My first jam. My first somewhat completed game. I didn't make many of the models myself, but it's something. It's been a fun adventure, and I'm looking forward to the next one.
Seeing a lot of fun games being uploaded. Congrats to all of you who participated :)
(first posted as a reply on this reddit thread), copied here for your convenience. And yes, there's a dead player model under the hundreds of arrows in this screenshot.
What's your gamedev background?
I've never completed a game before. Started a few, still working on one I intend to sell one day, but other than that, this was my first game jam and the first time I've released something to the public.
What game did you make?
Arrows in Orbit. The gameplay is incredibly simple, but I think it's a good base for a fun game. Basically, you fight waves of enemies, but every arrow that is shot stays in orbit until it hits something, so you have to be careful so you don't shoot yourself.
How did you come up with the concept and did you stick to it throughout the jam?
I saw the theme and decided to see how I would implement gravity that's not simply on the Y axis (I'm quite inexperienced in physics engines). At the time, I had no idea what the game would turn out to be. Then I noticed that physics based projectiles stayed in the orbit of my planet. I originally thought about making it into a local multiplayer game (something I might implement down the line), but because of the time constraint, I decided to just make the single player wave mode.
What was most challenging about the jam?
Realising that, in order to finish on time, I had to severely limit my scope. I wanted Zelda-like combat, I even animated some melee attacks. But I couldn't make it fun. So I just took the one part I thought was somewhat enjoyable (accidentally shooting yourself with arrows), and centered the game around it.
What was most enjoyable about the jam?
Hands down, releasing a game to the public. First times, etc ;)
One other thing I really enjoyed is how friendly the community is. Every single comment I've seen on the games has been constructive and positive. Makes me really look forward to the next one :)
Are you satisfied with how things went?
Absolutely. I did not expect to actually finish a playable prototype, and feedback (admittedly, most of it from my friends) has been quite positive, all things considered.
What, if anything, would you do differently?
Learn how to art. The skybox is from the Unity asset store (I did see the same one in a few other submissions. Seems to be quite popular). The player (and enemy) model is one of the stock models from MagicaVoxel. I added animations to it, as well as the bow and arrow, but I'd really like not to rely on stock assets at all next time, so I can participate in the compo.