iTranslated by AI
Reflections on My First Game Jam Experience
Participating in My First Game Jam: Experiences and Lessons Learned
Does everyone know what a Game Jam is?
A Game Jam is an event where you create a game based on a specific theme within a short, designated period.
While the duration and themes vary depending on the organizer, this is generally the standard format.
In this post, I'd like to briefly summarize and share my impressions of participating in such a Game Jam!
1. The Game Jam I Joined and the Game I Submitted
I participated in a Game Jam hosted on itch.io, a very famous game-playing site in the English-speaking world.
The theme was LOOP. The production period was 4 days.
As for the game I submitted—
It's a horror genre game designed to leave an impression even with a short playtime, where you think you've escaped being chased by a monster in a dark hallway, only to find yourself back at the beginning due to various events, creating a loop.
2. What I Worked Hard On
I believe immersion is crucial for horror games. Therefore, I implemented Unity's Post-Processing features and camera shake based on movement, aiming to create a sensation of actually being there.
Below is a summary video: Walking -> Running -> Out of Stamina -> Monster Appearing.
● Maintainability
Fine-tuning occurs frequently in game development. I added many variables and features that can be adjusted from the Inspector to ensure efficient progress during the short production period.
Enforcing value limits and eliminating invalid combinations was challenging, but in the end, I felt that the time spent on adjustments was significantly reduced.
Also, the ToolTip feature was extremely useful for immediately recalling what each variable does.
[Header("Real-time Update Settings")]
[Tooltip("Enable real-time updates in the editor")]//This appears when you hover the cursor
[SerializeField] private bool enableRealtimeUpdate = true;
3. Game Jams are Incredibly Heartwarming!!
I haven't had many opportunities for my games to be evaluated until now, but
the project I submitted to the Game Jam received very warm ratings and comments.
To be honest, I was exhausted from pulling an all-nighter on the final day, but
receiving such kind words almost moved me to tears... 😢
(Excerpt)
Of course, I also made sure to rate the games of those who evaluated mine!
The feeling of "I received feedback!" really reinforced the sense that "I'm actually making games!", and it made me so happy.
Truly... lol
4. Things That Went Wrong
There were three major mishaps.
● Made a Horror Game Despite Being Terrible with Horror
I am extremely bad with horror games.
Yet, I ended up making one: a horror game.
I started on a whim and then couldn't turn back, so I had to see it through to the end...
Every time I did a playtest, it felt like my life span was shortening.
Because it was too scary, I set the light intensity to maximum during testing (seriously).
However, since I managed to create a game that I actually found "scary," I suppose this is a high-class problem in a way.
● Major Failure in Time Management
On the 1st and 2nd days, I had summer intensive courses at school (a self-proclaimed elite school), so I only had about 5 hours of focused production time.
I was optimistic, thinking, "Well... it'll probably get done..."
Then, on the afternoon of the 3rd day, I realized, "It's not going to be finished..." Since it was Saturday, I ended up pulling an 18-hour straight all-nighter from that point.
Since I never had a deadline (delivery date?) before,
I learned through experience that "time management is really important."
From next time, I'll aim for a production process without losses by estimating time in advance.
● Optimization Failure Right Before the Build
Before the final build, I performed Light Baking, which pre-calculates the location of shadows.
This was a total failure.
Even though it looked normal on the development screen, all shadows disappeared after the build.
When I tried to cancel the Bake, I couldn't revert it because I had already tweaked various light settings and profiles.
I somehow fixed it to make it look "okay-ish," but
I couldn't solve the problem of missing shadows and had to release it as is...
I can only say it's frustrating.
Maybe it's better not to try new things for the first time during a Game Jam.
5. Knowledge Gained and Such
● AI-Driven Development is Convenient!
If you clearly communicate your requirements to the AI, it can guide you from setup to writing code. Super convenient!!
However, as I added more production elements, the UI settings assumed by the AI often differed from the actual settings in the Unity Editor, which frequently caused issues with UI behavior.
Therefore, instead of having the AI refactor code that depended on objects like TMPs already prepared in the Hierarchy, it was more comfortable to have the AI dynamically generate UI elements via code. I'm particularly satisfied with the ending credits, which turned out quite well after several revisions!
● The Limits of AI-Driven Development?
It's convenient, but I think the drawback is that relying entirely on AI makes extensibility dependent on the AI itself.
Because of that, I thought a bit:
Maybe I shouldn't get into the habit of having AI write all the code?
But, if an era comes where people say:
"Wait, humans write code? That's so retro,"
Then I'll rely on AI.
6. Closing
To give a very broad impression:
I believe I gained valuable experience from my first Game Jam!
In particular, the experience of developing under pressure within a time limit was very stimulating. I'd like to participate again—not just in itch.io game jams—whenever I have the time!
And while I participated in this Game Jam alone this time,
I'd definitely love to try team development if the opportunity arises.
To that end, I'll work even harder on game production!
Thank you for reading this short article to the end!
(Updated 8/6) I have localized the game into Japanese, so please feel free to play it!
Periodic updates are being made to the Japanese version only.
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