Play the game here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/stickys-aquarium

Another Jam Done

I'm happy to have finished something, anything, that's as complex and well put together as this project here. I have a few game jams under my belt now and I have learned the same lesson over and over again. Simplify. I have a bad habit of over scoping and releasing a super unfinished project, but not this time. I came into this jam with a goal. One mechanic that feels really satisfying to play with and then everything else can just be filler content.

I decided on a super replayable minigame that I used to play a lot on the phone "Pop the Lock." It was a really simple and fun game that had its own challenges and difficulties that I wanted to bring into a cozier game about fishing.

Why The Art Style?

As I get more and more confident with my artistic talents I find myself drawn to the old styles of the game boy advanced or even Paper Mario on the N64. I am in love with the round thick sticker like pixel style so I had to make an entire game using that look

Mistakes

Like usual I made many mistakes, I still found a way to over scope, maybe not mechanically but content wise. I realized that if I was making a game that had a simple collection mechanic I needed a lot and I sure do mean A LOT of content. I wasn't really happy with how few fish managed to make its way into the game, nor was I happy with just the one map. If I had the chance to do it again I wouldn't have spent so much time on cleaning up the mechanics of the game to be a super 100% polished experience and instead I would have just chosen to add way way more to the game.

Conclusion

Overall, this is the happiest I've ever been with one of my games. I am so insanely proud of my work on Sticky's Aquarium! I can't wait to play and rate more games this jam too! Everyone did amazingly!