OldeTobeh

It's been almost a decade since I built a crappy little side-scroller shoot-em-up called Paint Rider. That was the first game I ever made. Paint Rider was made back in college on what would have been a particularly uneventful Spring Break. I was too broke to go anywhere and too stir-crazy to not do anything, so while my friends were off at Panama Beach, Cancun, and Cabo San Lucas, I was holed up in my shabby 1-bedroom duplex apartment, learning how to create a video game.

In many ways, that Spring Break was my first Game Jam. I had one week to build a game start to finish, using only the resources I had readily available (which back then, wasn't much, seriously, I don't think a lot of programmers understand how much tools like Unity has sped up the process). Building game was completely new to me, I ended up learning a lot about games, but even more about programming. I don't know if I still have the source code for Paint Rider, but I've definitely retained the experience.

Jump to 2017, I had been wanting to get back to those roots. I needed a break from the daily grind of professional programming and wanted to do something fun. Like a lighthouse beckoning from a distant shore, I saw the announcement for Ludum Dare 38 the Monday before the event. I was saved. I immediately signed-up.

What Went Right:

Twitch Stream - I ended up streaming the whole weekend and it was a ton of fun. The first night, I got some really great theme ideas from Twitch chat and ended up going with a theme of scaling and puzzles. We began brainstorming more about the general idea and came up with a game where you (the player) could scale themselves or the object/surroundings. Due to time constraints, only the object scaling was developed, and it ended up being a pretty neat concept came.

Theme Choice - The third-round theme votes were already going on when I signed up. I originally wanted something darker in-theme, up-voting "Death is only the beginning" and "Reincarnation". I had a good idea for a Lovecraftian themed city-management game where you were the mayor of a town that had to sacrifice "tourists" without getting caught. Was a goo idea, and I may re-visit it, but when the theme of "A Small World" was announce I was taken aback. I didn't plan on anything around that theme, which in hindsight, was probably a good thing because I ended up with two game ideas.

What Went Wrong:

Art and Assets - I'm not a * great * artist, at not least digitally. You give me some paper and an ink pen, I can make some really great drawings, but I'm crap when it comes to 3D or digital art. So, with the exception of the main "Win Cube" (more on that below), most of the assets came out plan and geometric. Also, because I was streaming the whole Jam, a lot of viewers really wanted to help me with the project. They wanted to build art and assets for me and get involved in the Jam. However, because I wanted to do the compo, I was forced to tell off quite a few people (with the exception of Retrio2054, maker of the "WinCube"). I'm thinking now it will by fun next time to do the 72-hour with a team of people and create a really fun and good-looking game.

Compo Rules - As I said before, I ended up using Retrio's 3D model for the final build. I didn't have a clear understanding that I had to work solo for the compo and I loved the look of the model so much I had to add it. However, since it was added last minute, I've opted the game out of any graphics prizes. Since it's only one asset, hopefully, I am still able to submit as Compo without being DQ'd.

Closing thoughts

Game Jams are fun, and this one has taken me back to that college Spring Break. I had the most fun brainstorming with the 20-something viewers on Twitch, all bustling and churning with ideas for a game. I think now I will continue Game Dev streaming, which allows me to do something creative and fun with my free-time, something which I was seriously lacking. I hope I get to do more jams moving forward. Everyday I've been waiting in anticipation on a ticket announcement for next year's Train Jam. I'll definitely be streaming Ludum Dare 39.

Thanks everyone for your support.

Twitch Stream