Game jams are for everybody who wants to participate. Almost every game I make has gone unfinished, but I will say that game jams seem to break some bad habits that get in the way of completion.
I think you have to scale down, be able to pivot if something just isn't working, and identify the priorities that bring the core experience to life. Judge which features/mechanics are most important to the game and make them work well.
That is great advice. I tend to hyper focus on a specific mechanic. I spin my wheels and end burning myself out. I also get overwhelmed with the possibilities and what I want to happen. Currently I have been working on a platformer. I wanted to added melee attack with a weapon. I finally got it working. But having trouble deciding if I want the enemy to have a knock back effect when I hit it. I got that to work, but not happy with the result. I dont know feel like I maybe spinning my wheels again.
Ask yourself - what do you want the knockback for? If it's to enrich the 'feel', maybe there's another way to do that. If it's critical to allow the player to exploit the environment (eg. knock enemies into a trap) then maybe it's worth taking a beat to focus on something else. Then revisit the knockback implementation after giving your brain a rest and letting it bake for awhile. If a crudely implemented knockback doesn't add much, then it's probably true that a refined knockback won't either.
Thank you for the advice. I been playing some games and seeing how theyre doing it. And your right it probably wouldnt add much. Seems like alot of work for a little. I get that way though. Stuck on a single mechanic and not moving on. I am going to try to break that habit and try to adapt to what I know.