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[ ! ] Pre-jam Introductions & Questionnaire! Sticky

A topic by lysander created Jun 25, 2019 Views: 2,933 Replies: 68
Viewing posts 1 to 56
Jam Host(+1)

Welcome to My First Game Jam: Summer 2019! For those of you just joining us, it's been a tradition to kick things off with a little getting-to-know-you questionnaire! For the first-time game developer, things can be pretty intimidating... which is why we want to show you you're not alone! This is not a required activity— it's just meant as a way to break into the community for returning jammers and newbies alike.

We'd love for you to share your influences, passions, and jam goals with the rest of us. Who knows — you might meet a potential team member, or even a new friend!

(These questions are entirely optional; they're just here to warm things up, so feel free to skip them as needed!)

Onto the questions!

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

For returning jammers:

7. Any advice to new participants?

8. What can the admins do to improve your jam experience?

9. What are some of the past works you've made for the jam? Show off your favorites!

(1 edit) (+3)

Hi! My name is Sara, I'm 24 and living in upstate New York. I have never participated in a jam, and only accidentally discovered itch when searching for a new indie game.  I now visit the site at least once a day. 

I have never made a game before but have about 10 years of varied graphic design experience. I'm currently teaching myself to code in my free time and am going back to school for Computer Sciences. 

My favorite genres are deck-building, causal RPG's, Simulation, and Point-and-Click games. I'm very excited to give it a go, finally, and my one goal for this game is to complete the first part of a game (demo). 

Host

hi sara! aww it's really cool to hear how you discovered the jam. i actually went to school in upstate new york, but going back for CS sounds like a definite challenge. good luck with the jam!

(1 edit) (+1)

Thank you! What school?  There's plenty up here. I got my first degree in Vermont but I'm just going to SCCC for the second. 

Host

ah cool! i went to RIT!

Submitted

Hi Sara! I live in really close to upstate. I'm excited to see what you make!

Thank you! I am having a lot of trouble with Dulst and have been trying to get it to work for days so my goal is to have a playable game that's not as customized as I hoped it would be. I'm just proud of myself for not giving up. I plan on going back with fresh eyes and finish it later.

Submitted(+2)

Hi, I'm Jay! I'm a 18 year old high school student who is currently learning how to code. I've learned Python in school and am learning C++ and Unreal on Udemy. I've never participated in a jam, but I have been watching videos on them and wanted to try at least one this summer.

I can't really pick a favorite game, but some games I've been playing recently are Crosscode (now one of my favorite games) and Deadcells. Zelda BOTW is also another one of my favorites! If I was to say what genres were my favorite, I would say jrpg's, fighting games, some FPS's, and sandboxes games (I still play minecraft and Hytale looks great), and music based games! A passion of mine is making music, so I'm wondering if I sound make a song for this jam game.

For game development, I inexperienced, but wouldn't be the first game prototype I make. I made a small platformer using Pygame for my AP CSP exam.
For engines I know how to use I'm currently learning Unreal, and I kinda know how to use Pygame, but that is NOT a engine.

My goal for this game jam is to learn more about game development and learn how to use Pygame or Unreal better.

For anyone contemplating if you should do this game jam or not, if you want to learn how to make games, this is a good place to start. It is a game jam meant for beginners like us! Don't be afraid to fail because failer is one of if not the best teacher.

Host (1 edit) (+1)

hi jay! wow C++ for unreal is very impressive. it sounds like you definitely have a background that will prepare you well for making a game in either pygame or unreal, so i'm wishing you the best of luck! also this is extremely sage advice--good games are often built on failed games!

Submitted (1 edit)

Oh thank you! I have a quick question if you don't mind. I made put Unity on the questionnaire, is there a way for me to change it? Sorry about that.

Edit: Never mind I submitted a second one! Please ignore the first one, and sorry again.

(+3)

Howdy! I'm Cayde! I'm in highschool and I am really looking forward to participating in this game jam!! It's my first, and I wanted to join because I've always had a love for videogames (I was practically raised to be a gamer--) and hope to create my own someday! I figure this will be a great way to start!!

My absolute favorite game right now is definitely Hollow Knight (I'm so stoked for the upcoming sequel!!), but other games that hold a special place with me are Minecraft, Destiny, Rainworld, Starbound, and Undertale. Hollow Knight will definitely be a big inspiration for the game I'm going to make!

I did get to learn a bit of coding a few years back, and I'm hoping some of that information stuck so maybe I'll have some idea of what I'm doing. As for game development, I don't really have much experience other than playing around with an rpg maker a year ago. I never actually did much with it though, whoops-- Hopefully I'll be able to fix that during this game jam and get some useful experience though!

Right now, there are two main things I'm passionate about: art, and Hollow Knight. I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, and about a couple years ago, I was able to get into digital art via Clip Studio Paint! I'm constantly practicing with my art and trying to improve, and I hope to get into animation or comics as a career someday! As for Hollow Knight, it has become. An absolute hyperfixation. My adhd brain doesn't tend to be good at finishing games, let alone going for every achievement and ending, but with Hollow Knight I am trying to get everything! I'm currently going for the final ending with the Godmaster dlc, actually, and trust me when I say it is far from easy! I absolutely adore the art and music, and the story, and the lore... Honestly, I love everything aspect of it, and I could go on for. Quite a while about the game! But for the sake of being concise, I'll just end off with: I can tell the Team Cherry absolutely poured their hearts and souls into that game, and I want to do the same with mine!

My goals for this game jam are to: Get finished within the time limit, not an hour after; learn how to code better and more about game development; and to try my best! I can't wait to start! :D

Host

hey cayde!! that's awesome. ive seen hollow knight around and it looks incredible but i haven't gotten my hands on it quite yet. the art is sooo beautiful though and it is rly incredible when you can feel a game is made with a lot of love TT good luck with the jam!

(+4)

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Heya ! I'm Mo! I'm 17 and like a lot of bright and sparkly things!

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

I did ! I plan on managing my time better, setting more realistic goals for myself, and try not to go to overly ambitious!

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

DeltaRune, Doki Doki Liturature Club, and uhhh Stardew Valley.  When I finished DeltaRune I felt so amazed and excited and I just had such a strong feeling of "I want to make something like that one day !!"

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

I do have some from last year's jam I suppose! I was trying to make a Visual Novel in renpy !

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

I love stories !! I love making them, I love reading them, and I love how they can effect you and other people in such specific ways depending on what story you decide to tell, it's interesting !!

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

Well for starters, make something and finish it but I think that's a given asdfjkl; But uhh actually tho, just trying stuff I haven't before! I plan on focusing heavily more on atmosphere and sound compared to visuals, which is something that I haven't really done before in any context. I also hope to learn from past mistakes of my last jam in regards to work load and how exactly I work best.

For returning jammers:

7. Any advice to new participants?

Uhhh be realistic with the work load you give yourself, start small. You can always add on later if you really want to. I got wayyyy too over ambitious last jam and have still yet to finish the game to this day not only because I bit off more than I can chew, but I also made some design decisions that were poorly thought out in the long term and are now incredibly tedious to do. And some more advice related to that, is the way you are making your game sustainable for you? 2 weeks isn't very long, but it can sure feel like forever/ kill your motivation to continue working if your method isn't enjoyable, and/or redundant.

8. What can the admins do to improve your jam experience?

I'm not sure ! I feel like everythings pretty much covered everywhere.

9. What are some of the past works you've made for the jam? Show off your favorites!

Here are some art assets I made for the visual novel I was working on in the last jam ! (Small note: I plan on redrawing all these eventually in a new style, due to the art style being an actual pain to do, but I still like them a lot.)




Host

welcome back mo!! ahhh i love your art so much and this is really great advice for jammers! i think too "create assets/style that is easy to reproduce/reuse" is also pretty great advice. also atmosphere and sound is a rly interesting focus and i think it'll pair rly well w your visual style!! good luck this round!

Ahh thank you !! I'm glad to be back and can't wait to start jammin !!

(+3)

Howdy I’m Nick and I’m definitely an amateur when it comes to gamedev stuff. I’ve been drawing ever since I was kid, and I’ve been drawing digitally for about three years now, and using any free program I could get my hands on, since I don’t exactly have a lotta funds. This is hopefully my first legit game jam where I’m actually gonna get stuff done so I’m pretty pumped for that.

As for games that inspire me, I used to want to be a writer or comic artist or something, but after playing a few story oriented games, specifically We Know the Devil and Night in the Woods (I actually bought nitw on switch and pc cuz I love it so much lololol) I realized that I can take my ideas and start makin games out of em. I experimented with all kinds of engines like Renpy and RPG Maker and such, but was never really able to get a hang of them, but then I found out one of my favorite artists (@splendidland on twitter) was making a game using the OHRRPGCE engine, which is sort of a super easy to understand RPG makin game engine that even someone like me, who doesn’t but understand a lick of coding, can use. Now, about two years later, I’ve made a bunch of stuff in OHRRPGCE, including  horror/romance VN and an episodic fangame for the Danganronpa series, which I’m currently working on the last episode.

My goal for this jam is to get better at streamline my process so I can work within deadlines, and improve my writing and pixel art skills.

Host

ughhh i love wktd and its style of game narrative so much! also i don't think we have a ton of OHRRPGCE tutorials but i have seen a few jammers use it so if you have any particularly helpful tutorials feel free to share them :0 !! best of luck!

(+3)

Hey there! You can call me Ten. I'm a college student from Manila, Philippines. This is my first time participating in a game jam, as well as making a game at all!

Recently, I've been into text games, such as 9:05, Counterfeit Monkey and Galatea. I really enjoy the stories they offer and the way they present said stories. I'm a hobbyist writer myself, so I've always been a fan of stories and how they unfold.

As for interests, I'm really intrigued by Philippine history - specifically the 1880s-1890s era, as well as Philippine mythology and folklore; you can expect my game to have at least one of those things! I'm not really aiming high with regards to this as this is my first time making a game, but I do hope to learn as much as I can and be able to see something through from start to finish!

Host

hey ten! oh my god that's so cool im honestly really interested in ph history + mythology as well??? i'm super excited to see what you'll be up to this jam :OOOOOO !!

what happened to high seas and islands unknown?

(+1)

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hi! My name is Emmi 24 year old from Finland.

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

This is my first jam. I previously joined a tabletop-rpg jam but I realised that I didn't have enough time for it so this will be my first one and I am going to complete it.

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

I enjoy rpg's and platformers the most but over the years my gaming tastes have expanded to many genres.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

I have no experience yet.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

I am passionate about a lot of things related to art. I love the feeling of a finished drawing or when you've took a photograph from an interesting perspective. Right now I am passionate about learning game development. I have applied to a school to study video game graphics and I get to know the results of my interview on July third. I figured since I have this next month completely free I might as well dive straight in to all things game dev

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

To make a finished game. Whatever that will be.

(+2)

Hello I'm Raye. I'm 21 and I'm a game art student based in SoCal. I wasn't a part of the last game jam but I joined because I've been meaning to participate in one for a while (also I need something to do this summer). 

Okami kicked off my love for games and interest for making them, although Rpgmaker horror games will always hold a special place in my heart. 

For game dev experience I haven't done too much with team projects but I've made my own assets before. I'm comfortable with 3ds Max as well as Photoshop and Clip Studio Paint. 

In terms of goals for this game jam I'm looking forward to a new experience and learning something new. I'm interested in stylized games so I'd love to be on a team with a similar aesthetic regardless of game genre (VN, rpg, etc.).

Submitted(+1)

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?'

Hey, my name is Liz (short for Elizabeth)! I'm recently graduated from high school and will be attending an art school in the fall. I've been interested in game development for a while but I haven't actually made efforts towards learning coding/engines until now. 

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

I've never made a finished game before so I figure having a deadline and some sort of pressure will force me to actually sit down and do the work. I really want to learn about coding for games since I can't code at all, and this jam will force me to at least start instead of making excuses for myself.

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

I really love Stardew Valley! That game really inspires me, especially since the developer made it on his own over the course of four years and the finished product is incredible. Besides that I've recently been playing the Witcher 3 on PS4, and it's super awesome.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

I don't have any experience. I tried out Unity but couldn't really make anything, and I currently have a half finished short adventure space story in Twine. That's separate from the project I'm making for this jam, but I'm hoping to at least finish that.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

I'm passionate about art! I've been into drawing and painting since middle school and I transferred into a visual arts program for high school. I'm even attending an art school for college, and although I'm hoping to become a game designer in the future I was originally going to try and become a computer animator.  I then changed my mind and thought to apply that passion for story into games instead.

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

I'm hoping to complete a game that's enjoyable, but even if it sucks I'll be happy if I complete it at all. I just want to learn about the whole game making process from beginning to end from brainstorming to actually uploading it, and I hope to learn more about Unity/Twine, coding, and game design.

Submitted

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hiya! I'm LudosGD (or just Ludos), and I'm a 20-years-old Italian engineering student!

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

This is my first game jam (which is really appropriate,  if you think about it, since this is literally "My First Game Jam"), and I'm here to learn the whole game-development-process; also it should be fun, right? It seems to be the perfect jam to start!

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

What a really fun question! I could go on for ages about my favorite games. The game that made me fall in love with games is Pac-Man World (even though I played a lot more with Pac-Man World 2); Pokémon played a big role in my life too, with my favorite ever being HeartGold (my first one was Gold, after all); nowadays, I'm pretty much obsessed with Super Smash Bros and Magic: the Gathering (mostly in tabletop form). I play them with my friends and it's a lot of fun. I even made some Magic custom cards, and this really honed my game designing skills, helping me to seek fun in my designs. Last but not least, my favorite indie game is Doki Doki Literature Club; that game is absurdly good and well-thought.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

I made a prototype of a platformer with JavaScript/HTML but never finished it. Now I'm playing around with the Godot engine, and this game jam should help me learn and actually make something out of it! As for other experiences, I mostly designed prototypes of board/card games, but only as an amateur. I play those games with my friends and these experiences really taught me many lessons.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

My "main" passion is game design. While actually making the thing is difficult and complicated some times, designing mechanics and creating worlds, even if only in my head, is a favorite of mine. Apart thinking about games and playing games, I love drawing stick figures with very big eyes. I'm not good at drawing but some years ago I started making doodles in my spare time and now I have developed a really simple style which is (hopefully) funny and cute. I started making them in digital and last month I started publishing some of them on Twitter. I still make them only in my spare time so I don't make many, and I have still a lot to learn, but I like them. I would love to start making some animatics/animations on youtube too but making videos is a really time-consuming activity.

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

First of all, I want to actually make something and a game jam is the perfect way to motivate myself. Maybe it will only be a platformer with one level, questionable graphics and no music, but it will be something. Second, I want to make game development workflow experience and try to publish something. Third, I want to partecipate in other game jams in the future, as this will probably be a lot of fun so, what game jam is better than "My First Game Jam" to start out? The only sad note is that I won't be able to focus 100% on this because of universitary exams; I'll still do my best though!

Good luck everyone, I can't wait to start and know all of you better! :D

(2 edits)

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hello, I'm Kaitlyn! I'm 20 years old and know nothing about coding. I'm very anxious right now.

2.  If not, what's your reason for joining?

I've wanted to learn how to make games, but I haven't been at all good at doing my edx lessons about it. I hope I learn best jumping in with both feet and figuring out things along the way, as it's certainly more fun.

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

I really liked Horizon Zero Dawn, Prey, Oxenfree and The Last of Us, and Pokemon is practically a part of me at this point. Stardew Valley is really inspired me, as it's an incredible game made by only one person.

eta: I've remembered what actually got me interested in game dev, as something I wanted to do, instead of something vague that made things I loved.

it was horse master, go play horse master - https://tommchenry.itch.io/horse-master

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

No, not any. I used to mess around with Scratch as a kid.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

I'm passionate about drawing, dogs, and nature. I've been reading a lot about dogs and learning theory recently and it's been really fun. I also love reading.

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

I'd like to learn how to make something at least, at best I'd like to finish a very basic game.

Submitted

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hey, I'm Olly. I'm 27 and I live in California. I'm an aspiring game dev and a writer. While I mostly write prose, for a long time now I've been wanting to make a game, specifically an epic RPG. I'm very much an amateur as unfortunately I never got into coding or art until recently.

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

Nope! I'm brand new.  I'm joining the game jam for a few reasons: 1) I've been trying to get back into RPG Maker and relearn what I used to know, it's just hard to sit down and keep at it for a variety of reasons (ADHD, school, job hunting, etc.). 2) I wanna finish a project. Too often do I start projects and either get carried away or get distracted by a new shiny idea and never finish.  The two-week time limit will give me incentive to actually finish something, even if the something isn't very good. (Damn perfectionism!) 3) I wanna get better at coding. And art, but I don't see myself getting good enough to use custom art in 2 weeks. I figure I can worry about custom art later, if I decide to expand on my game after the game jam.

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

Shadow of the Colossus, Golden Sun, Final Fantasy 6 12 and Tactics, Kingdom Hearts, Dark Souls, Persona 3 and 5, SMT: Nocturne, Hyper Light Drifter, A Link to the Past and The Wind Waker, and oh god I could go on tbh. I primarily love RPGs and action adventure games lol. They definitely inspired me! As a kid I made a high-key Golden Sun ripoff in RM2k3 lol.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

I have very minimal experience with game dev. I got into RPG Maker as a kid with RM2k3, and it was a lot of fun figuring out how to utilize the program to make my game. I would just sit down and tinker with all the event commands and write everything down. The game sucked but I was having too much fun making it to care lol. Unfortunately I slacked on practicing game dev real hard in high school and didn't get back into until later in the VX Ace days. Because of this I forgot a lot of what I already learned, and relied too heavily on community scripts and, now with MV, plugins. So I'm trying to get back into RPG Maker and relearn everything, and make a few practice games with no plugins. I'm hoping this jam session can get me started on that!

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

Writing stories. Writing is the one thing I've always been into, even before I could actually write lol. I love to tell stories. Particularly epic fantasy stories with a focus on the characters, how they interact, how they react to the things going on around them. I'm kind of notorious among my friends for writing dark or depressing stories, and yeah, I have a thing for angsty stories I guess lol. But I do like happy stories. I guess the best way to put it is I like stories where characters earn their happy endings. This is why I've always been drawn to RPGs and action adventure games... they lend themselves to epic and emotional fantasy stories very well!!

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

I feel like I kinda already went over this a few times in this post lol so at the risk of sounding like a broken record: Finish a game. Relearn RPG Maker. Learn better time management especially. And if I can, learn some JavaScript and even pixel art, even if it's super basic and I can't do anything with it just yet. A first step is better than no step, right?

(2 edits)

Hello everyone!

My name is Dom, im 23 years old, from Germany,  and im looking to particpate in my very first game jam!

I just finished my apprenticeship as a software developer, unfortunately not video game related at the moment. My dream is to found my very own game studio at some day in the future. Im looking to participate in different events like this one, to learn a lot and gain experience.

Through lots of tutorials, i learned some Unity, as well as ClickTeam Fusion. Im looking to use one of those for my project. I was afraid of joining game jams before, because i didnt think that i would be good enough to make a game from scratch in a short time frame like that. This is me doing the Shia and "just doing it" :D

I should be fine with coding, but when it comes to designing characters or drawing things in general, im absolutely talent free ^^ will give it my best shot though :)

Im really looking forward to show you my finished product and also trying out everyone elses games!


Have fun everyone!

Dom/Summer

Edit: Im also open for teaming, if someone is interested :)

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hi, My name is Jacob, I'm 15 from New Zealand and just a small hobbyist in game design. I don't look towards getting a job in anything computer related but I still enjoy myself thinking and planning games, but never really got to actually finish games.

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

Nah, I join because I have a pulsing idea through my head and its best to use that idea for a Jam- And its also in perfect timing with my break.

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

My only favourite game is Minecraft Alpha. It inspires me to look towards that simplicity in game creation. I'm quite a building type person.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

I was a small Roblox Developer for a few years... Never got with massive teams so i just stopped playing/using Roblox as a tool or for entertainment.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

Nature, being outside, going on adventures, doing something active.

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

Of course, a working demo. But in a more complicated way of saying it... A mechanic where you can place and break polygons, and a simple world to break and place those polygons on.

Hi, I'm Pratyush! I'm a 13 year old school student who is currently learning how to code. I've know JavaScript & Java pretty well, and currently I am focusing on C#, my school is teaching VBscript. I've never participated in a game jam, but I have been watching videos on them on Youtube since 2015 and wanted to try at least one this summer.

I can't really pick a favorite game. If I was to say what genres were my favorite, I would say strategy games, fighting games, and sandboxes games (Yes, I still play Minecraft).

I've have 1 year of expierence with Unity. I have used Unity to create games and assets (Check it out on my page). I also have exprience with Notepad++.

My goal for this game jam is to learn more about game development and learn how to use Unity in a better and much effiencent way.

Just a question, I am 13 and I want to join the discord server. So can I be allowed to join your server?

Submitted (3 edits) (+1)

Hoo hiho hello hello, I'm surprised you scrolled down this far. Welcome to my thread reply. I come with coffee, refrigerated grapes, and shotgun-style attention to detail towards creative ventures. 

I have a lot of love to give. ❤

I'd be delighted to share this lattermost thing with you, within the constructs of healthy boundaries. The consumables are all mine. (I need them).


~ ✧☆・゚: I go by Wudgeous. :・゚☆✧ ~

I also respond to Wudge and Wudgey. This is one of my first submissions the mortifying ordeal of being known-- this, here, right now,  I am submitting myself in human English words as best I can.  It's nice to meet you.

I have project management and leadership experience through my Day Job, arting experience through college. I've been writing and proofreading for over a decade, and coding in ren'py for about 2 years. I'm a fiercely (hyuk hyuk) indiependent  jack of all trades, and I've directed the brunt of my creative energies toward [a beloved, undisclosed personal project]. 

Slowly but surely I have yearned to direct my creative energies temporarily elsewhere. Thus, I was excited to find an environment catering to a first-time game marmalade participant.  

My goal for this game marmalade is to use this opportunity to coerce my hissing lizard brain not to struggle against mortifying ordeal of being known  make connections and create a short portfolio piece of a game. You may find me theatrical, vain and sassy sometimes, but I'm actually in fact scared of everything and quite delicate.  Please be gentle. ~

I'm currently reading The Art of Game Design, which I highly recommend. 

My  more virtually-housed sources of inspiration stem  from Undertale, Dragon Age: Origins, and Mystic Messenger. Though they're wildly different in surface-level mouthfeel, what they have in common is they helped me feel loved and offered companionship during times I felt rather alone.  This, I believe, is the most powerful attribute of video games: They have the potential to be portable, distributable vessels of love - if only for a little while. And my feral belief in this attribute is what drives me to create dating sims.  

For this game jam I will make a ren'py visual novel wherein,

❤ An AI  goes on tinder dates to learn empathy and human connection. ❤

... (I'm not gonna call it tinder, don't worry).  

Per my personal standards, each date will be represented with blinking, smiling character sprites, and scenes featuring actual conversation. The AI will have at least 3 dialogue choices per prompt. 

Per the constraints of the game jam, if I'm working on this solo, I expect to have only 2 available dates. If I get lots and lots and lots of dedicated help though, maybe we can have up to 8 dates...! Wowie!

If the AI fails to demonstrate a sufficient understanding of humans within the set time frame, the AI will be dismantled. ❤


I will like to dedicate some time to examine these other thread replies, but if you are reading this now and like the cut of my jib; ily2. Keep being your best self, you sparkling diamond.

Check out my: 

>Writing portfolio

>Team-finding post on crowdforge 

>Or tag me in the discord server to say hi!



PS; A sweet  23g added sugar word of thanks to irresponsible black unicorn Gabe, on whose tumblr blog I lurked when he posted a short video advertising this game jam. I wouldn't be here if I didn't see it. Thank u, sir.

Uh, and what can admins do to improve my jam experience? That y'all are willing to do anything is flattering, but the most I can ask for is for you to take care of yourselves. Maybe a bit of cheering on and healthy morale, if you can swing it. :) 


With meticulously longwinded love, Wudgey.

Can anyone recommend any game ideas?

Submitted

What kind of games do you like ?

You can take inspiration from your favorite games.

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Thanks! I got one idea!

Uh... I'm Hunter, I am 14 years old.

This is my first game jam, I want to create a game and I thought a game jam theme would help me come up with an idea.

I really like games like Assassins Creed or Uncharted. 

I have no experience so.... I guess I have about three days to learn... some of my friends make games. I normally help them with ideas and story writing.

Uh.. I'm a Youtuber! Not really passionate about it really though. More just like a hobby. I'd say if I had to be passionate about anything, it would be gaming.

I'm hoping to not make a bad game. But uh, I hope a lot of things XD.

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hello, my name is Mal and I'm a 22 year old digital artist. I also make music as a hobby. 

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

I have not participated in any prior jams. I was considering on joining the last one, but unfortunately I got really sick that time. My reason for joining is that I've always wanted to make a game, I just hadn't found the opportunity until now. 

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

I like Pokemon, the Soulsborne series', Kingdom Hearts, the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, Undertale, and many others. Most of these have inspired me because I've been playing video games since childhood, and they are a big influence in my life. 

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

I've been studying videos of game development on YouTube. I've also been trying to learn how to use Unity. I've had slow success because I'm in college, but I've gathered some knowledge at least. 

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

I'm very passionate about character design and music. I've been doing both seriously since I turned 15. 

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

I aim to make a top-down rpg demo. I also aim to learn and have fun with the experience. 

Hi, my name is Mátyás and I'm a 19 years old university student from Hungary. You can write just Mat.

I didn't participate in the last jam, however I did participated in 2 jams before. And I could not finish my project in time in both cases. I planned before summer that I'll participate in a jam and in a team and finally finish something. I've never worked in a team before, because I'm kinda an introvert, unless we are talking about memes. It ain't muc, but it's honest work. I tend to overestimate myself and I can be a bit lazy too.

I perviously used game maker, but I'd like to learn Godot during this jam. I also make music and illustrate, but my drawing is not really good (my music I think can be borderline OK).  I really like Nintendo games and older classics such as Psychonauts.

I hope I can finish a game with a team while I puck up some social skills and learn a new engine. 

Hi everyone! My name is Edward and I'm from Venezuela but I'm currently living in Panama. I participated in a game jam before but I made it everything wrong haha (I made like two levels but I never upload the game). 


My favorite games are the Spyro trilogy,  Crash Bash, and Super Mario 3D Land. My favorite genres are platformers, RPG, adventure and racing cars.


Aside from the game jam that I participated, I made like two little games (an infinite runner and a racing car) using Unity. I'm currently teaching myself to draw and learn about character design in my free time and learn C++ because I think that is the standard in the Game Industry (my dream is to work in a big game company like Naughty dog or Nintendo). I graduated last year in Computer Engineering.


I'm very excited to give it a go and finish the game, so, my one goal for this game is to complete the main mechanics and deliver the game.

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Hi I am Osvaldas ( This is not an English Name). This is my first game jam, and I joined it for fun. I am a fan of Pokémon 😁.  I play around with an game development engine, but never made a game. I like Music, I even play a guitar.

But call me Afrent

Hi my name is Nicky Fieu I'm 19 and live in Belgium. I have kind of participated once in a game jam when i was younger around 14 but never really got anything made out of that since i had no experience at all back then. I currently am studying Digital arts & entertainment (Game development) at Howest Kortrijk. I've got about 2 years of c++ experience and 1 year of experience in a SDL/openGL framework(from my school). Currently I'm working on my own GLFW/GLEW/openGL engine. I'm gonna be joining jams trough the whole summer to gain more experience and to not make my workflow go rusty. I also have some experience using 3ds max ( modeling, unwrapping, ao baking, texturing) no PBR or Rigging just yet but I will trying to learn how PBR and rigging works troughout the summer. 


I didn't join the previous jam. My reason for joining is simple I've got time now this summer to do this whilst I'm in vacation from school. Another reason would be to tryout new things  and make my workflow not go rusty. 


Well I've been playing games since i was a toddler of 4 years old  the game that really started my whole obsession with games was Stronghold Crusader since it was the game i first played as a really young lad together with my bigger brother that's 10 years older than me. I played that game for atleast 6 years with some other games alongside it like age of empires I and age of mythology(titans expansion). No game ever really inspired me to make my own game but what gaming for so many years has done for me is inspire me to get into the industry. for the past 2 years i can really say that the journey has been a blast learning allot of new things in not only programming but math and modeling 3D objects. 


I have about 2 years of experience, 1 year of toying around in unity/unreal and 1 year of using a SDL/openGL based framework/engine whatever you want to call it.


I really love strategy games / programming / math they are allot of fun to all do unlike stuff like 3D modeling shooter games  and art in general it really just gets me bored and I cant keep my concentration on them


My goals for this jam would be making a finished game, optimizing my workflow, learning new stuff along the way and maybe meet some new and interesting people as well.

Submitted

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself? 

Hi, my name is Bryan. I’m 20 and I’m from Uruguay. I like drawing a lot and modeling in 3D.

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

This is my first time in a game jam. I joined this time because I spent the last years learning some basics by myself, but i would like to learn more and i would like to learn how to work with a team. 

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

Last year I finally played Persona 5 and made me fall in love with it’s art and the jrpg genre. Now I’m playing persona 3 and that inspired me for a personal project but it’s in early stages. Other games I love, The Legend of Zelda Breath Of The Wild is perfect to represent a world full of life that I can create. I love creating worlds full of interesting characters with all the posible details covered, other games in general that I love are Batman Arkham Saga, Crysis (crysis 3 was my favorite of all), Mirror's Edge (I really like parkour and this game made it feel very realistic), Uncharted (I have various OCs that have a funny way of being like Nathan Drake), this is not a game but Spiderman Into The Spiderverse was perfect showing an art style I would love to make for a game. 

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

I studied Videogame Design 2 years ago and learn very basic stuff in Unity but I learned a lot about 3DsMax. The last 2 years I learned about Unreal and blueprints and made very basic stuff. I learned the basics of Zbrush and now I’m learning Blender from a book I bought this year. I use Clip Studio Paint to draw in digital and I really like drawing traditionally.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

I love comic aesthetics in a game, I’m very passionate about cel shading lately but I didn’t have time to learn how to make it. I have lots of stories for games I want to do in my life already written but I don’t have the experience I need to make them come true. So my goal from this year is to get involved in more game jams to learn how to work in a team to create something so one day I can create my own videogame studio.

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

I already know the feeling of aiming too high and getting disappointed at the end for not reaching my goals. So I want to be realistic and go step by step but giving my 120% into whatever I’m doing.

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hi! I'm Michelle (michelle_does on Twitter) and I am a writer! I've written in a variety of different mediums but recently have been working on game writing and narrative design. I love any and all games as well as working with others for the first time. Also I really love Persona and talk about it for hours on end haha

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

I have never participated in a game jam, but am very excited for this first one!

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

For larger titles I am really into the Persona games as well as things like Horizon Zero Dawn, Silent Hill, and BioShock. Personally, I tend to prefer smaller or indie games, some of my favs I've played in the last year are: Darkside Detective, Donut County, and Wandersong.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

I only very recently began to learn coding for 2D games within Unity. I know next to nothing as far as engine and coding go. However I do have experience with Twine and narrative design which is what I'm hoping to focus on in this game jam.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

I'm passionate about creating games that make people happy or that they really enjoy. One of my favorite things in the world is seeing others get excited about a game they really enjoyed.

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

I'd really like to work with others to create a nice first game. My main goal is to create something, anything, by the end.

Submitted

Hello there!

Originally from Sweden but now living in Japan. I'm a big Civilization fan, although I haven't had time to play the latest installment yet (I wish there were more than 24 hours a day). I also love the X-COM series!

This is my first game jam ever. I joined this game jam in order to challenge myself to create a game engine for JavaScript. My goal is to have a working, scalable game at the end of the jam.

Hey there, I am Quint van Oorschot (Monqo Games). I use Unity to create games and I know programming languages like C#, Javascript, HTML, Python and Java. I am experienced with Unity and I have an app in the Playstore called Pinball Bouncer (feel free to install it), but I have never participated in a Game Jam before. My favorite games are the games which are created by a creative team. Those games always show me that I dont need a giant budget and  a >100 person team to create amazing games. I hope that I learn new people that are passionate about the same thing in this Game Jam.

Good luck everyone! If you would like to know more, you can always contact me!

mail: monqogames@gmail.com

website: http://www.monqogames.000webhost.com/

        Well hi there! I'm Lee! I'm twenty and a Mess. There's not much to talk about.

       I did not participate last year! But I am here this year, and it's to see if I can actually apply the things I've been learning!

       One of my favorite games is Doki Doki Literature Club! As well as Undertale, and both have thus inspired me to make my own games!

        The little experience I have in game making in sprattled through Game Maker, Unity, Godot, and RenPy! Its just from my many years of playing around with different engines.

Ehm, I'm pretty passionate about WRITING! I am also currently doing a Write-a-book-in-30-days challenge (started yesterday) so I may be ... stretching myself a little here. But I also have way more experience just writing and have a much less strict deadline maker (I'm a pushover for myself).

My biggest goal is to make something within the deadline -- to not give up! As much as I like my own ambition, the struggle is keeping with it.

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

My name is Ray, I'm 16 years old. I'm currently learning the fundamentals of game development though I do have some experience with python and a bit with C++. 

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

This is my first jam, and It would be cool to learn game development from more experienced developers (in mostly real time)

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

I wasn't inspired by an of the games I play and I love too many to list here, but one of my favorite games would have to be fOrTnItE ... joking, it would be Zelda: BOTW and WoW.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

Yes, I have made a "game" following some tutorials on youtube (by heartbeast, Platform shooter), I continued by adding a heart power-up, a game over screen, 2 new enemies,etc. But it was some really basic stuff, and I want to start becoming an intermediate at programming and game development (all this on GMS 2). I am also attempting to make a basic RPG by myself only using free assets online (they have everything expect working autotiles for rpgs, like I don't care how it looks, just want it to be able to be made into a tileset (Though I'm pretty sure it's me and not them...) and asking questions, lots of 'em.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

I love to read, and everything else a person would be passionate about. I also like to write a bit, and chocolate is my life.

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

Learn the fundamentals of game development and see if I am capable of making a basic game within the time limits (was it 2 weeks, I don't really remember . . .).

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1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Heya! I'm Arachnibot. I'm a jack of all trades, and I study game design and development.


2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

Yep! I didn't finish, but this time I'm gonna focus on keeping my scope down and not giving up!

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

I'm in love with good JRPGS and twin stick shooters, but I have a very large soft spot for indie games with good pixel art. My favorite games include Undertale, Pocket Rumble, Breath of the Wild, Nuclear Throne, and Persona 5

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

I've been making games for a long time (started around 2013), didn't really finish one until the 2016 MFGJ, but ohhh boy was that an amazing experience!

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

Out of all the skills I've started learning, I love making music the most!

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

I'm aiming to try to finish a small RPG this time, and  I REALLY wanna get better at writing dialogue for games.


For returning jammers:

7. Any advice to new participants?

Keep your scope small. I think it's really important to expect a tutorial level or two at most, and just build from there. Also


8. What can the admins do to improve your jam experience?

Honestly the only thing I'd like is more advice for how to request feedback. I often feel isolated when I work solo, and I think once I get through the feeling of intimidation I'll be much more productive!


9. What are some of the past works you've made for the jam? Show off your favorites!

https://gbindahouse.itch.io/bellerophon (I was the coder + sound designer + secondary artist)

https://dotoriii.itch.io/my-demon-date (I was the programmer + sound designer + secondary musician)

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1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hello everyone, my name is Gabriel. 

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

I did not attend last year's event. I started my game development journey about 7 months ago. It's been more about learning than anything so I am here to see what my wife and I can come up with in 2 weeks for our first jam.

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

Too many to decide but one that impacted me the most I'd say Halo.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

Roughly about 7 months of game dev'ing but it's mostly been learning the ropes. Currently using GameMaker.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

Art! Art has been a part of my whole life since I was 4 years old. 

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

To learn and build confidence needed to create more games.

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hey! I'm Matt. I'm 20 years old and I've been in school for Computer Science for 2 years. I've always wanted to go into game development since I was around 15 or so.

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

I did not participate in the last jam you held, and my reason for joining was because I searched game jams and found this one.

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

The Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchises produce some of my favorite games. Most games I played when I was younger mostly inspired my passion to make my own creation.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

I have a little experience with game development. I have only used Unity, and have been using it for almost 2 months now.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

I've always been really passionate about music and art. I guess that's a good thing considering game design is something I want to do.

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

My goals are to just learn from others and make the best possible game I can within the time-frame.

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Hi my name is Maxim.I am 13 and I live in Sliven,Bulgaria.I always wanted to code and make software and games.I thought it was a good idea to try and make my first game this week and then publish it on the game jam for the people to see.

I have never participated in other game jams so i am excited try create a game for the people to see.

I don'really know what's my favorite game but for this game i am trying to make max payne meets a 2D platformer but without the bullet time maybe.

I've never made a game and this is my first time.

My passion was always computers and from there i am interested in coding,gamemaking and such.

My goal is to make a working game or demo that i and other people will enjoy.

Can we create a game not related to the theme??

Yes. You are not required to follow the theme.

Thanks!!

Hello! My name is Luka, and I'm a 20-year-old college student. I'm joining this jam for the first time, because I liked the vibe of it and want to work on my first game without having to feel bad about being a beginner.

I love visual novels. The format can be made easily accessible for folks with disabilities, and they don't require much time and effort to play for folks who don't have the time/capacity to invest into playing games. Currently, my favorite visual novels are We Know the Devil and Heaven Will Be Mine. Both have brought me to the verge of tears. As a queer and trans person, I never felt so seen in a game as those two. That's why I want to make queer games for queer people.

I have some experience with Unity, but all I've created were prototypes to test out coding with C#. I hope to learn to use Fungus with Unity this time around.

Drawing and painting are my jam, but I'm not that good at either. I also like to code and design websites and user interfaces. My academic goal is to transfer to a university soon to study something along the lines of Multimedia Design. A dream career of mine is one where I help create queer narratives in media by queer folks and for queer folks. 

My goals for this jam are to get comfortable with Unity and create a game prototype within the time restraints. I can't wait to get started tomorrow!!

Hello there people! My name is Olyvier and yes I am yet another 20 years old college student joining the jam.

I haven't participated to a game jam as of today, and I wanted to because I really wanted to start but most importantly finish a creative project of my very hands.

I love many types of games but Portal 2, Civilization 5 and Pokemon are some of my all-time favorites. I have a quite specific idea to iterate on this time and it will be quite original.

I have some experience with Unity & PICO-8, making experimental games including a clock out of a Unity "Breakout" clone and a top-down exploration of my town in that very same engine.

I love linguistics as I am somewhat trying to learn German on my own and collecting books around the subject.

My goals are to finish the game, support it and fit development within the time constraints of the jam.

Hi there, my name is Solas and I live in Wisconsin, where I'm a 19 year old college student. This is my first game jam, and I've never created an actual game before in my life tbh. I figured I might as well try it. My favorite games are Portal and BotW, although I'm creating a platforming game. I really like video games, though, as well as software development. I just want to create a simple finished project while learning more about game development.

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hello! My name's Omar, I have 17 years and I live in Venezuela. I love everything about videogames, technology, coding and entertainment mediums!

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

I joined because making a game is one of my dreams, you know? But in all these years, I haven't made any considerable process at it! Everytime I attempt to finally create a game, I get stuck in the spriting sector because I suck at drawing. This time limit will give me an incentive to at least be "Hey, it doesn't matter if it looks bad, you have to give me something or you're fired!"

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

My favorite games are Danganronpa V3, Undertale, Doki Doki Literature Club!, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Final Fantasy Tactics A2. As you can see, I LOVE deconstructive games, because they grab something we're all familiar about, and then they turn it all on its head making something totally unique! That's why I want to do a deconstructive game, because I loved that theme in those games.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

Nope, none at all xD. I have made some experiments with PyGame, GameMaker and Godot, but none of them got anywhere thanks to my (Not)Drawing skills.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

Stories. I love all kinds of stories, from Movies to books to videogames, mysteries, suspense, action. If it makes you feel something, then I like it! Also, as I said, I like deconstructive elements and Meta-Narrative, because once the story applies them, you never know what to expect.

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

Making at least a playable demo and Feel the workflow of the Game-making process.

I'm really excited to start this jam! I can't wait to see what we all can do in this time limit!

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1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?
My name is Dillon! I'm a teacher and I live in Alaska.

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?
This is my first jam--and my first game. I've tried following along with a few tutorials, but the idea of jumping into a game jam (and making a million mistakes along the way) sounds like a really fun and personal way to learn. 

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?
I was raised on a healthy diet of classics on the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color--Zelda, Mario, Metroid, and Pokemon, to name a few. I didn't play anything for about a decade--but bought a Nintendo Switch when Breath of the Wild came out, and I've been hooked ever since. Current gen favorites include: Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey, Blossom Tales... and Dead Cells! I am really into Dead Cells right now. 

Also, I don't think I really thought much about making games until I stumbled upon a bunch of great projects on Kickstarter. For real, indie developers are crushing it these days.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?
Not really. But I am excited to start learning Unity!

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!
Well, I'm a music teacher... So, my students! And teaching! And music (especially choral music)!

6. What are your goals for this game jam?
I am walking into this blind. Very few relevant skills, no specific plan--so my goal is just to plan and create something very simple. Hopefully learn a few skills along the way!

Submitted (1 edit)

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself? 

Hey, my name's Cynan, I go by ChickenTown (weird name i know, it's actually one of my favourite poems), I'm 26, and I've only started to program games 2 months ago, no previous experience (physics student 3rd year dropout, then i bartended for the last 5 years )

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining? 

Nope, I joined because I want to have a goal to work towards, to help motivate myself even more, and to try and meet like-minded people passionate about games, and their development

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own? 

Alot of what was mentioned above, been playing games since i was 8, one that gets rarely mentioned but an absolute fav of mine is Third Age Total War (actually a mod to Medieval Total War) It amazes me what those modders managed to do with no funding, just their love of LOTR and Total War

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine? 

Not much, I've been learning Godot over the past 2 months, so hopefully i can make something playable at least.
When i was studying physics I did have to learn a bit of Java and Python, GDScript being based of python means I understand the syntax, so that's nice

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

Any form of expression, be it games, cinema, music, books, poetry. I get more passionate over themes or topics rather than the means with which they are portrayed, I love sci-fi in particular (Foundations, Dune, and so forth).


And most recently, playing around in Godot

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

Make a playable game, focused on the theme, with sound and semi-decent sprites (I'm not much of an artist), I'd like to be able to start a project on Godot not have to have guides open to remind me of core code

Good luck everyone, I can't wait to play your games!!!

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

A little late for my intro but here I am ☆ My name is Emily, but all my friends call me Emmer. I work as a graphic designer full time for a start-up. I really needed a change of pace and a goal to work towards in my personal work, so I joined this jam! I'm interested in all kinds of design, but my strengths are in illustration and print design.

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

I didn't participate in the last jam, but I did participate in the Winter 2018 jam (my first ever)! This is still my second jam ever, and I excited to get back into game dev. This time I hope to stay on pace with my DevLog, but otherwise I think last time went rather smoothly. I just want to keep improving my design thinking and growing as a designer!!

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

My first ever game was Pokemon Yellow (which I played on a yellow Gameboy Color), so I have a strong fondness for Nintendo in general. On their consoles I've played tons of different types of games from action to puzzle to fighters all of which I loved playing. I think Nintendo's dedication to fun has always inspired me in my personal work. I want to be able to create things that make people smile ଘ(੭ˊ꒳ˋ)੭✧ Right now I'm really into puzzle games and weird y2k-era games, so I'm combining those for this jam!

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

So this jam will be my first time programming, and I'll be using Unity. Last jam I focused on art direction and asset creation while my boyfriend did all of the programming for me. This time I'm doing all of that myself so I'm looking forward to trying my hand at something completely new.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

I'm still very passionate about all things cute!! I like to incorporate cuteness into as many of my hobbies as I can; for about a year I ran a blog called PlamoPrincess exclusively to feature cute plastic model kits and gunpla.

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

 ☆ Get some sort of functioning game out of Unity
 ☆ Keep my scope small for the jam and build out the full idea later
 ☆ Get inspired to do more personal work
 ☆ Have fun !!

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hey, I'm Seren. I'm 20, and a computer science major. I've been wanting to do 3-D models and Unity for a long time, but it's been really daunting. I finally convinced myself to try it out when I saw this jam was going on again!

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

I participated in a jam, I forgot when. I plan to make something that really teaches me a new skill...I haven't touched Unity ever, so trying to make a game will be a challenge.

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

I like tycoon games like Megaquarium, farming/life simulators like Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing, and games like Legend of Zelda or Skyrim. I kinda grew up watching my sister play Donkey Kong 64 and Majora's Mask, so I'd say that's inspired me a bit to want to try it out for myself. I'm doing a walking simulator, but I actually haven't played many of them, haha. Those games just have what I'm trying to learn in Unity.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

Not really. I've messed around in Ren'py.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

No one likes earthy colors or deserts and that's a crime. :( They're so pretty.

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

1) Successfully create a decent 3-D model

2) Create a fully rendered 3-D room a player can explore

3) Make at least one object interactable

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1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

I'm Mark and I'm 28 years old. I worked as a software developer at a big tech company for 4 years after college, but I'm done with that now, trying to figure out what's next in life.

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

I did not participate in the last jam. I'm joining because I want to see if I enjoy making games more than writing apps and backend server code.

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

Flower, Gone Home, and the Pikmin games are beautiful. Spec Ops: The Line destroyed me emotionally. Papers, Please; Her Story; Braid; FTL; and To the Moon are inspirations.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

I have a computer science degree and worked for 4 years at a big tech company writing in Android and Java. I've gotten halfway through learning Unity about 3 times now. I think I'm at the point where I just need to try to make something and deal with problems as I encounter them.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

Games! Duh! Also I like bouldering.

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

To finally make a game and call it done. I need game development and prototyping to be less intimidating.

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hello! My name is Jae, and i'm an aspiring writer, actor, and general creative. Been a rough road trying to accept my chosen fields, and now (as ever) is the perfect time to toss myself in the deep end of videogames, as well!

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

I needed a change of pace, and i've been wanting to make videogames ever since I read a book on how to program them on an Apple II back in grade 3. Having a time limit and engine specifics makes this easier to make myself learn than if I simply set myself my own goals and timetables (which sadly hasn't worked well in the past).

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

Oh jeez, the penultimate question. My favourites are the ones I grew up with, usually: Starcraft, Pharaoh, LoZ: Link's Awakening, Homeworld, to name but a few. Nearly every game I play has inspired me in some way or another, however. Over the years, I started piecing together how the games were made; "Oh, I bet they made this NPC change their dialogue like this when you've already done something", and, "That's not animation, it's a clever trick with room transitions and graphics!". The fact that i've been dissecting even my beloved classics means I should probably apply that understanding to making my own! Besides, as a writer, i've constantly got stories pouring out of my head, so this is another medium to explore them.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

I have absolutely no experience with game development. The closest possible thing could be running tabletop RPGs, but that seems like a Big stretch.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

I'm passionate about telling stories from a non-human perspective. So often, we see everything through human understanding, and even when we do play as aliens or robots, we ascribe things about their behaviour based on our own subconscious habits and shorthand. I love to explore Human language and habits too, especially through the lens of someone completely uneducated about them: is a bird in the hand Really the same value as two birds in a bush?

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

My goal is to make a smallish adventure in the Bitsy engine - I love the limitations and design of it, and I want to force myself to get clever when I want to do something that other engines might have no issue with. Depending on how much time I can devote to it, I would like a 15-minute game out of this, though I may end up needing to make a small demo for the jam, then building the rest of the game afterward!

Salutations to all! I may not be very active on the forums, but i'll always be on Discord (username Jaelien)!

Hi everyone! We're Mads and Rachel, two recent art school graduates who want to start making our own video games. We're new to this and game jams in general, but we're excited to be here and try it out! 

Rachel's favorite games include Hollow Knight, Breath of the Wild, and Twewy, and Mads's are Bloodborne/Dark Souls, Hyper Light Drifter, and Minecraft. They may seem very different, but both of us love games that tell stories through environment and gameplay with giant worlds for us to spend hours exploring. Rachel is newer to game development, though they've played around with RPG Maker and are interested in working with Unity. Mads is familiar with Unity and took a few game design classes in college, though they don't really consider themselves an expert. We've both taken at least one class about game theory and history, and have a lot of great game ideas!

Both of us graduated in Illustration this past May at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Art is definitely our strength, but we're working on our programming skills and are hoping this game jam will give us the opportunity to improve. We thought this would be a great summer project to participate in while we look for jobs and just generally try to figure out our lives post-grad. Can't wait to get started!!

Submitted

Hello! I'm Forsaken (just call me For) and I'm a student. This is my second game jam ever (I took part in RenPy jam last year). English is not my native language, so I'm sorry for any mistakes I'll made. I don't like to talk about myself too much, so let's move on.

As I mentioned before, it's my first time joining this jam. I want to do something short and fun as a break from my bigger project and lear something useful in the meantime. My plan is to make a short visual novel where you can choose your path and decide what ending you will get.

I love games from Killmonday (Fran Bow, Little Misfortune) and their vlog about making of their first game inspired me to try my own luck in game industry. I love the story-driven games that give me choices, paths to explore and lore I can sink into. 

I made once a 1 hour demo of Astral Nights (for RenPy Jam). You can still find it on my main itch.io page. I want to expand it someday to a full story.  It's really just a simple game - you can write out your name and make some choices, I didn't even had enought time to code all of the planned endings.

I'm passionate about stories and new mechanics. My goal is to learn as much as I can about programming while having fun and making something cool to play :).

I hope you'll like my work and I wish all of the participants good luck with achieving their goals! :D

Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hey there! I'm Wil! I'm 22 and I completed an AS in Computer Programming about a year ago, and I haven't really done anything with it since then, so I was looking around for some projects to work on and get back into all of the things I learned and I came across this game jam, so I figured I would hop in! I know I'm a little late, but I still hope I can make something interesting to share with everyone!

What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

Some of my favorite games are Dead Cells, Hollow Knight, Final Fantasy 14, and Starcraft 2. I I don't really have any one game in particular that inspired me to try and make a game, but I've been gaming my whole life and I always liked the idea of making some of my own.

Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

The only experience I have with making games is from my final project in college. I tried to make a prettied up pong game for Android. I got a good grade on it, but I don't think it was that pretty, neither in art nor mechanics, so I'm going to try and make a more interesting and better game than I did with that.

Tell us about something you're passionate about!

For the past 10 months or so, I've been streaming games on Twitch under the same username that I have here. It's been fun and challenged me to do a lot of things that I don't normally do, and I really look forward to every day that I get to do it.

What are your goals for this game jam?

I have two goals:

1. Learn how to use the Godot engine, because I've never used it before, nor have I made any game in C++.

2. Make the game fun, and free of any noticeable bugs. My previous Pong game had several of those that I struggled to fix, and I'm still not proud of that.

Thanks for reading, and good luck! I look forward to trying out a bunch of the games at the end of the jam!

Submitted

Hi!

I'm Johnny and I'm based in the middle of England. This is my first jam and I want to start building a portfolio because the dream is to make a living making games, apps and doing voiceover work.

You have to start somewhere! I've been coding as a hobby for years now. I've used libgdx, GameMaker and now I've settled on Godot. But now I just want to complete something , anything! :D

I love the theme! I'll be making a simple game where the player builds the various LGBT flags as a sort of educational quiz game. I'm keeping the scope small.

I'm looking forward to seeing what others create!

Submitted(+1)

Hi Johnny! I just wanted to say that I really loved your game! 

Submitted

Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Submitted (2 edits)

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hello hello! My name is Emily, I'm 17, and I am new to creating games.

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

I did not, but I wish I did! I wanted to join because I am on summer vacation and wanted to be productive. Learning a new skill definitely has put me in a better head space. Now, I actually feel passionate about waking up, so thanks for the game jam! 

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

Stardew Valley, Minecraft, GTA 5, The Sims, and Fallout 4 are my favorite games. Visual novels, particularly Don't Take it Personally, Babe, It just Ain't Your Story and Gone Home, have inspired me to create stories that have the ability to help others. 

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

Over the summer I have tried to work with visual scripting in Unreal along with some basic block coding knowledge. As of lately, Renpy has been a great resource to create the games I actually want to make. It is super easy to learn, user friendly, and making progress feels attainable. 

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

I really love to help others. In my free time, I volunteer at my local library, where I help to teach first graders and kinder gardeners how to code with LEGOs. It is really satisfying to watch young minds work. I also love to play the ukulele, video games, and basketball. 9 times out of 10 you can catch me talking about philosophy with anyone that will listen! 

6. What are your goals for this game jam?

So far, I want to create a basic concept of a game that runs smoothly, and can create an impact on someone's life. Whether that might be a quick chuckle, or a deep discussion with a friend, I would like to leave a lasting thought in peoples' minds. With this particular game I am making, I want everyone to understand that the coming out process isn't linear. Everyone goes through different struggles, battles, and victories. We need to take a step back and look at other perspectives. Thank you for reading my answers, and have a lovely day!