when looking through Jams to do, whats a good way to tell if it fits me and my skill level and isn't gonna be to demanding to complete?
Hi, my advice would be, dont worry. In fact picking one with better developers in will only benefit you as they will provide comments and feedback on your entry. I am hosting a jam this month for all levels and will be playing every game submitted on my youtube channel where I'll be offering tips and feedback on how to improve. https://itch.io/jam/xanderjam-1
I see two options. You could go for a longer game jam. There are some month long ones. opengameart.org does some. https://itch.io/jam/fall-all-oga-game-jam-2020 is ending this month. The other option is to create an entry for a game jam but don't enter it into the game jam. If you game jam is 6 days and you don't have something playable, keep working. If on the 14th day your game is done, upload it and maybe mention it on the game jam forum. You probably won't get as many people trying your game but maybe the experience will help and allow you to meet a time limit in the future.
I think the skill of the developers in the jam isn't an issue; however I notice some game jams have people that have been members for a long time, and they develop into cliques, and people just talk to the people they know, ignoring the new members. I don't find this exclusivity conducive for growth or learning. It's like these game jams have evolved into a circle for people who know each other to stroke one another's egos.
Boo@that.
Kudos to @Xanderwood for thinking beyond establishment. Depending on your selected limitation I may join your jam :)
[edit] I wonder if it would benefit the community to have a system for rating game jams, just as the jams have systems for rating games? Just brainstorming here... not so much a suggestion as an idea. Some possible criteria for rating game jams:
Here's the Happy Tree Friends Game Jam if you want to put Happy Tree Friends Characters in a game: https://itch.io/jam/htf-jam