Game jams are events where developers create games in a limited time, often based on a theme or a constraint. They are a great way to challenge yourself, learn new skills, meet other developers, and have fun. However, they can also be stressful, exhausting, and frustrating if you don't prepare well. Here are some tips to help you succeed at a game jam.
If you are participating in a game jam with a team, make sure you choose your teammates carefully. You want to work with people who have complementary skills, similar goals, and good communication. Avoid joining a team that is too large, too inexperienced, or too ambitious. You also want to avoid conflicts, arguments, and misunderstandings that can ruin your game jam experience. Try to find teammates who share your vision, respect your opinions, and are willing to compromise.
It all depends on the people that are interested in sharing the experience while working together. So first of all, the most important thing is getting to know each other, goals, passions, why they are here, agree on a common goal, transparency. I always choose one of each skill with experience and one inexperienced one, just to keep all involved, share work and everyone gains something from this jam experience. There is a room for all that want to show effort in making a game demo in team environment. Most important thing is when you introduce them to each other is to have fun :)
Before you start coding, you need to have a clear idea of what game you want to make. You should consider the game jam theme, the time limit, the target platform, and the scope of your game. You should also think about the genre, the mechanics, the art style, and the audio of your game. You should write down your game design document, sketch your game prototype, and divide your tasks into manageable chunks. You should also set realistic expectations and prioritize the most important features of your game.
My goal is always to include fun and transparency in the process, so all of the team members contribute with ideas, the one that was most liked or voted for and the most important thing - to be achievable. Keep it short and simple.
When planning your game for a game jam, think on how the game should begin and most important, how it should end. Make the game from the start to finish very soon, even if you don't have the middle part. If you do that way, you don't have to be concerned too much about making more things, because the game has already an ending, so everything that you can add on the middle of the game is something extra. If your game has levels, make the first and final one, then add the others. It works better on games that can be separated by modules, like levels, but you can make it work on other games too.
One of the biggest challenges of a game jam is to create a game in a short time with limited resources. You don't want to waste time learning new tools, engines, languages, or frameworks that you are not familiar with. You should use the tools and assets that you know how to use, that suit your game idea, and that are compatible with your team. You should also take advantage of free or cheap resources that can save you time and effort, such as online tutorials, libraries, templates, assets, sounds, and fonts.
The best thing is to spot an artist and ask them to create the assets for your projects. The same goes with audio artist, if you have an idea about the game try inspiring or guide him on where you want them to go when creating Fx or music. If you have a team member that don't have a certain knowledge of some tool, it's still ok, they can contribute on any other ways. Do not exaggerate and do that only if you have a prior mechanism or idea that you want to push on the jam, otherwise just try and complete a project. Git, dev platforms, google drive, pen and paper, whatever you think of doing and including into your process is welcomed. So just enjoy and have fun.
You should test your game regularly throughout the game jam to make sure it works, it is fun, and it meets the game jam criteria. You should also ask for feedback from your teammates, other developers, or playtesters to improve your game. You should fix any bugs, glitches, errors, or crashes that can ruin your game. You should also polish your game by adding details, effects, animations, sounds, music, menus, instructions, and credits that can enhance your game.
Testing is important part before any presentation, in order to avoid or explain the bug, or even accept it as a feature :D So yes, do test your games and try to polish everything that you have in order to have a better presentation.
Game jams can be very demanding and exhausting, both physically and mentally. You should not neglect your health and well-being during the game jam. You should take breaks, eat well, drink water, sleep enough, and exercise. You should also avoid stress, burnout, and frustration that can affect your mood and performance. You should have fun, enjoy the process, and celebrate your achievements.
Rushing yourself or not having a sleep is not doing good for the team. The most important thing is the participation and having experience on making a game. Most importantly rested mind brings new perspective.
The final and most important step of a game jam is to submit your game on time. You should check the submission rules, guidelines, and deadlines of the game jam and follow them carefully. You should also prepare your game files, screenshots, videos, descriptions, and links that are required for the submission. You should also test your game one last time before you upload it and make sure it runs smoothly. You should also thank your teammates, your supporters, and your players for their contribution and feedback.
This is crucial, I've seen great game projects that missed the time, either because of deployment issues or because the team/developer tried to get a too-perfect game. It is important to try to get your environment set beforehand and make sure you get the libraries and tools you are comfortable with configured and running before the jam starts. Also, try to focus on the main features, like any other project, and leave the improvements to the final moments if there's time. I often deliver a funny game with lame drawn sprites, because I prefer rather to finish and deliver on time, than to miss the deadline trying to make the top state of art sprites, for example. In the end, the imperfections can also be part of the fun ;)
You can make put on your design doc a space reserved for each thing that you need before submitting your game, so you go filling it as the project goes on and you won't forget to get these things because you see the blank space there all the time, asking for description, video, etc, but with nothing there. So it's more probable that you're going to have it on time, since you keep seeing these things there. You could even prioritize them so you don't have to worry about them later on.
Think about how you define success! The obvious thing is completing a game. Other valid reasons to take part include: learning, networking, having fun and socializing.
Keep your game small. It is so easy to overscope at a gamejam, especially when your team has people new to the industry on it. The tiny proof-of-concept game that works is far more impressive than the "we tried to make an mmo, here's some terrain we generated and nothing else was finished in time" we have all seen at the end of these events.