For the last 5 days, I’ve been creating an entry for my very first game jam. Overall, I’m actually pretty proud of my entry. It isn’t great and there is a lot I could improve. But I learned quite a bit, both from my own project and from rating the other entries. So today, we’ll take a a look at a few of the things I learned from One Minute Game Jam #5.
Know What You Want to Create
If I had only one takeaway, this would be it. Prior to the jam starting, I had no idea what kind of game I wanted to make. I waited until the jam started and the theme was announced before making any kind of decision. Overall, this cost me a day of development time. In a short jam, this would’ve been a huge problem.
A solution to this would be to come up with an idea of the game you want to build before the theme is ever announced. Afterwards, adapt the theme into your idea in some way. You may have to alter your plan some. But it’s better than using development time coming up with the entire idea.
Make a Timeline
Even having 5 days, I did not make good use of my time. Part of this, I think, goes back to not knowing exactly what I wanted to create. The other part is just plain lack of experience in jams.
I spent a lot of time kind of going back and forth on what I was working on. A few things I worked on didn’t even make it into the final submission. They just weren’t working to the point that I felt like I could include them. So I changed the plan on the fly. That change of plan worked, but it cost me even more time. Time that could’ve been spent in other areas (like polishing what I did make).
Be honest with yourself about how much time you can devote each day to the game jam. List out everything you need to do and how long you think it will take to do it. Include things like polish and exporting your build. If you don’t fit into about 80% of your total time, start cutting the least necessary features.
Learn From Others
Not everything you learn has to be something you did yourself. You can also learn from the other entries in a game jam. And I learned plenty (both good and bad) just from critically looking at other submissions. And while there were several “what-not-to-do” things I saw, I’m only going to focus on the positive things here. (Mainly out of respect for the other entries. We’re all in different stages of our game development journey. And I don’t want to offend anyone unintentionally.)
Do One Thing and Do It Well
Several of my favorite games from this jam only had a single mechanic. And that mechanic is actually not nearly as important as your execution of it. One game was called “Click the Circle” and that’s literally all you did. But it was actually really engaging because of how well it was done and how much polish went into it. (I found out later that the dev actually has a YouTube channel. Will be checking that out later.)
Spend Time Making Menus and Adding Polish
The games that felt the most like complete games had the things you would expect from a AAA title. Title screens, settings/options, level choices, tutorials, etc. You can tell they got their core game loop, then moved on to making it look fantastic. A great example I saw of this was on “Colorall“. Really fun puzzle concept. But the design of the menus and the overall interface was top notch.
Inspiration Comes From Anywhere
I’ve started keeping a notebook of game development ideas. And several unusual ideas came from entries that I did not expect. The music from one game painted an entirely different soundscape in my head. One game had very little graphics, but had great lighting and particle effects. So well done that now I just want to take time to study it. Another had an interesting mechanics that I think would be really fun in a different genre. Inspiration can come from anywhere. Be ready to make note of it when it does.
Final Thoughts on One Minute Game Jam #5
Overall, I had an absolute blast working on my entry. Like I said, I’m not satisfied with. I think a lot could be improved. But for having only 5 days to work on it, I think it’s solid for a first entry. And I have a ton of good information that I can take with me into future projects.
The most important lesson I took away from this jam is in regards to planning and time management. It’s an aspect that I know is important and I just didn’t give it the attention it really needed. A little more planning up front would probably be a big help (for me personally, of course).
What are some of the most important things you’ve learned during your game jams? Be sure to share your story in the comments below!
