1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?
My (online) name is ¢®¡¶±¥©#, but that's hard to type, so "criptych" is fine. It's sort of a portmanteau.
I'm a programmer firstly, in Python and SQL to make a living, and mainly C++ and Lua for personal projects. I enjoy gaming, too, done a little modding and cloning, but haven't quite crossed that threshold of writing one from scratch.
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 meant to, entered and everything – or maybe that was the one before? – but never got anything done. My reason for joining is stubbornness, apparently.
3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?
My favorites are an eclectic mix; I guess I could sum up by saying I enjoy games that are challenging, but in different ways. I love puzzle games that make you think – any of Zachtronics' program-em-ups, for example, as well as physical puzzles like those in Portal or The Turing Test. On one hand mindless, violent shooters like Left 4 Dead, but on the other also mindful, haunting shooters like Spec Ops: The Line. RPGs like Corpse Party that focus on exploration and story, RPGs like Pokémon that focus on combat and collection, action-adventure games like Zelda and Metroid, where exploration and combat take equal roles. Classic arcade-style games like Geometry Wars. Visual novels, of all shapes and sizes, that distill human interaction down to the choices we make, if we even get to make a choice.
The first "real" video game I remember playing was (the original) Link's Awakening on (the original) Game Boy. Did it inspire me? For sure, but at the time I don't think I knew to what. Later on in middle school, some friends and I discovered that QBasic Nibbles was more than just a game, it came with source code. We modded the heck out of that thing: added moving walls, enemy snakes, etc. Then in the mid-90s I played Myst, whose story revolves around the idea of writing entire worlds into existence… now that was an inspiration.
And that last paragraph dates me so much it hurts. XD
4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?
Using a broad definition of "game", yes. I've written a semi-functional, but unfinished, port of Polygon Love 2 to the PSP (and PC), by reverse engineering the resources and writing a custom engine. But despite the 3D environment, PL2 is essentially a visual novel, so a lot of concepts from a "proper" game engine didn't really apply and so they didn't get implemented yet, making it more like an interactive tech demo.
5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!
Programming, I suppose. As with Myst, it's that idea of writing words (in a particular language) to create worlds. Perhaps not always "worlds" in the same sense, but microcosms where you write the rules and get to see the patterns they produce.
6. What are your goals for this game jam?
I want to finally push myself to write a finished game. Maybe not too original, maybe not too complex, but finished. Anything beyond that is icing.