Game Jams - Are they Useful?

[CheeryMoya]

Basically a Game Jam is where people are tied to a strict deadline to make a game, often from scratch. Think Ludum Dare or the yearly NaNoRenO.

So it's been a week since NaNoRenO 2013 ended and it's the final day of the PPHS Jam, and I've been thinking about a couple things. On the developer's side of the deal, the deadline forces you to stick to a small concept and work as much as possible within the time limit, so productivity may increase. You probably won't want to make a gargantuan game unless you're that masochistic so many of the games made during these jams are short. As a result, most games end up being shovelware (no offense) especially if it's someone's first foray into development. Still, they do push you to create something and we all need our first step.

Is it worth it for veteran devs to partake in these jams? They already know what they're doing and they could be working on longer games. Then again, for me NaNo and PPHS have been a nice change of pace that kicked me out of writer's block.

There's also been some talk around a couple of threads of running more monthly NaNo-ish events, this time with a theme of sorts. It could be fun to try and partake in all of them, but I'm worried about fatigue... Besides, One Game A Month already exists.

[SundownKid]

Game Jams are useful for veteran devs because they provide a change of pace from your normal job or game, and an excuse to create a game and show it to the world. They support artistic experimentation that might normally never be done but might turn out successfully, or might turn into something larger down the road. For beginners they are useful for experience, and creating a clearly defined objective, if not for making an actual good game.

I'm not a supporter of a monthly NaNo event, but I do think one every season of the year would be interesting. That way, more people would be willing to partake in it rather than having people drift in and out - it would be more of a special event.

[sake-bento]

Personally, I think game jams are great if there aren't too many. RE:A++ was made on a two-month game jam type event, and I think it turned out okay. I've dropped out of NaNo because I have too many other things to do at the moment, but I really enjoyed taking part in the years I did, and I think it was beneficial for me as a writer to take part in something with a strict deadline. Having a monthly event like that might be more than necessary, and it could take away from people working on their larger projects.

[Auro-Cyanide]

I think they are great if you get something out of them, whatever that happens to be. I know they have taught me a lot and made me a better and faster artist, and it's also really nice to have a change of pace to do something different. Definitely helps for when you are on a longer project.

That said, I have no interest what-so-ever in taking part in more than 2 per year. I put off a lot of work, go without sleep and basically sacrifice a lot when I take part in Nanoreno because the goal is short and it's only temporary. I can't keep doing that, I have other things I need to finish that will have far more impact and I do, somewhat, have a life. So yeah, I'm keeping to Nanoreno and possible self-imposed short projects every now and then.

[SusanTheCat]

I would like to see seasonal mini events. (KN/VNs of less than 1000 words done in 7 days)

I would also like to see events where -- if you wanted -- you could be paired randomly with someone else.

That said, want to do Ludum Dare with me April 26th-29th?

Susan

[Camille]

I basically agree with Auro. /o/

While game jams/NaNo events are great for beginners, I think that they might ultimately be more of a distraction for people who have long-term projects or already have experience making and finishing games. I participated in the PPHS Jam with a friend because it was just over the weekend and she did all the art/programming, leaving me with just writing. I had fun with it and didn't think too hard or stress out too much. It was great for getting my creative juices going, getting a quick change of pace, and making me just write (totally broke through my writers' block). I wrote some tl;dr about that here.

But yeah, I really can't imagine doing this more than once or twice a year. The perfectionist in me makes me fight really hard to finish by the deadline. x_x I hardly got any sleep during last year's NaNo when working on RisAmo—I was averaging 2-3 hours of sleep a night which... Is really difficult for someone working on some big VN projects while juggling college. (I'm hoping to eventually get a PhD) ^^;

THAT SAID, I think jams are great for beginners. A lot of people who'd pretty much never make a game otherwise show up and get out of their comfort zone for a little while to make a game and I think that's wonderful since quite a few of them stick around afterward and make more games. It's just that I think I've reached the point where these kinds of events aren't as doable/realistic for me anymore.

[Anna]

Having participated in both nanoreno and PPHS Jam I can tell you it's really useful. You get the chance to go through your work cycle completely in a short time for something where there isn't too much expectations or pressure. For me, it's a great excuse for trying out new art-techniques, handling things etc and I improve for the bigger projects. I learned so much about Photoshop this nanoreno it's a bit ridiculous. In the end it saves me time for bigger projects because I refrain from making mistakes I made here.

Also, working with nice people and finishing stuff (no matter how small) is just great fun.

[Amorphous]

Game jams are fun, although for me personally they end up being ridiculously stressful, as the short timespan causes me to hold myself up to absolutely impossible standards (like I did with Nanoreno).

So, probably echoing the sentiments of others here, it's okay to have one or two per year, but anything more than that and I'll definitely burn out. That, and there's always a pressure during a jam to finish something in that time, which may not necessarily be the 'best' course of action. Game jams can be helpful even if no games are created out of them, but then there's the worry that people might go to excessive lengths (physical health-wise) to finish their project, or get embarrassed if they don't end up with a finished product.

I'm plenty embarrassed myself that I didn't actually finish my Nano project within the month, even though but I practically learned Ren'py from the ground up, and took away a lot about how I work and how visual novels are developed...which I'll probably take to my other projects, even though my Nano VN is gonna be delayed pretty badly.

It's more the 'getting started' aspect that's useful with jams, not the whole 'finishing a new game in a short period of time', I believe. Ideas can be recycled into more serious projects, and there's lots of room for learning and experimentation, as long as people manage to stay sane along the way.

[Anna]

and there's lots of room for learning and experimentation, as long as people manage to stay sane along the way.

Yeah true, the best way to do it is probably to limit yourself a lot. We really went overboard this time, so that's a lesson for next time. It also gives a good idea about how much work some ideas are though, which might be useful along the dev-road.

[netravelr]

Well, with my current projects I'm still waiting on content from the other members of my team as I've already programmed everything so doing a game jam every once in awhile is a nice way to relax and actually get something done inbetween large projects. Typically due to my time constraints and when I actually have free time (after all, I do have a full time job) it's often hard to find teams for my short projects, but they can still be quite useful as long as you know what you want to get out of it.

That being said, most game jams I do are just to learn new technology or to relearn something that I haven't used for awhile like Flash, which I spent 3 days to create this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwJ27bKJfzE or Unity where I spent 2 days to make this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... Q-gAVprjmA

[CheeryMoya]

I'm not a supporter of a monthly NaNo event, but I do think one every season of the year would be interesting. That way, more people would be willing to partake in it rather than having people drift in and out - it would be more of a special event.

I like this idea. They can be themed after a thing associated with the season, like "Pumpkins" for autumn and "Rebirth" for spring. Would be pretty cool to see how people interpret broad themes o:

That said, want to do Ludum Dare with me April 26th-29th?

Oh sheesh I need sleep. Maybe if the theme is inspirational I'll pass ;n;

Also, working with nice people and finishing stuff (no matter how small) is just great fun.

:3

@All: It's interesting to know that even super pro devs learn a couple of tricks during jams too. I leveled up so much in the past month and this isn't even my final form I've gotten more confident in my writing (kinda).

Hm, if we do want to go with SundownKid's suggestion of seasonal jams, would it be for a holiday or a seasonal theme? I can foresee that having holiday jams for stuff like Christmas would lead to a flood of games that are too identical for their own good... And how long would the jam be? 3 months might not be enough pressure.