Hectic Game Jam March 2015

This was, without a doubt, the best game jam I've done yet.

Gamejams are great for me for all kinds of reasons; they're fantastic high-pressure experience, I get more done in a game jam than in a week of regular work, I connect with the members of my industry, I practice teamwork, and it's a great fun way to spend a weekend!

I found a new crew of people at Beer & Pixels a week beforehand. I like to leave finding a team to the last minute, it keeps me on my toes and randomises my team-mates a bit. I teamed up with Josh, a designer, and Will, a modeller. Small teams of one person for each profession are my favourite because it's really obvious who has to do what work, there's no clash of styles within sections, and it's a lot less names for me to remember. (I am bloody awful at remembering names and faces).

Please ladies, one at a time!

We came up with a fun game concept, made it, and made up the story to justify it after we were done. Odd timing perhaps, but it worked out pretty well! Check out the homepage for more info on the game, it's called FEE-HELP.

This is the fourth game jam I've participated in, and the second time my team and I have completed a game in time. We decided from the get-go that we would be focussing on fun over story or art, for a few reasons. One is because didn't have a writer on our team and a story written by 3 non-writers in that time probably wouldn't have been great. Secondly because art and subtlety, while hallmarks of games and arguably the entire point, take time. They take lots of time that we just plain didn't have, and thirdly, because fun games tend to get played more on the internet and by the judges of the game jam. In a larger team we could have looked at it, but as a three-man team we did a pretty good job making something fun and in-scope.

I brought a hammock this time, as a comfortable place to sleep. Not only was it the best game jam sleep I've had, but also the best office chair ever. I spent most of those three days coding in my hammock and it enhanced the experience immeasurably!