May we use code that we have written ourselves for another game, or do we have to write every line during the 3 hours? I have several code snippets that let me code faster, but I want to make sure that it isn't considered cheating.
Hey, can you elaborate on this a little bit? I tend to err VERY far on the side of caution when deciding what to use during game jams, which results in a ton of pointless rewriting of code. I'm planning to do Trijam every week for a while, so any extra guidance you can give would be a big help.
Specifically:
1) Are there any rules of thumb I should follow when deciding what's fair game and what isn't?
2) Yes/No answers to any of the following would be nice. Can I use a . . .
-Small utility library with things generic math functions, code for shuffling an array, custom generically-typed collections, and an enum for cardinal directions
-Generic object pooling system
-Custom SoundManager class that pools audio clip instances and can limit simultaneous instances globally or per-clip
-Shader for a generic visual effect, like making a sprite flash a certain color or dissolve pixel-by-pixel
-Noise texture for use in a shader (eg, an image file containing raw Perlin noise) that can be generated procedurally, with no direct interaction from a human via image-editing software. Some of my shaders depend on these, and it's annoying to re-generate them.
-Title screen script that implements "Start Game" and "Exit" buttons
-Stub script containing a class declaration and empty method declarations, but no fields and the methods are all empty, as part of a project template
The main thing to keep in mind that Trijam was designed for improving your skills and do regular, quick iterations. There are many benefits that come with that, but you can use all the work you have done before, you can use 3rd party assets, etc. 3 hour challenge is for executing the project you have planned. You can plan as much as you'd like before the jam. That's another thing - you develop planning skills and then see if you can scope the project properly. And also, you can go over the 3 hours. It's mostly just a challenge, but to have at least some motivation to beat the challenge, only games that are made within 3 hours can go into hall of fame if they win. Otherwise, you can spend all the time you'd like, not a problem to submit a game. Actually, it would be better to submit a game that you have made in 10 hours than not to submit at all.