png images for an opening animation. Each image measures 1280 x 1280 with sizes ranging from 1 to 1.5MB. So about 35 to 52 MB worth of images here.
It takes the game approximately 8-9 seconds to get them all loaded.

Are there any cool tricks with or in conjunction with _LOADIMAGE that might help in reducing load times?

I'm also a bit curious about the Wiki entry about the Mode 32 and Mode 33 options for _LOADIMAGE. For Mode 33, does hardware accelerated mean that it should load images faster? I did some experiments with Mode 33 but didn't notice any time difference.

But I think the theme was supposed to be money so the guy just posted a cool game he made before Jam.

Money was just one of the themes that could be used. The other two were Afraid or Together. The Ping Pong game used the Together theme which doesn't really make sense when the players are playing against each other.
I was really disappointed that Ping Pong wasn't as good overall as I was hoping because the ball physics looked really convincing!

what is a Game Jam and what do you win?

A Game Jam is where you make a game during a given time limit, usually with a specific theme. Some of the really high-profile Game Jams have prizes but the vast majority don't. Think of a Game Jam as a playground to test new game ideas and mechanics and see what people like (or don't). Definitely a good challenge and it often forces you to really consider what is "essential" in a program and what isn't.

Cool! Now you just need to use a truckload of redstone and build a working IDE. QB64 v1.6 maybe?

Looks awesome! Great way to push the envelope of qb64!

@Gets Hey  . . . I thought this was the QB64 game jam, not the SNES game jam.
All jokes aside, wow, your game looks really good. Granted, I know myself how easy it is to just import nice graphics with _PUTIMAGE but this is the level of graphics I'd rather see in a qb64 game than things made with circle and line statements.
The scrolling background is nice and I like how the game stops progressing until you clear off all the enemies.

Your game also makes nice use of the anti-gravity theme. It definitely takes some timing, but I did like how you could stop your anti-gravity ball in midair and jump into it to jump even higher and punch flying enemies.

Controls for the most part are pretty good (I only played with keyboard) -- I occasionally got jump and fire mixed up.

My only real suggestion for improvement: Sometimes it can get a little hectic trying to manage your anti-gravity ball, dodge enemies by jumping and positioning oneself correctly to punch other ones. Maybe simplify the anti-matter weapon since that takes the most concentration as one always has to consider if the projectile is still moving, stopped or returning.

Good job! It looks and plays very similar to a late-era NES or early SNES title.

Who else would be interested in participating in a future QB64 game jam? I sat this first one out but would be interested in joining one later.
I think 7-10 day duration for a game jam is pretty reasonable. Makes it much easier for those of us that still have our day jobs to attend to.