This was my first game jam ever, and even though I'm about to be a college senior studying game design I still consider myself very much an amateur. With that being said, I'm absolutely thrilled with my results!

Overall: 949th (2.981 average from 28 ratings)

Fun: 1006th (2.673 average from 28 ratings)

Innovation: 772nd (2.904 average from 28 ratings)

Theme: 515th (3.404 average from 28 ratings)

Graphics: 799th (3.096 average from 28 ratings)

Humor: 489th (2.923 average from 28 ratings)

Mood: 726th (3.1 average from 27 ratings)

These might not be the highest numbers, but for my first time making a game so quickly - and first fighting game - I'm pretty happy being middle of the pack. I was hoping for about 3 on my scores, and that's about what I got, so I have no complaints.

I learned a lot this jam, and so I'm sure I'll do better next time:

-I should focus on what I know. That means that, since I'm not super confident with animations (and don't like making them!), I shouldn't spend a whole day working on them and getting really demoralized. I also might not want to try a new game genre for the first time unless it's something relatively simple. Fighting games... are not easy.

-Simple is best. My original idea for the jam was much more complicated, so I went with my second idea that was simpler. And I still only just barely finished! So next time, I should start very simple, and if I have time, add extra features.

-Feedback (for in-game actions) is really important. I got a lot of people telling me that they wished my game had either auditory or visual feedback when you hit the opponent. I hadn't thought that it mattered, but clearly it does. Next game, I'll include that for sure.

-Feedback (on the game) is REALLY important. I forgot about play/rate until the last few days, so I just barely got enough ratings. Next time, I plan on doing it from the beginning. I loved hearing constructive criticism on my game and learning what I did well and what I need to fix. It was also really nice to get practice giving criticism and feedback. I had to really think - what specifically do I like? what specifically needs to change? I haven't done that much in the past, so getting the experience is sure to be helpful.

-Playtest! Especially with other people, if possible! I didn't have a hard time playing my own game because of course I knew the strategy, but it quickly became clear that other people were having a hard time with it. I left balance and testing for the very end, so I didn't really get a chance to make changes. Ideally, in October I'll have a friend or someone play the game a few times, so I can tell how it plays to someone else. I learned in class that it's important to have non-developers test your game, and now I have actual experience that that's true!

Thanks so much to everyone who rated my game and left feedback! I read everything you wrote, and have really taken it to heart. I'm very happy with how you rated me, but I'm confident that I can do a better job next time. I've got plans to do a few other jams this summer - I want to do Awful Summer Games and my college is hosting a jam as well - and I'm also doing a project with some friends, so next time we all meet I'll know what I'm doing much better. See you all in October!