Game Jams

Bite-Sized Development

Let's have some fun.

Because that's what this is really about right?

Ring Ring

Mini Jame Gam #10

Won 1st out of 39 entries.

3-person team

I worked on levels and UX.

Time: 24 hours

Take Aways

This jam was fun and started with a conversation of "what would happen if the world changed on a jump?"

What I practiced:

Level Design communication on paper
- I was in a different state from my teammates with a poor internet connection. Unable to commit changes, I drew puzzles on paper to be implemented.
Puzzle Design with various evolutions- I did some of the 'platforms change to the other platforms' puzzles and all of the rotate puzzles. The rotate puzzles were especially a brain teaser.

Colorbind

Global Game Jam 2021

2-person team
I worked on level and system design.

Time: 32 hours

Check it out

Take Aways

This was my first puzzle-level design project- and it's where I learned how hard making puzzles actually is.

What I learned:

Puzzles need a 'veil' to be interesting. Something that initially blocks the player from the solution and allows for an aha moment (I'd later learn in further exploration past the jam that this is called 'noise' in puzzles)
Puzzles need a very clearly communicated goal
The best puzzles are the ones where the possible actions are made clear to the player
Adding steps increases the memory load, as players solve puzzles they keep past steps in mind in case a step may be considered 'wrong'
Delightful bonus: making puzzles feels similar to solving them

Highlights

Joseph and I collaborated on the UX details of this game jam. We wanted to communicate to the players that they needed to click on the characters before they could move them- something that might not make sense in early levels with only one character if it's missing the proper signifiers.

Solution:

Characters start asleep (providing a reason for input not working)
The zzzzzs from the sleeping animation draw the eye to the character
Mouse has a trail on it, highlighting the importance of the mouse, and hinting at a use
Once the eyes open, they share the distinct color of what can then be interacted with

In the levels themselves I took care to structure elements in ways that forced the player to stumble across interactions- such as positioning an unmovable block by one color nearest to that color. When the dual eye mechanic is introduced, a blue block is pushed against the character's door so that when the door opens and they click on the character the new interaction is immediately available.

Introducing mechanics in such an exploratory way limits the need for text.

Groan Up

Global Game Jam 2022

6-person team
I worked on Sytems and UX

Time: 48 hours

Check it out

Take Aways

Oh boy this game, we over scopped a bit too much, as you can tell from the buggy, unfinshable build haha.
We still had a blast making it though and this was my biggest jam-team expierence. Groan Up is a game about work life balance where you can pet the cat if you make the time for it ;)

What I learned:

Setting up events in unity
Hooking things up takes way more time then you think it will even if you have all the content ready
Everything, absolutely everything could use more feedback

Bunny Below

TriJam #168.

4-person team

I worked on the UI and making the game feel crunchy.

Time: 3 hours

Take Aways

A fun little development session that left us all wishing for more time. We designed a simple system inspired by Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime where as the player moves forward they're vulnerable and when they stop their shields go up.

What I practiced:

Fast development with others
Crunchy and small

Exploding Ships

DigiPen Lan Jam

4-person team

I worked on making the game crunchy- explosions, popup text, shaking health bars, the works. I also implemented a simple boid behavior for enemy ships.

Time: 12 hours

Take Aways

7:00 pm to 7:00 am? Sure thing- I'll bring the snacks.

What I practiced:

More particles of course!
UI + Effects
How quickly can I make this crunchy?
Boid Behavior