Rave: Global Game Jam 2016

[Conker]

Last weekend I participated in the 2016 Global Game Jam, which is basically a congregation of crazy nerds who think it's a good idea to build a functioning video game in 48 hours. It's something my bro hits up every year because he's a wiz programmer, and this is basically his equivalent to Christmas. He gets so fucking excited, and he's wanted me to come with him for the last two years now.

I finally did because the game we wanted to make was going to act as a prototype for a future project. Seemed like a good excuse.

Holy shit guys, what a weekend I had!

First, I got there and immediately got hit with a cold. There's been a bad one going around work, and it hit me at the worst time. Nose got all clogged, throat hurt, fever, no appetite, etc. I basically wanted to go home during orientation.

So we get everyone together in a small room, and it's the biggest, most colorful cast of nerds I've ever seen. I don't ever really talk to gamers in the RL, just online, so being surrounded by them was one part cool and one part kind of strange. The first conversation I was thrust into involved Star Wars, and that level of talk basically never stopped. If it wasn't that it was games or anime or Magic the Gathering or MLP or game music.

But there was no ridicule or anything like that. Just people having a fucking good time and enjoying each others' company.

We set up shop in the one room with windows--called the Fishbowl--and find out the computers don't have some of the software we need. It takes us a few hours to get it up and running thanks to the help of an IT guy, so we're already behind. The PC I picked also had a bad habit of just turning the fuck off whenever it wanted to.

But we get going, and our first partner shows up. Her name is [redact because this is a furry forum], and she's a pretty damn spiffy artist if you need anything pixelated or adorable. We needed the former, and were alright with the latter.

Our fourth partner remoted in via Skype. He also is an artist and quiet good with the pixel based stuff. He did a great job.

The game we set out to build is a roguelike Western. You defend a train from monsters in a kind of tower defense style. If a car blows up, all pieces attached to it go away. The problem is, the best items are at the very end of the train, so you gotta protect that or you'll lose all your ammo and health. There's also a day/night cycle, with the harder enemies showing up at night.

I spent the entire time working on music and sound effects. The first night was a crazy ride of nonstop gogogogogogogo to finish the first song, though day two evened out. I did some sounds and hung out with a lot of different people. We ended the night by playing a game my bro made for school a few years ago and then watching DBZ Abridged. Day three we finished.

Whole weekend was a strange blast, and I'm glad I got shoved out of my comfort zone, even if it meant being sick and sleeping on a hardass floor for two nights. No showers for two days also sucked. When I got home, I slept for 12 straight hours and am honestly still not completely caught up. I plan on crashing hard tonight again.

As for our game, can be downloaded here but know that you'll need two controllers to play it.

For those without that setup, here's a quick youtube video:

 

 

[Eggdodger]

That's a cool concept for a game! At first, I thought the cymbals were crashing whenever an enemy was shot. It seemed to coincide with that (which would have been pretty cool). I'm glad you had fun. I need to stay on the lookout for events like that. I'll definitely be participating in next year's GGJ.

Edited February 8, 2016 by Eggdodger

[Conker]

55 minutes ago, Eggdodger said:

That's a cool concept for a game! At first, I thought the cymbals were crashing whenever an enemy was shot. It seemed to coincide with that (which would have been pretty cool). I'm glad you had fun. I need to stay on the lookout for events like that. I'll definitely be participating in next year's GGJ.

I was pretty surprised at some of the new people who showed up as a "trial by fire" thing because the concept of making a video game appealed to them that much.

Don't remember if I mentioned this in the OP or not, but one group of three--it was their FIRST time making a game. I think someone learned gamemaker that weekend as they went. That's fucking crazy to me. I mean, their game wasn't much, but holy shit. My team (other than myself) all went to school for this shit, so we had this huge leg up in that regard. But that team? Damn.

One pair of people showed up, got into a SNAFU with their equipment, went home to get their own equipment, and then spent the rest of the weekend drawing and modeling because why not?

The kinds of people that show up to these events are crazy in the best way, and I didn't meet a rude person there.

So yeah, if you get the inkling to try, absolutely do

[Eggdodger]

I'm going to be going to school for it, myself, this coming school year. Naturally, that means I'm very interested in events like these. I'm glad to hear the community in your area was so friendly! Not sure what the game dev scene is like here. Guess I'll find out?