GCS Forums
Space Game 2: Space Harder
by The_Chris (Posted Sat Feb 04, 2012 2:31 pm)
As owner of the IP, I want repo access pl0x.
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As owner of the IP, I want repo access pl0x.
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Space Game 2: Space Harder
by Theotherguy (Posted Fri Feb 03, 2012 11:21 pm)
One person signed up, because I am a moron. I will be re-pitching again later.
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One person signed up, because I am a moron. I will be re-pitching again later.
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Lets Talk about Global Game Jam 2012
by The_Chris (Posted Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:05 pm)
Katie wrote:I noticed that the playtesters at the jam were doing less playtesting and more trying to make massive, sweeping design suggestions that would greatly change the nature of the game in question. I saw this happen 3-4 times over the course of the weekend. Jammers were just sitting there and taking it. While your user "is always right" when it comes to making mistakes within your product, they are NOT always right when it comes to solutions and suggestions. By any means. In fact, more often than not, users DON'T know what they actually want. The better solution is to say, "Great, thank you -- now would you try this level?" and get them back to playing.
Yes.
Playtesters are just people. Their utility is in their naivete, not necessarily their consulting abilities.
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Katie wrote:I noticed that the playtesters at the jam were doing less playtesting and more trying to make massive, sweeping design suggestions that would greatly change the nature of the game in question. I saw this happen 3-4 times over the course of the weekend. Jammers were just sitting there and taking it. While your user "is always right" when it comes to making mistakes within your product, they are NOT always right when it comes to solutions and suggestions. By any means. In fact, more often than not, users DON'T know what they actually want. The better solution is to say, "Great, thank you -- now would you try this level?" and get them back to playing.
Yes.
Playtesters are just people. Their utility is in their naivete, not necessarily their consulting abilities.
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Lets Talk about Global Game Jam 2012
by Katie (Posted Thu Feb 02, 2012 11:29 am)
4) The playtester is never wrong. Given the time limit, it's natural to be a little insecure and tempting to get defensive. Doing so will only hurt your game. Sometimes an issue they point out seems unfixable, but there may be a hackish or outside the box solution that you only figure out after talking it over with the rest of your team or other people.
On that same note, when the playtester/user starts making design suggestions, redirect them back to the experience so they don't get caught up in trying to "fix" your product. This tends to be really unproductive, since they have no idea what the vision is or what you've already tried as a group.
I noticed that the playtesters at the jam were doing less playtesting and more trying to make massive, sweeping design suggestions that would greatly change the nature of the game in question. I saw this happen 3-4 times over the course of the weekend. Jammers were just sitting there and taking it. While your user "is always right" when it comes to making mistakes within your product, they are NOT always right when it comes to solutions and suggestions. By any means. In fact, more often than not, users DON'T know what they actually want. The better solution is to say, "Great, thank you -- now would you try this level?" and get them back to playing.
Read Main Topic
4) The playtester is never wrong. Given the time limit, it's natural to be a little insecure and tempting to get defensive. Doing so will only hurt your game. Sometimes an issue they point out seems unfixable, but there may be a hackish or outside the box solution that you only figure out after talking it over with the rest of your team or other people.
On that same note, when the playtester/user starts making design suggestions, redirect them back to the experience so they don't get caught up in trying to "fix" your product. This tends to be really unproductive, since they have no idea what the vision is or what you've already tried as a group.
I noticed that the playtesters at the jam were doing less playtesting and more trying to make massive, sweeping design suggestions that would greatly change the nature of the game in question. I saw this happen 3-4 times over the course of the weekend. Jammers were just sitting there and taking it. While your user "is always right" when it comes to making mistakes within your product, they are NOT always right when it comes to solutions and suggestions. By any means. In fact, more often than not, users DON'T know what they actually want. The better solution is to say, "Great, thank you -- now would you try this level?" and get them back to playing.
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Lets Talk about Global Game Jam 2012
by EvilLlama (Posted Wed Feb 01, 2012 11:01 pm)
More advice:
1) For brainstorming, give everyone 10-15 minutes to write down ideas of their own. Then write all the ideas down and allow people to build off of each other's ideas but without criticism for 20 min. Only then eliminate ideas based on scope, member skills, and interests. Our team did this, and we had an effective drama free brainstorm session.
2) Kind of goes with what Matt said, but get a decent level put together and iterated over before obsessing about enemies moving backward and other aesthetic issues. (heh...XD)
3) Meet up before the jam and make a crappy game to make sure everyone knows how to use the repository and test any prewritten code you'll be using in the jam. Also a good time for members to get to know each other's personalities and abilities.
4) The playtester is never wrong. Given the time limit, it's natural to be a little insecure and tempting to get defensive. Doing so will only hurt your game. Sometimes an issue they point out seems unfixable, but there may be a hackish or outside the box solution that you only figure out after talking it over with the rest of your team or other people.
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More advice:
1) For brainstorming, give everyone 10-15 minutes to write down ideas of their own. Then write all the ideas down and allow people to build off of each other's ideas but without criticism for 20 min. Only then eliminate ideas based on scope, member skills, and interests. Our team did this, and we had an effective drama free brainstorm session.
2) Kind of goes with what Matt said, but get a decent level put together and iterated over before obsessing about enemies moving backward and other aesthetic issues. (heh...XD)
3) Meet up before the jam and make a crappy game to make sure everyone knows how to use the repository and test any prewritten code you'll be using in the jam. Also a good time for members to get to know each other's personalities and abilities.
4) The playtester is never wrong. Given the time limit, it's natural to be a little insecure and tempting to get defensive. Doing so will only hurt your game. Sometimes an issue they point out seems unfixable, but there may be a hackish or outside the box solution that you only figure out after talking it over with the rest of your team or other people.
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Lets Talk about Global Game Jam 2012
by Theotherguy (Posted Wed Feb 01, 2012 9:05 pm)
I think it would have been interesting to try a very very small team jam. Maybe 4 people with everyone being a jack-of-all-trades.
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I think it would have been interesting to try a very very small team jam. Maybe 4 people with everyone being a jack-of-all-trades.
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Lets Talk about Global Game Jam 2012
by Sanchez (Posted Wed Feb 01, 2012 4:20 pm)
4. Don't have too many people of one kind, unless they're purely asset creators.
This is a really interesting point (on which I both agree and disagree) and something I've been thinking about. In a lot of ways, each additional person working on code or design can only offer diminishing contributions. Coordination also becomes a problematic with scale. But whether it should be discouraged all depends on the goals and the dynamics of a team.
Games of certain scope (i.e. complex mechanics, numerous levels, etc.) can't really be accomplished without teams of a certain size. Team members that have similar styles/ideas/preferences will work better together. Members with specialties are always nice (e.g. one guy codes effects and one guy codes menus or one guy does UX and one guy does level design) and can help with breaking down tasks into discrete pieces.
I had a brief conversation with Duncan on the second night of the jam about how to increase multi-programmer productivity and I've been mulling over my response. Originally, I said that programmers should be like "processors", ready to take on any task at anytime. But I think it may be better if each programmer had a specific specialty. That way, each person can be an expert in something specific and would not need to constantly relearn code that changes. I believe the same goes for all other roles (art/level design/UX etc.). Just from my experience with jams, this is often the way things play out.
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4. Don't have too many people of one kind, unless they're purely asset creators.
This is a really interesting point (on which I both agree and disagree) and something I've been thinking about. In a lot of ways, each additional person working on code or design can only offer diminishing contributions. Coordination also becomes a problematic with scale. But whether it should be discouraged all depends on the goals and the dynamics of a team.
Games of certain scope (i.e. complex mechanics, numerous levels, etc.) can't really be accomplished without teams of a certain size. Team members that have similar styles/ideas/preferences will work better together. Members with specialties are always nice (e.g. one guy codes effects and one guy codes menus or one guy does UX and one guy does level design) and can help with breaking down tasks into discrete pieces.
I had a brief conversation with Duncan on the second night of the jam about how to increase multi-programmer productivity and I've been mulling over my response. Originally, I said that programmers should be like "processors", ready to take on any task at anytime. But I think it may be better if each programmer had a specific specialty. That way, each person can be an expert in something specific and would not need to constantly relearn code that changes. I believe the same goes for all other roles (art/level design/UX etc.). Just from my experience with jams, this is often the way things play out.
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Lets Talk about Global Game Jam 2012
by Cefallon (Posted Tue Jan 31, 2012 2:02 am)
Our platforming is broken as hell, but people seemed to really like our mechanic. We will probably keep tweaking it, maybe remake the puzzles to account for jumping that isn't so... limiting. (Hint, you have to jump when you are basically already off the platform to cross gaps of two... which you need to do alot =P)
I really enjoyed Jane's teams game. It's very simple but the progression is very natural.
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Our platforming is broken as hell, but people seemed to really like our mechanic. We will probably keep tweaking it, maybe remake the puzzles to account for jumping that isn't so... limiting. (Hint, you have to jump when you are basically already off the platform to cross gaps of two... which you need to do alot =P)
I really enjoyed Jane's teams game. It's very simple but the progression is very natural.
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Lets Talk about Global Game Jam 2012
by Theotherguy (Posted Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:43 pm)
Advice:
1. Don't go into a game jam sleep deprived.
2. Bring a coffee maker.
3. Everybody bring their own sleeping bags.
4. Don't have too many people of one kind, unless they're purely asset creators.
5. Take a break on the first night so everyone can go home and get sleep.
6. Have a complete game that you can win/lose before implementing more features and polish.
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Advice:
1. Don't go into a game jam sleep deprived.
2. Bring a coffee maker.
3. Everybody bring their own sleeping bags.
4. Don't have too many people of one kind, unless they're purely asset creators.
5. Take a break on the first night so everyone can go home and get sleep.
6. Have a complete game that you can win/lose before implementing more features and polish.
Read Main Topic
Lets Talk about Global Game Jam 2012
by Cefallon (Posted Mon Jan 30, 2012 10:34 am)
Hey Guys,
So, GCS had an amazing turnout at this years Global Game Jam. We had members on four different teams, each one producing a radically different but awesome game. Here are the fruits of our labors, but sure to check them all out!
Eternal Guardian
Emmanuel Eytan, Daniel Langdon, Jane Threefoot
http://globalgamejam.org/2012/eternal-guardian
I Broke the Thing
Sanchez Yuan, Matt Klingensmith, Amos Yuen, Bruce Hill, Steven Blessing, Wilson Pei, Chris Reid, Luke Davis
http://globalgamejam.org/2012/i-broke-thing
My Life is Yours
Duncan Boehle, Katie Chironis, Connor Fallon, Val Reznitskaya, Dan Dwire
http://globalgamejam.org/2012/my-life-yours
Hungry Snake
Andrew Head, Bridget Hogan, Laura Paoletti, Rosstin Murphy, Sharon Hoosein, Ash Narkevich
http://globalgamejam.org/2012/snakes-snakes-snakes
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Hey Guys,
So, GCS had an amazing turnout at this years Global Game Jam. We had members on four different teams, each one producing a radically different but awesome game. Here are the fruits of our labors, but sure to check them all out!
Eternal Guardian
Emmanuel Eytan, Daniel Langdon, Jane Threefoot
http://globalgamejam.org/2012/eternal-guardian
I Broke the Thing
Sanchez Yuan, Matt Klingensmith, Amos Yuen, Bruce Hill, Steven Blessing, Wilson Pei, Chris Reid, Luke Davis
http://globalgamejam.org/2012/i-broke-thing
My Life is Yours
Duncan Boehle, Katie Chironis, Connor Fallon, Val Reznitskaya, Dan Dwire
http://globalgamejam.org/2012/my-life-yours
Hungry Snake
Andrew Head, Bridget Hogan, Laura Paoletti, Rosstin Murphy, Sharon Hoosein, Ash Narkevich
http://globalgamejam.org/2012/snakes-snakes-snakes
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Theme Submission Thread
by Katie (Posted Sun Jan 29, 2012 10:15 pm)
Theme: Ancient Myth
Art Modifier: The Storyteller
Music Modifier: In Days of Yore
Theme: Endless
Art Modifier: Infinity
Music Modifier: Endless
Theme: Extremely Sophisticated
Art Modifier: I SAY, OLD CHAP
Music Modifier: HMM YES QUITE
Theme: Childhood
Art Modifier: I Did a Stupid Thing
Music Modifier: Remember When...
Theme: Space
Art Modifier: Starry Night
Music Modifier: The Planets
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Theme: Ancient Myth
Art Modifier: The Storyteller
Music Modifier: In Days of Yore
Theme: Endless
Art Modifier: Infinity
Music Modifier: Endless
Theme: Extremely Sophisticated
Art Modifier: I SAY, OLD CHAP
Music Modifier: HMM YES QUITE
Theme: Childhood
Art Modifier: I Did a Stupid Thing
Music Modifier: Remember When...
Theme: Space
Art Modifier: Starry Night
Music Modifier: The Planets
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Theme Submission Thread
by knestor (Posted Thu Jan 26, 2012 6:18 pm)
Theme: Ironically terrible
Art modifier: Compression artifacts, Comic Sans
Music modifier: Abysmal grammar
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Theme: Ironically terrible
Art modifier: Compression artifacts, Comic Sans
Music modifier: Abysmal grammar
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Competition 1/26/12 - 2/10/12: I Own a Horse
by Tim (Posted Thu Jan 26, 2012 3:39 pm)
Consider it a reward for checking the forums. Also corruption.
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Consider it a reward for checking the forums. Also corruption.
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Learning Flixel
by EvilLlama (Posted Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:05 am)
For those still trying to learn Flixel, here's a good platformer tutorial:
http://www.photonstorm.com/archives/224 ... xel-part-1
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For those still trying to learn Flixel, here's a good platformer tutorial:
http://www.photonstorm.com/archives/224 ... xel-part-1
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Learning Flixel
by Cefallon (Posted Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:48 am)
I, too, have been dabbling with the Flixel. Whenever I actually put in effort I make progress, but I've been rather lazy about it. I should step that up.
Also, Rosstin, your avatar makes you look like Gaius Baltar for some reason. On one of his more scraggily days.
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I, too, have been dabbling with the Flixel. Whenever I actually put in effort I make progress, but I've been rather lazy about it. I should step that up.
Also, Rosstin, your avatar makes you look like Gaius Baltar for some reason. On one of his more scraggily days.
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Learning Flixel
by Rosstin (Posted Sun Jan 15, 2012 5:52 pm)
I'm working on learning Flixel now... trying to get the Atomic's Mode project running.
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I'm working on learning Flixel now... trying to get the Atomic's Mode project running.
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Learning Flixel
by edbutler (Posted Sat Jan 14, 2012 2:53 am)
Katie wrote:After spending hours yesterday trying to compile someone's old pygame files into a playable standalone build, I think distribution is probably a way undervalued but extremely important facet of game design.
I think I've spent more time trying to make executables out of pygame projects than actually writing code for pygame projects....
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Katie wrote:After spending hours yesterday trying to compile someone's old pygame files into a playable standalone build, I think distribution is probably a way undervalued but extremely important facet of game design.
I think I've spent more time trying to make executables out of pygame projects than actually writing code for pygame projects....
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Learning Flixel
by Katie (Posted Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:25 pm)
No, I drew those space potatoes. You are free to do anything with them.
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No, I drew those space potatoes. You are free to do anything with them.
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