1. Make the Jam Easy
Estimate Time
- Do you have enough time for the jam?
- Do you have enough time to build the game you have in your head?
Join a Team!
- People you know is best
- People you don't know can be fun
- Requires more communication and planning
- You can do many tasks in parallel
Go Solo!
- Can you do art, sound music and programming?
- Saves time on communication and management
- You might not have time to make all the things
2. Limit Scope
Animation
- As little as possible
Mechanics
- One or two.
AI
- The best AI is none
Inputs
- one button game
- point and click
- use standard controls
Art
- Limit colors
- Make shapes more uniform
- have one style
Sound
- Have a few sounds to cover what you need.
- keep it short and simple
Music
- make a few good simple loops
Code
- Don't get clever.
- Keep it small and short.
- The best code is no code
3. Do what you know
Design
- Don't build things you have to do a lot of research for
- Build things you know in a new way
Tools
- Use tools you have used before
- Use tools you are good at
No Google
- Don't do things you have to Google a lot for.
- Google is for ideas and light debugging
4. Use a GDD
Themes and Limitations
Theme: Water.
Limitation: No text in the game
Main Mechanics/ Game Type
Mechanic: swim and collect dirty socks
Type: Point and Click
Setting
A friends swimming pool.
To Do List
- main title screen
- timer
- point and click work
- art
- sfx
- music etc
5. Start with the end in mind
Win Cases
- What are they?
- How many?
- Why?
Lose Cases
- What are they?
- How many?
- Are they interesting??
- How does the game handle losing?
Main Game
- Make sure players can quit the game
- Make sure players can access settings
Main Menu
- Start
- How to Play
- Credits
- Quit
- Please Rate our Game
6. Be Lean
- Set up your game's web page first
- Publish the simplest version of your game
- Iterate to the next working build and publish.
7. Self Management
- Sleep
- Eat
- Take Breaks
- If you need help, ask
8. Win the Jam
- Browser Playable
- Good Banner Image
- Don't skip the music!
- Consistent art style
- Test your builds!
- Make it Juicy
- Ask for a rating!
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