Fresh off the back of #gbjam so I’m all warmed up

I’m doing it again. Every game jam I tell myself to do it differently, and every game jam I end up making the same mistakes. Then I tell myself ‘Next jam, I’ve got to do it differently’.

My problem is, I always get carried away with pretty graphics & never put enough effort into the actual gameplay. I end up with something that looks lovely, but is boring as hell to play.

We’re over halfway through & I have a nice looking character model, theme music and a lovely menu screen:

What I don’t have is much in the way of actual gameplay. Worse than that, I’m starting to suspect that my idea will be more difficult to implement & less fun to play than I had originally thought.

Oh well – Next jam I’ll do it differently!

LD33 was my fourth Ludum Dare, and probably my eighth or ninth game jam, and although I’m still making many of the same mistakes, it’s reassuring to see that my skills are improving.

What I did RIGHT

1. Probably my biggest success was keeping my idea simple: Monster Smashes City. Especially useful because, for me, this was more like a 24hr game jam.
2. Sleep. I got some. Plenty in fact! I also went outside and got some exercise.
3. Food. I actually ate healthily this weekend. No junk food and minimal caffeine. I don’t know if it helped my game, but I certainly feel better about myself because of it.
4. Sound. I’ve never been good at music & always relied on other people to help me. I decided to prioritise the music, and I really surprised myself with the result.
5. Blogging – first time I’ve made a proper effort. Hope someone gets to read this 😉

What I did NOT-RIGHT

1. Not enough focus on gameplay. I was lucky that my idea ended up reasonably fun to play, but I’m acutely aware that there is a lot of room for improvement. I probably spent too long on the menu screens when I should have put more effort into better character & camera controllers, and more interesting gameplay. Some enemy tanks or something similar might have added some necessary variety.
2. Not enough play testing. It’s worth getting basic mechanics working on day 1, so you have enough time to finesse them. Getting other people to help test is also really beneficial – although harder when you’re entering the Compo.

How I used my TIME

2am – Theme is announced. I go to sleep.
10am – Get up and have breakfast. Start to think of ideas. Decide on some kind of Godzilla city destruction game.
11am – Normally I leave sound until last & ignore music altogether, so this time I started with the music! I spent about 5 hours in Garage Band, but it was totally worth it!
4pm – Start work on a simple city generator.

Using spring joints to randomise building position

6pm – Time for some graphics – a bit of 3Ds Max for character design
10pm – Back to coding. I’ve got a protagonist, now I need to make it move.
11pm – Got a slightly clumsy character controller. Time for some more graphics! Photoshop’s 3D text tools are great for title screens.
1am – Had a flash of inspiration: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow! Love that grainy sepia look & it fits with the retro Godzilla style theme. Still need some gameplay though, so I better do some more coding…
4am – Got some proper building destruction going on now.
6am – Character animates when you smash a building. I think that’s bedtime!
10am – Woken by a text message – been invited outside. AFK!
7pm – Return home with a sprained ankle. Unable to walk, I’m forced to sit down & finish my game.
8pm – I’ve wired up the menu screens & a simple GUI. Back to 3Ds Max to replace my block city with something more interesting.

If you want to explode things, you need some debris

11pm – Time is flying, but I’m having fun! City is finished. Just need to wire up the scoring.
12am – Final testing, tweaking and tuning. I’m not going to win any prizes for complex gameplay, but at least I can make it look pretty.
1am – Finished with an hour to spare – a new personal best! Spend the rest of the jam packaging & uploading.

Final Thoughts

I’m really happy with my finished game. Despite it’s flaws, it’s entertaining and looks good. My biggest personal victory was the music – I’ll definitely stop being scared to do audio from now on!