First Game Jam?

So you’ve joined a game jam! The theme has been released and you’re ready to start making something, but where exactly should you start?!

Especially if this is your first experience with jamming, it can be daunting to see the clock ticking down as you try to figure out how exactly you can make a game in that time.

While there’s no right or wrong way to approach making something for a game jam, these tips can give you a jumping-off point so you can give it a proper go and refine your process over time. Let's go!

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Commit some time to brainstorming

It can be tempting to throw yourself into development with the first idea you come up with, but don’t be afraid to take some time to explore different ideas and directions your project could take before committing to anything. Half of the fun of game jams is the fact that you can make any absurd, chaotic, hair-brained idea into a real thing! How cool is that!

Try sitting down and exploring lots of different ways to interpret the theme, using mindmaps or lists or whatever you need to get the thoughts down.

Pick the right idea (for you!)

While the chaotic nature of game jams often means projects grow and change throughout development, it’s good to commit to a solid idea at the start so you can figure out what to do. When narrowing down the ideas from your initial brainstorm, you can use the following questions to help you figure out which one to stick to.

• Does this idea fit the theme and rules of the jam?

• What makes my game fun to play?

• How can I scale down my idea to something I can reasonably make in the timeframe?

Prioritise your tasks

One of the biggest challenges in making a game for a jam is finishing in time. Of course, the point is to have fun and learn, but it feels a lot better if you have something you can submit at the end of it. To help with this, try and break the idea down into the core concepts and elements you want to prioritise and focus on them first.

For example, if your core idea is a dungeon crawler, it would probably be better to get your character movement working early on with one basic level to traverse, rather than spend lots of time designing multiple levels at the start and risk not being able to show them off at the end because players can't move through them!

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Now give it a try!

Remember - whether you explore wacky concepts, make your first little something that runs, or just use the time to switch off from worrying about your usual tasks and jobs - if you enjoy yourself then you've successfully 'game-jammed'!