GMC Jam Discussion GMC Jam 30 / XXX / Discussion

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Micah_DS

Member
Next time, I want to enter a game and actually vote. I should have time to, cause the fall semester will be over. It's in December, right?
It's every three months, so it should be November 23rd - 26th.

I'm not sure if the quarterly jam scheduling is set in stone, but I don't expect it'll change again. At least, not without a lot of discussion which would bring up enough data to prove that a majority of interested GMC users would all have more opportunity to take part together on a different schedule.

On that note, is it just me, or does the current jam scheduling seem to conflict with school more than the past? I feel like I saw a lot of people saying finals got in the way or something. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention before though, so it might not be a new problem. As for me, I've long been out of school, so it's just my job that conflicts on the weekends.

Anyway, hopefully you (and all other interested jammers) can take part next time, regardless.
 

Bearman_18

Fruit Stand Deadbeat
I know right? There were lots of people distressed by school and such. Maybe more people who are in school are joining the forum? Also, Rocketeer inc. is fantastic. You should totally distribute the mobile version, Frosty!

Edit- maybe we should petition for a change in Jam schedule.
 

Micah_DS

Member
I've now played through all the post jam versions I know of:
FarmSim - Jelly Edition, Misuware, Once Upon a Time in Outer Space, Prism Palace, Stick Together, and Sticky Tanks.

FarmSim
Gravedust told me I probably wouldn't like the post-jam version of FarmSim, because I didn't really enjoy the initial jam version. I'm sad to say that he was right.
It's quite a nice little game with a good level of polish, but I guess this is just a case of the game not being for me. No game is for everyone. Even though it's not my thing, I can recognize the effort, so I still think he did excellent.

MisuWare
I'm glad to see Misu fixed the sticky walls in that one mini game in his MisuWare game, but I'm not sure what else might've been fixed. It's really quite an enjoyable game, though I still don't understand that one micro game where you connect the guys and fire a shot at them. I've beaten all other micro games, but can't figure that one out. I can only get it to connect to a couple guys.

Sticky Tanks
In Sticky Tanks, it seems like a few things were tweaked, such as shot distance and perhaps it's less punishing on maneuverability when stuck to lots of entities. The game has soo much potential, in my opinion. I mean, what could happen if items were introduced? True multiplayer? Different game modes? Something with a boss fight? For what it is, it's really fun, which is why I see it as such a great base idea for something truly great if it were built upon into a more fully-featured game.

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I'm going to try keeping my eye on the games that are being developed further.

(for the other games I mentioned at first but gave no comments on: I didn't make comments on them here, since I've already commented in their WIP threads)
 
O

Oyakiiv

Guest
a little late, but here goes.

Even though I came in last, I have learned some important things for next jam. Such as putting more focus on level design, keeping the graphics simple and just scheduling time off work so that I have more than just the last day to cram in most of the game...(I always get too ambitious and try to make something bigger than what I have time for).

initially the bar was set low for me since I haven't ranked well in previous jams (both times second to last), but failing to clear that bar I will be analyzing my performance in past and present jams, gather data, make a new game plan and train up, so that I may be reborn for the next jam!

sorry to those who had trouble with the controls in my game, I was unaware of how rts games usually control, just kind of went with my gut on that one.

and thanks to Nal for hosting, everything went very well, far as I can tell ^_^
 

FrostyCat

Redemption Seeker
Assuming all goes to plan, ~three months after this one - so it'll be late November.
Would there be any room for community input in the exact timing, if that hasn't been decided yet? I've been hearing the "exam conflict" explanation a lot as well, and some of the timings do tend to cause that (e.g. late-February for spring mid-terms, late-May for finals, late-November for mid-terms or fall finals).

Say, invite all GMC Jam participants within the past year to a survey in October, asking for times of major disruption within +/- 2 weeks of the target weekend date (e.g. family/religious gatherings, exams, extra shifts, etc.). Then open the Jam on the weekend with the least reports.
 
M

Misu

Guest
In regards to the explanation on date conflict for next gmc jam, I like to point out that the next jam conflicts with the Black Friday sale event.
Not to mention, some people will be away for the family time on Thanksgiving so some might not be on their computers until the last day of jam.
Of course, if the participant doesnt plan to do thanksgiving with anyone or doesnt go to any black friday sale, then that would be a good thing since there is no class or work that time and goves the whole 3 days for jamming. However the most that will be online are adult participants. Child participants are the only downside since they cant make the decision of not spending time with their families for the holidays. This is quite a dilemma but mostly for young members. It would be good to also make the survey relateable (by concern) for the younger users here.

EDIT: I got on the forum now because @FrostyCat and @Bearman_18 are not on the jam discord server for me to explain this
 

FrostyCat

Redemption Seeker
In regards to the explanation on date conflict for next gmc jam, I like to point out that the next jam conflicts with the Black Friday sale event.
Not to mention, some people will be away for the family time on Thanksgiving so some might not be on their computers until the last day of jam.
Of course, if the participant doesnt plan to do thanksgiving with anyone or doesnt go to any black friday sale, then that would be a good thing since there is no class or work that time and goves the whole 3 days for jamming. However the most that will be online are adult participants. Child participants are the only downside since they cant make the decision of not spending time with their families for the holidays. This is quite a dilemma but mostly for young members. It would be good to also make the survey relateable (by concern) for the younger users here.

EDIT: I got on the forum now because @FrostyCat and @Bearman_18 are not on the jam discord server for me to explain this
The only conflict of the two you mentioned that I would consider is American Thanksgiving (in Canada it's early October). It's common to be off to the cottage or another town with family over that weekend, and church and meal prep will likely take all day. Not my experience personally, but I understand.

On the other hand, I don't think Black Friday is a genuine conflict worth considering. It won't take all weekend, won't last more than a few hours if you scout out purchases ahead of time, and has little familial, sentimental or cultural value other than a shibboleth of consumerism. Even if you're an avid shopper, when you do it smartly there would still be plenty of time for other things over the weekend.
 
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