Some lessons learned from my recent game jam experience:

• Don’t wait until the very end of the jam to download the export templates bundle (see screenshot).
• The last few hours of the jam are NOT the right time to learn shaders
• The last few hours of the jam are NOT the right time to learn parallax backgrounds

Godot features I attempted to re-create (poorly)

• Path2D (i was trying to move platforms back and forth by tracking points and managing velocity, before I figured out that Path2D could do this for me)
• One-way collisions (I had used an Area2D and code to manage what collision layers a platform is, to create the effect where you could jump through a platform from below, while it acts as if it’s solid when you land on it. Turned out this was built in, and a matter of checking one goddamned checkbox.

Godot features and nodes that I had never used before (besides Path2D/PathFollow2D and one-way collisions)

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Previously, I posted two ideas for Godot Wild Jam 66. I ended up spending a few days on the first one and realized I didn’t like where it was going and I didn’t feel good about getting it into shape for the end of the jam. So, I switched gears to the second one (a variation on an idea I’d already been tinkering with).

It’s going better, but I’m not sure it’ll be shippable by the deadline (4pm tomorrow). Still, it’s nice to have some momentum. I’m really happy with how the player character moves, but the game definitely needs more.. game. We’ll see how for I get it tomorrow.

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Current thinking for the jam, either:

• starting over from scratch on the NS-Tower-inspired game I’ve tinkered with on and off (see a GIF of it here), and adding something to escape from, like a rising water level.
• a horizontal - scrolling space shooter where you can only move in short bursts, which I’m calling “we only have hyperdrive”

I’m signed up for Godot Wild Jam #66, with a theme of “Escape”– which is pretty straightforward, as far as game jam themes go. I do think it’s quite cool that GWJ has accessibility as a rating category, and I’m going to try to see how much of the accessibility guidelines I can meet.

The jam goes for nine days. My current thinking on timing is: have something basically working by early next week, then use the rest of the time to polish the graphics, UI, and audio.

My son and I are still making tweaks to the roguelike that resulted from following @selinadev@indiepocalypse.social’s tutorial: a new spell, visual effects, weapons, and new enemies. I enjoy the collaboration, so we’ll probably keep it going for a while.

The most notable new feature is a minimap! It still needs work, but I’m happy that I was able to get it working. This is my first time writing Godot code that generates a graphic from scratch. Every pixel in the minimap represents one tile in the current dungeon. Right now, it draws the entire graphic (walks the entire array of tiles) on every turn, which seems excessive and dumb. On the other hand, it’s performing OK, so “fixing” that might be a premature optimization.

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Jump as high as you can to escape the rising water. Created in nine days for Godot Wild Jam #66, where it ranked 4th in the “controls” category and 14th in “fun” (out of 158 entries). Made with Godot 4. Play on itch.io.