First: none of my +1 votes made it into the final round. Looking to the final round themes there are only just 2 that would be ok for me.

But as we learned as usual: you can make any game based on any theme if you want! So thats no excuse haha.

Second my setup: - :paintbrush: Aseprite - :musicalscore: Beepbox or FL Studio - :sound: Bfxr mostly - :videogame: ?

So as you noticed - game engine is missing. Normally i used Unity everytime and also first planned with it. But this time i think about to use a new engine for this jam and it might be Defold or GoDot.

So here is the conflict of unspoken "Game Jam" rules. As all jammers know there is this rule:

1# Don't use a new game engine on a game jam that you never really used before

BUT..

There is another tip often heard by people say:

If you want to learn game dev/a new game engine, participate in jams.

Both things are true - it depends on the goal you want to achieve. - If the goal is to win a jam or to get a good ranking you need to make a good game. For this you should use a setup you already know. - If the goal is to get familiar with a new tool or engine and force yourself to use this - a game jam is a good idea to do.

I remembered my fist Ludum Dare (LD39) and before that i used Unity but not as much and focused before. The gamejam forces you to focus on it and that is great as you learn how stuff works in this toolset. My first game was not the best - far away from it. But it was the experience that i can make a game with this tool.

So thats the lesson for now: Get into your mind what is your goal for the Game Jam you want to reach.

Happy jamming.