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GAME JAMS AND EVENTS - YOUR EXPERIENCE
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Strak
1560
Strak
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CloseSo I've seen several events and game jams come and go, and have yet to participate in one through to completion. The most I've done is start a project and never actually follow through and finish anything. My mindset around them previously has been "well I'm already working on a big project, this would just be a distraction," or "yeah but I prefer quality over quantity, so I'd end up missing the deadline anyway." And yet, most developers I know will say you should absolutely participate in these types of events, as it really stretches your abilities as a developer, helps you feel like a part of the community, and gives you experience working with deadlines.
So, my question to the community is, what's been your personal experience doing events and game jams? I'm looking more for perspective from people who've actually followed through on them, but anyone is welcome to chime in. What did you learn from them? Would you recommend them to someone who's never done them, and if so, why? Did you find that they distracted you from your larger projects, and if so, was that a bad thing? What are maybe some things to consider going into one that most people don't think about?
So, my question to the community is, what's been your personal experience doing events and game jams? I'm looking more for perspective from people who've actually followed through on them, but anyone is welcome to chime in. What did you learn from them? Would you recommend them to someone who's never done them, and if so, why? Did you find that they distracted you from your larger projects, and if so, was that a bad thing? What are maybe some things to consider going into one that most people don't think about?
I have joined many game jams and events around RPG Maker-centric sites (I lack the gamedev skillz to join outside events - I don't know any of the grownup engines).
Anyways, nearly all of my games have had their start as a game making event entry. Hero's Realm was for a monthlong event on GW. Hellion I think was for another event on a forum that sought to replace GW. All the Befuddle games of course (except 7). The Super RMN Bros were a ton of fun, same with Mario's Mansion.
In fact, the only game of mine of note that WASN'T event derived is Mario vs. The Moon Base.
The moral of the story is to join events. It gets your ass working.
EDit:
Oh I guess Generica and Generica:TNG and Super Doki Doki World are also non-event. But still, the point is a large % of my games are event driven
Anyways, nearly all of my games have had their start as a game making event entry. Hero's Realm was for a monthlong event on GW. Hellion I think was for another event on a forum that sought to replace GW. All the Befuddle games of course (except 7). The Super RMN Bros were a ton of fun, same with Mario's Mansion.
In fact, the only game of mine of note that WASN'T event derived is Mario vs. The Moon Base.
The moral of the story is to join events. It gets your ass working.
EDit:
Oh I guess Generica and Generica:TNG and Super Doki Doki World are also non-event. But still, the point is a large % of my games are event driven
Darken
3952
I did my first one back in 2011? I think? I did a local game jam and actually worked directly with other people. This lead into other projects with said people. I've still been doing the annual Global Game Jam at a local site ever since. Internet game jams aren't really the same, and having to interact with people for 48 hours with the same levels of commitment is way different than just some back and forths on discord, idk it's more fun in person. I've done solo online ones a bit later just to learn how to program stuff. But I think the most valuable skill is just FINISHING and knowing how to bookend stuff.
Anyone can pump hours and hours and polish to the 100th degree. It's really not that impressive because of course you're going to have attention to detail when you have hundreds of hours. Copious amounts of time isn't even the greatest of solutions. What's crazier to me is being able to compartmentalize and be like "OK this is what the game actually boils down to" and just cut out the stuff that doesn't really matter. So I recommend actually doing it some time. 1 month or 48 hours isnt really that big of a distraction and it can get you out of a rut sometimes especially if you're learning new things.
Anyone can pump hours and hours and polish to the 100th degree. It's really not that impressive because of course you're going to have attention to detail when you have hundreds of hours. Copious amounts of time isn't even the greatest of solutions. What's crazier to me is being able to compartmentalize and be like "OK this is what the game actually boils down to" and just cut out the stuff that doesn't really matter. So I recommend actually doing it some time. 1 month or 48 hours isnt really that big of a distraction and it can get you out of a rut sometimes especially if you're learning new things.
I did a few games as a result of gamejam events! I think it does help to try out different ideas, try out new things and stuff.
I think also, sometimes working on the same thing for too long burns me out of it and I need to switch to something else. It's not that you HAVE to do gamejams if you don't want to, but if you find the idea interesting, I definitely think there are positives to it and it isn't merely a distraction from what you really want to make. I think sometimes you can even take ideas or techniques from it and apply it!
I think also, sometimes working on the same thing for too long burns me out of it and I need to switch to something else. It's not that you HAVE to do gamejams if you don't want to, but if you find the idea interesting, I definitely think there are positives to it and it isn't merely a distraction from what you really want to make. I think sometimes you can even take ideas or techniques from it and apply it!
For some reason, events encourage me to try and make gameplay mechanics the engine wouldn't reasonably be able to do without working way outside the engine parameters in a way that just making my own thing on my own time really doesn't.
Being distracted from your "main project" might not necessarily be a bad thing. Saying that, of the 32 gamepages that I've had some hand in developing, 20 were started under the context of an event. Of those 20, only Champs of the Bocca and Might be Magic - Stolen Love are in a state of indefinite hiatus abandonment.
There is also one of the site taglines...
There is also one of the site taglines...
You need to level up more before you can finish an impressive game. Grind experience points by making tiny shitty games...which, now that I've thought about it, and researched it, I am something of a walking example of?
I learned that it's for the best if RMN is the only RPG Maker community I share my games with because others focused too much on the fan service, an afterthought, ignoring the other features and quality game design I pride myself on.
Strak
1560
I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences! I feel like I'll have to participate in an event one of these days, but I might not jump right into a massive one. Maybe just one of the week long events or something. Sounds like it could be a fun and educational experience.
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