Posted October 31, 2025 by Dilpleu games
#PostMortem #JS13KGames #JS13K
My first game jam experience and first completed game!
Read the full post-mortem: https://homerdilpleu.github.io/articles/postmortem-cathedral-builder.html
I spent months preparing for JS13KGAMES 2023: building a custom mini game engine, learning Web Audio API, and creating tools. When the theme "13th Century" was revealed, I knew I wanted to make a game about cathedral construction.
Key takeaways:
- Game design is harder than coding (spent a full week just sketching!)
- Building your own engine gives you complete control
- The Web Audio API is challenging but rewarding
- Gothic architecture is absolutely fascinating
The result: a clicker game where you extract rock, cut stone, and build a cathedral stone by stone, watching it rise progressively with a homemade 3D perspective engine.