{"author_link":"\/users\/albatross","author_name":"Albatross","author_uid":"albatross","comments":[],"epoch":1713314953,"event":"LD55","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":393545,"likes":15,"metadata":{"p_key":"206069","p_author":"Albatross","p_authorkey":"1388543","p_urlkey":"442596","p_title":"What I learned from my first game jam","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD55","p_time":"1713314953","p_likes":"15","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1388543","us_name":"Albatross","us_username":"albatross","event_start":"1712966400","event_key":"120","event_name":"Ludum Dare 55"},"node":{"_collation":{"body_sanitizer":"TextUtils::SanitizeHTML via existing importer","event":"LD55","removed_author":false},"_superparent":383062,"_trust":1,"author":388543,"body":"I designed and coded everything and made all the assets from scratch in the 72-hour period I had, and while it was quite an experience, I also got physically ill from exhaustion and lack of sleep. So I thought I'd share the things I learned, in case it helps anyone out here.\nIf you'd like to check my game out, you can find it here: https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/55\/fellwand\n\n1. Preparation is really important. I sat down to start coding the game engine a few hours before the Jam started. That was an awful idea. I spent the next 40 hours working out engine issues. While you can't prepare everything, due to theme constraints, I advise that everyone should start out with some sort of codebase that they can pull from or adapt. At least simple things like collision functions, custom libraries, etc.\n\n2. It's not a 48-hour game jam; it's a 24-hour game jam. I could have submitted to the compo because I did everything myself from scratch, but I simply wasn't prepared for how much time and work it would take, so I had to use the 72 hours. Even then, I should have taken a full 24 hours to playtest and refine my game. Instead I got about 24 minutes. Add to this the fact that everything takes twice as long as you think it will, and now the jam is actually a 12-hour game jam. I don't think I'm exaggerating; I think if you want to comfortably finish, you should aim to make a prototype in 12 hours.\n\n3. I was most productive once my engine progressed to the point where I no longer had to hard-code any features; I simply threw some numbers and functions together and out popped a new weapon or item or boss. This is the ideal state to be in, because you can 100% focus on making new features, but it took me 48 hours to get there; so remember to prepare such things beforehand, as much as you can.\n\n4. Players like to feel that they can improve and progress in your game at a reasonable pace, indefinitely. I made the mistake of making my game a little too difficult; there's a sort of barrier preventing you from playing well until you learn the base mechanics. However I feel like it also has a lot of room for skill expression, which is where I did best. I could have done better, however, by making combat more involved and giving the player more feedback\/reward for the actions they took.\n\n5. Sleep is important. Though you lose time from sleeping, yes, you also lose a massive amount of time and innovation from being sleep-deprived. The pace and motivation I had decreased the longer I went without sleep. It was also just straight unhealthy to work for as long as I did, so make sure you're taking care of yourself.","comments":3,"comments-timestamp":"2024-04-17T06:33:16Z","created":"2024-04-17T00:35:23Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":393545,"love":15,"love-timestamp":"2024-04-17T06:29:29Z","meta":[],"modified":"2024-04-17T06:33:16Z","name":"What I learned from my first game jam","node-timestamp":"2024-04-17T00:52:28Z","parent":388555,"parents":[1,5,9,383062,388555],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/55\/fellwand\/what-i-learned-from-my-first-game-jam","published":"2024-04-17T00:49:13Z","scope":"public","slug":"what-i-learned-from-my-first-game-jam","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":1230276},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"393545","n_urlkey":"442596","n_parent":"388555","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/55\/fellwand\/what-i-learned-from-my-first-game-jam","n_slug":"what-i-learned-from-my-first-gam","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"388543","n_created":"1713314123","n_modified":"1713335596","n_version":"1230276","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/55\/fellwand\/what-i-learned-from-my-first-game-jam","text":"I designed and coded everything and made all the assets from scratch in the 72-hour period I had, and while it was quite an experience, I also got physically ill from exhaustion and lack of sleep. So I thought I'd share the things I learned, in case it helps anyone out here.\nIf you'd like to check my game out, you can find it here: https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/55\/fellwand\n\n1. Preparation is really important. I sat down to start coding the game engine a few hours before the Jam started. That was an awful idea. I spent the next 40 hours working out engine issues. While you can't prepare everything, due to theme constraints, I advise that everyone should start out with some sort of codebase that they can pull from or adapt. At least simple things like collision functions, custom libraries, etc.\n\n2. It's not a 48-hour game jam; it's a 24-hour game jam. I could have submitted to the compo because I did everything myself from scratch, but I simply wasn't prepared for how much time and work it would take, so I had to use the 72 hours. Even then, I should have taken a full 24 hours to playtest and refine my game. Instead I got about 24 minutes. Add to this the fact that everything takes twice as long as you think it will, and now the jam is actually a 12-hour game jam. I don't think I'm exaggerating; I think if you want to comfortably finish, you should aim to make a prototype in 12 hours.\n\n3. I was most productive once my engine progressed to the point where I no longer had to hard-code any features; I simply threw some numbers and functions together and out popped a new weapon or item or boss. This is the ideal state to be in, because you can 100% focus on making new features, but it took me 48 hours to get there; so remember to prepare such things beforehand, as much as you can.\n\n4. Players like to feel that they can improve and progress in your game at a reasonable pace, indefinitely. I made the mistake of making my game a little too difficult; there's a sort of barrier preventing you from playing well until you learn the base mechanics. However I feel like it also has a lot of room for skill expression, which is where I did best. I could have done better, however, by making combat more involved and giving the player more feedback\/reward for the actions they took.\n\n5. Sleep is important. Though you lose time from sleeping, yes, you also lose a massive amount of time and innovation from being sleep-deprived. The pace and motivation I had decreased the longer I went without sleep. It was also just straight unhealthy to work for as long as I did, so make sure you're taking care of yourself.","title":"What I learned from my first game jam","wayback_source":[]}