I used Godot for my first 2 game jams. I only moved to Unreal because it's workflow covers for many of my weaknesses and areas I dont want to put a lot of energy into (lighting and effects). I like to code but I'm not into the making things pretty parts of game dev, which unreal allows you to sort of cheat alot in
But it's clear that if I want to keep doing active participation in jams, i need to adopt either godot or unity on the side, at least for this. Im also starting to really hate the unreal file sizes
I agree with you that the priority should be on mechanics. And most indie jam participants aren't impressed by lights and effects as they are developers themselves and can tell if you didn't put much effort into it.
But I use game jams as like a mini test for what I'd like to do as I establish and improve my workflow, using the simulated limits that the jams provide. (Timeline, theme etc.)
That's why all my games, no matter how small have full menus, volume sliders, pause functions etc. I know most game jammers don't care and won't use them. But I personally cannot release a game without those aspects, even if its just for a game jam.
