So my first game jam wrapped up, and I have thoughts. 

I was responsible for art assets, the initial concept, and about 1/2 of the current script (the first two conversations were written by me).

Original Plan: We mapped out a full game with 3-4 dialog sections, and at least three beat-em-up gameplay sections in between. That was pretty large in scope, so the idea was cut down to the halfway point to create a demo. That would still include two gameplay sections and two cutscenes.

Process: My initial plan was to focus on the minimum amount of assets needed to create the demo (including backgrounds and sprites), and add what other art assets were needed based on the current build. 

I created some art asset templates (basically so no one needed to waste time redoing pathing and collision). Most of them weren't used in the end but I think I will continue to make them as I've found it's really helpful to have a blueprint. 

Since I'm new to sprite animation, I took a free pack and did recolors for the main characters.

Unfortunately, the actual coding began very very late in the jam, so we only had one build of the game to work with. There was some time to make a few quality of life improvements, like added health bars, movement speed, and reduction of a 5 second artificial loading delay between rooms, but there was not enough time to make any meaningful graphic updates.

Bonus Day 22: Further improvements would take far longer than time allowed, so there wasn't much that could be done with the extra time.

Moving forward: There were a lot of things that I'd like to add in the future, including a few things mentioned by reviewers. 

Possible Improvements:

• UI or sprite change to indicate sign language vs spoken (I had the distinction in my script but it was not originally differentiated in the text ui)
• Improved Maps
• Cutscenes for the start and midpoints
• New sprites for enemies
• Weapons and weapon sprites 
• OR rework game as a walking simulator story game (as suggested)
• A start screen
• Intro graphic cutscene