Posted November 22, 2023 by Ratsnake Games
Well, this is it - my first game jam contribution, ever.
I was already toying with the idea of making some kind of snake-related game (hence my user name, "RatsnakeGames") before the jam started, so when the theme of "Scale" was announced, it was pretty clear to me that my contribution would be that snake-related game.
The movement system and the game's "turn-based" nature were nailed down from day 1 just to make debugging a bit easier for me. Urizen's one-bit tileset was also locked in relatively quickly. The exact nature wasn't, really. For a while, I considered making something more of a stealth experience but ultimately dropped it because the level of complexity and environmental interactions a good stealth game needs was just a bit more than I was willing to do in the timespan of a game jam, even if it's a month long. In the end, I decided to go for a more puzzle-y experience that is somewhat connected to the key mechanic of the arcade classic "Snake", but more about planning and less about correctly-timed inputs.
I do have ideas for some additional levels, and it would be nice to have a save system and high scores. Depending on feedback, I may come back to this game in the future, but right now I've ran out of steam and need to conserve my energy for my job, so I've decided to submit the game as-is, with four levels and a couple of rough edges. I hope it is still an enjoyable game to play, and am looking forward to player feedback.