Somehow I made it in by the deadline! Just barely! And my game shows it, too!
Looking at all these other games gives me a fresh perspective on just how much there is to learn, but I wanted to say here just how grateful I am for the experience.
I have been poking around in rpgmaker for a few months now, and working on some other projects, but it was really easy to get overwhelmed or distracted.
This jam gave me a sense of clarity and focus that helped me learn so much! There is still so much more to learn, but now I have a much better understanding of some of the basics of how RPG Maker operates, and it's going to help me in the future when making stronger, more polished titles.
I can truly say that for this jam, the ride was destination, and I am so happy that I got to push myself as hard as I did and take part in something so special.
I also really look forward to playing a bunch of these games and learning even more from this community!