This week was cristmas week so i was (like everyone) busy with visiting my family and the family of my wife. Also my childs needed some time. And besides this i had to work between xmas and new years eve (on friday and tomorrow on monday too). When i had time i thought about a new idea for this week. I wanted to do something regarding to the topic. But i had no idea for christmas games currently (i made one some years ago). So i thought about if it would be great to join a game jam the last time for 2019.
And i thought “why not combinate ? the goal is to make a game – it doesnt matter if it is part of a jam or not”. I joined Mini Jam 44 and made a game.
I wanted on the end of the year make something that makes me fun – so like often this year it is a small platformer.
What went good:
I started late but as i know what i need to do this wasn’t bad at all. Also i was able to use premade assets for the background (i started to draw but noticed that i need too long to do it). I tested a simple new mechanic (saw in the ground lol) which was pretty good.
What went bad:
Not much – the jam background gave me motivation to reach my goal and to make more out of it. In the end its just 2 levels – but this is okay.
What i learned:
How to make ground saws lol. Just kidding – i learned that i must think about it Game A Week is the real thing.
Don’t get me wrong: if i look back to 2019 i am self suprised about how much games i made. I made more games this year as the other 4 years before. And besides this i launched my first steam game and got approved at Xbox Development.
Game A Week did a great job but it is hard to motivate sometimes. Also to get ideas for motivation is also hard (the last game was super garbage).
I don’t think about to stop but i want to make my next commercial game. And Game A Week eats some time – but it is experience which is necessary.
Also i love to see how much i made.
So my decision could be that i stay at Game A Week but try to replace it with a game jam (if there is any).
The reason is simple: no one cares about your games if you post them in a private blog but on part of a jam people are more likely to play and give you feedback.
You can Play the Game here: https://nerdvision.itch.io/firework-master
