This was our very first game jam and altogether it has been a very interesting and fulfilling experience.
I usually participate in a form of "game jam" on a weekly basis, however this felt much more of a "jam" because it was (practically) 2-3 days to have a completed game, especially because this is the first time working with people I don't know/know very well.
The following game is titled, Kill Fuck Marry.
Background Information
For this particular game jam, we were required to use "Video Video" aka BentoDojo, a video software which would produce two outputs: a client and a control. The client was a screen that would be viewed through a projector or laptop/static screen or sorts and the control was a window that the use would interact with (e.g. iPad, laptop, smartphone).
Inspiration
Following the workshop a week ago, our idea for the game first stemmed from the fact of creepy guys and their existence, particularly in certain situations like walking late at night, going to a bar, etc.
We also thought about the game, Kill Marry Fuck where there are three people you choose from where one person decides out of those three, who they will marry, fuck and kill.
Mechanics-wise, we were inspired by YouTube videos that used "annotations" to form a point-and-click adventure game, games like Oregon Trail where actions typed/chosen would ensue an action.
For myself, I was inspired by two games in particular: the games by ZapDramatic, where the user is put into situations, particularly as a negotiator of sorts to get through a situation alive or have a win-state, and Depression Quest, a read-and-click game where you are placed in the position of a person undergoing depression, and through a series of situations, you make certain choices which alters the situation and determines the outcome of whether you get out of your depression or not.
What I liked a lot about that game in particular is how depending on what you choose, there are some choices that are crossed out, showing that in that state, you may choose it as a player but you wouldn't choose it as a character.
Some more relatable games to that would be the Mass Effect series.
Development
As a group, we briefly discussed on the day of the workshop, a few hours in the middle of the week and finally during the jam.
With the time constraint, we thought of having three situations where you meet three guys and in the end you decide who you'll kill, marry or fuck. There would be six endings in total (2 for each guy where 1 would be good, and the other would be bad). The following situations would be realistic ones which girls have (probably) have come across in terms of meeting guys.
Each of us decided to do 1 situation/1 scene. We decided to animate it instead of filming it as we didn't want to use real people and show "this is a face of a creep". We also stuck to few variables because (a) it would be convoluted and (b) NOT ENOUGH TIME!!
We first fleshed out our scripts and decided who would be faceable, who you would marry and you you'd kill. I worked on the guy you would kill, you would a student attending a lecture of yours at university. Fleshing out a script wasn't too bad.
Next was animating and implementing! Animating wasn't too bad as we stuck with simple motions consisting of 3-4 frames.
The biggest challenge was implementing it into the software, getting to know the software, and going through various steps to execute it (animate in photoshop, render in photoshop, convert it to WEBM format, upload the following to dropbox, and FINALLY copying the dropbox links via the public folder and applying it the the BentoDojo).
Reflection/Challenges
Time management was a lesson I definitely learned in my first game jam! During the week, I honestly had no time to be involved in this because I had another game to complete. I managed to get the script done though! Saturday and Sunday I wish I had timed myself better plan what to do since I unfortunately didn't complete my scene. With more time, we would implement more endings besides a good one as well as music/voice acting for all scenes.
People's reaction were mixed, mostly because no one was satisfied with marrying or fucking either guy based on what they saw. However, one "dame" pointed out, is how it shows how some girls feel so limited with the guys they have "marry /fuck" and acts as a form of satire.
BentoDojo was...interesting to work with. We weren't allowed to edit at the same time. It wasn't compatible with a lot of software and therefore a convoluted process to go through to make it compatible and finally having to upload every thumbnail and not deleting a room was a pain in the arse but nonetheless..this is great for prototyping!
It was interested working with software that wasn't "game-ey" and non-programmable. It was an interesting challenge to work with however offending the girl who designed this as this is something that frustrated me software/game design -wise made me feel guilty.
That's it for the game jam! It's been a wonderful experience meeting people and working with new software and learning new things! :)
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