Alamantus GameDev

Monday, August 3, 2015

My Rules for Game Jams

blubberquark:
This is how I cut corners in Ludum Dare and other jams:
non-modal interaction
no overworld
no menu-based combat
no world map between levels
simple graphics
stay in 2D unless gameplay is in 3D
keep animations to 2-4 frames
no scrolling,
orthogonal perspective
no alpha blending, only color key
keep the color palette small (5 per sprite, 16 per screen, 32 total)
no realism, take inspiration from cartoons
no fancy AI algorithms
no A* search
no learning
no constraints solving
simple mob behaviour
human-vs-human multiplayer for intelligent enemies
no online multiplayer
turn-based multiplayer can be played with only one keyboard
local co-op is tricky
simple game tools
bfxr for sound
autotracker for music
gimp for environment art (backgrounds/tilesheets)
aseprite for characters/animations
if you do a 3D game, use 2D tools and put the sprites on billboards
port to Microsoft Windows after the jam has ended
design the game with a lowest playable resolution in mind
only 5 minutes of content
players are slower than you anyway
This is what I always try to put in:
animation
sound effects
a title screen
a game over screen
a shortcut to take you to the LD rating page
colorblind mode if necessary
This stuff is easy to do and nice to have:
a main menu
gamepad support (if applicable)
music
screenshake
tweet your high score function
a help button
Reblogging to remind myself for GBJAM