Game Jam Opinions on GM(48), YYG's game jam?

Selek

Member
Hi all,

I'm curious whether any of you have participated in GM48, a game jam sponsored by YoYo Games that focuses on games made in GMS. For those of you who have participated, was it a good experience? The 48-hour turnaround time is a bit daunting to me. On the other hand, it does sound fun. They're still collecting suggestions on possible themes, and voting on themes will start shortly. The jam itself is just over a week away.
 

drandula

Member
I have participated several times, and just keep going for it again 🙃
It is fun and how you get inspired to do something. The 48 hour limit is short, and just focus on the core of your idea, so it gets done atleast.
It is usual that game does not get finished, but you should upload your game anyway :)
Remember you cannot use external assets, but you need to do graphics and sounds/music during the time period. Otherwise entry can get disqualified.
There is small competition, as firstimer you should not try for it, but take jam as learning experience: try something new with your game ;)
Also people will rate your game, and those can give good feedback what could have been done to improve your game.
You can participate as team too.
There is GM48 Discord server, but also sub-group in GM Discord server.

(On mobile, sorry if bit messy text)
 
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Selek

Member
Thanks for the reply; that's very helpful. I may well give it a shot. If I do, I will try to make a really simple game.
 

GameDevDan

Former Jam Host
Moderator
GMC Elder
I've entered gm48 - it's good. Completely different experience from the GMC Jam so they're each good in their own way.

What I like about GM48:
  • Dedicated website so all games are uploaded / playable in the same place
  • High turnout & complex voting formula on the back-end allow for fair competition without forcing every single person to vote for every single game
  • Get to be involved at every stage of the process (vote for the theme etc.)

What I dislike about GM48:
  • Voting system punishes individuals & elevates teams, because strict rules on the use of pre-made resources & the short deadline mean it's practically impossible to make a well-rounded entry without help.
    • In particular, it sucks that you're expected to be your own music/sound designer. It's a game jam, not a music jam. And yet you're expected to make your own music and "Sound" is part of the criteria for your final score.
 

Selek

Member
Thanks for your reply. Do GM48's rules allow you to use public-domain music? I know that's not optimal, but it might be better than nothing.
 

drandula

Member
No it doesn't, though I think you can use free assets from Yoyogames marketplace, which does have some free music (which then you need to credit of course).

About voting, yeah it does bias towards using teams, but you don't need to actually compete, you can focus just having fun 😄 and people give feedback, which you can be helpful for learning as developer 👍
 

Roldy

Member
I have never done the GM48. However I am planning on participating next week. I did my first game jam a few months ago and proceeded to enter about five more after that. They have been a lot of fun and great learning experiences.
 

drandula

Member
I have participated GM48 13 times already 😄 other jams maybe 4-5 times.
So I am bit veteran now and I think my jam game quality is pretty high, for example here is one of my past GM48 game:

For example listen to music, I made pretty simple tune which repeats and used same one in menu screens just made new version with different tempo. Worked well for this entry and didn't need complicated music which takes time to make ;)
 

Selek

Member
That looks like a cute game! What did you use to make the music? Do you have a MIDI keyboard or such?
 

drandula

Member
I don't have Midi keyboard, though I do want one 😄 I used free online software Audiosauna (requires Flash which is expiring soon though) to create music, and I used Audacity to edit sounds.
I just played with notes until I was happy with it
 

Selek

Member
Cool. I've played piano all my life, and I do have an ancient electric piano, but I have no idea whether I could get it to work with my PC. I'll try that website. Thanks.
 

Kyon

Member
I've participated 8 times!
This gamejam actually helped me a lot when I first started it. I learned about prototyping and also about actually releasing something.
It totally changed my whole mind-set about development, also gave me a lot of motivation to move on with gamedev.

Also, it is totally doable when you're just on your own. You even learn a lot about yourself and your own skills.
I have been in the top 5 a few times as a solodev.

Actually super excited about next weekend!
Be sure to join the gamemaker discord, the community there is super cool about this gamejam.
 

Selek

Member
I woke up sick Saturday morning and bailed on my project. I feel better today, but I won't have time to cobble anything together. In truth, I wasn't that excited about the theme, "Watch them grow." I hope some of you were able to participate!
 
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