Hey, I'm Jyzavi. Most people call me Jay. I participated in the summer version of the jam last year and started with a twine game to get my feet wet. This time I'm trying out Game Maker Studio. I don't have any experience with it so wish me luck, haha.
My current favorite games are Overwatch, Kentucky Route Zero, and Job Simulator 2050. There are more, many more. I'm not sure if any of them in particular inspired me to make my own, I'm just madly in love with video games as a form.
Other than games I'm really into theatre, specifically the behind the scenes parts like set design and tech crew and all that. Food is also just...so important to me ok. I love cooking and trying out new recipes, I love experimenting with spices.
I'm not sure how much of a veteran I count as, but my advice to other people would be: Give it your all and don't worry about failure! Even if you don't really have a game at the end of the jam you will learn a lot and maybe even make some new friends along the way. Especially if you hang out in the voice chat.