A Jam experience, i thinking on returning on 2hu GameJams.

[NetsumuNico7]

So uh that's me again (i got addicted on this place, please help), i wanna tell my last experience (prior moriya shrine) in the english community.

 

You probably know about Touhou Game Jams, for those don't know in short are competitions where people (either individually or on a team) try to make Touhou fangames. I got interested on the Jams due some Streamer played all the games, and at the time i was searching a way to express my pixel, and maybe counter a guy who also does pixel art and teach me how to improve. So just when i found the oficial site, i found that they were actually making another one! (It was the 8th one, it was themed of dreams) and i was ready to search people to work with.

I far as i can tell, i was a bit timid; overall, it was my first Jam ever and it was my chance to demostrate my talent! So i got my team only conformed by 3 people, i still remember how tense i was but at the same time i was like "Ok, a new challenge is coming!" Those days where i was spriting were great, but the game was... well i can say that it was one of the least popular games of the Jam. For those who are wondering which game i collab, it was called "Sanae Dream". Let me search a footage of this game... 3:22:22 ( At least, i liked his reaction where he saw sanae doing AYAYAYAYAYAY with her stick xd)

So yeah, i was a bit dissapointed, but i then i said "Maybe next time?" fortunately for me, another Jam appeared almost in the same time, and this time I WAS MORE THAN READY! It was the Pride Jam, i got my team, and even better talented so more people can see me and i can finally demostrate my talent! What could be go wrong?

 

...

 

My PC charger broke during the Jam... (yes it was a Laptop)

 

This time i was shocked and i couldn't believed, they where surprised when i tell them that happened, i said that i could make the pixel art on a phone... BAD DECISION i couldn't replicate how good i was on PC. And even worse, i was on a bad moment IRL outside internet, before anything even worse happened, on mid PrideJam, i said to the team that i decided to leave because of the unexpected issues.... That was sad... If you are wondering, i think they did a Paper Mario Styled Game featuring Youmu and Reisen. Yes, It hurts to me because I LOVE Paper mario.

https://kirokko.itch.io/paper-touhou-pride-jam-4 (They give me a Special good bye and mentioned me on the game's credits on this site.)

 

Then after days before Touhou Game Jams 9 ended (why it was not themed as cirno's, that could be perfect chance), i saw someone searching some pixelart, i was in to do some pixelart, but i was already not longer interested of it, because i was going back to play Bomberman. So i some of the sprites they need me to do and left.

But... now i want to do it Again! Maybe this time is a winner! I dont want to win for sure but REALLY want to demostrate my part!

Some day, some day... Greetings!

[Eulogous]

Hello! I think I've seen you around on the Touhou Dev Discord server.

I've participated in these since the Touhou Station Jam back in 2021 (first participated by doing the music for this: https://hakanaiblue.itch.io/exiled-infector). I still enter Jams, but I kinda wish I could be excited for them like I used to. You look at some of the coolest concepts and get wowed by games made during the Jam... then you realize what potential they had will be thrown away like garbage afterwards. Search up any of the regulars who attend, and you'll find an ever-expanding graveyard of potentially amazing fangames.

I don't care if that's "Just how it is", it's depressing as hell. Even more so when you notice barely anyone creates fangame content outside of Jams, and the ones who do are already established teams or solo devs. I feel guilty when I sift through comments praising stuff I've helped on, knowing people want more, but the rest of the team already bailed. It's like I've committed some crime or betrayal onto fans, like myself, who just want good western-made content to play.

 

Your Jam group chat goes silent, you find yourself alone...

 

...Anyways, sorry for the mini rant.

Jams are a good way to practice your craft, but be wary because most people are really only looking to boost their own following, not form a circle to make anything afterwards. If your endgame is to make a Touhou Fangame of your own or to help out on one, use Jams for networking. Look for people that actually care about making games not ego monuments.

I've been doing this for like 2 years now. I really only still keep going because you do eventually find a friend or two along the way, and that's invaluable even if the rest feels like a cyclical unending hell.

[NetsumuNico7]

Before, i respond your reply, i'm gonna just do an update of the stuff i forgot to mention:

1. At first, i was kinda cruel with the first team i worked on, but i decided to apologize with them and they even invited me to a group that i'm not longer anymore.

2. I just remembered that i posted unused sprites for Sanae Dream in the Jam server, maybe i can go back and search those. That was part of my evolution of a pixelartist, because now im on a new pc i lost those pixelart

3. The last gamw i "worked" on was "Eight Ghosts In Old Genso" for Jam 9, and i think the proyect is still in development or it was softly gonna to redone again. Im not sure because i left to the group because i had problems with the TH community after a incident on the Hispanic part of the community.

 

Now...

Yeah the first proyect was a shame, but i said to my old team that i can go to a better dream, even Kiroko (Touhou Paper Partners DEV and CO, in PrideJam 4) after the broken charger success, cheer my effort on doing it! And i still remember that day, at least i did the best i could do, and maybe Eight Ghosts In Old Genso can also be considered a success, but idk if that is a thing now.

Anyways, im wondering which will be the next jam (i think could be a Station one), anyways, maybe i can go back to the server.

Thanks to you, my hiatus on Discord must probably be end soon!

[Yumetou]

I'd like to give game jams a try someday. Its good to learn new skills, and I've legit spent a whole afternoon just playing through old game jam creations. A place like that seems like a good environment to grasp the basics and discover good gameplay loops.

 

That said, I don't know the first thing about programming. Game design I like to think I have a grasp on, but certainly not professionally. My work schedule tends to be very busy lately, and I am not sure when things will slow down. It'll go on my list of 'to do' hobbies. In between 'finishing my Steam library' and 'learning the stock market'. I feel a certain vicarious excitement when Eulogous talks about his experiences, good and bad. So, it makes me glad to hear you want to join in the game jams. Hopefully, I'll be able to join you boys someday. In the meantime, you'll have to listen to me telling you again how I am just too busy to join in.

[Gri]

Quick question:

What is the GameEngine most commonly used during GameJams? I have a fair share of experience using RPG Maker, and little using Unity, but I am wondering if people uses things like GameMaker.

In my case, I am a programmer, and I might be interested in a GameJam once I get used to some of the tools uses for such short project. My job is to program, so I don't think starting a real Game project is a good idea, as I would be programming all the time (and I need my daily break). In a GameJam at least, it is just "once in a while", and you only focus on making a small and simple gameplay loop.

[Eulogous]

3 minutes ago, Gri said:

Quick question:

What is the GameEngine most commonly used during GameJams? I have a fair share of experience using RPG Maker, and little using Unity, but I am wondering if people uses things like GameMaker.

It ranges heavily. Unity used to have the majority of uses, but Godot has been slowly gaining more traction. There's no mandate for an engine, as I've worked with Unity and Godot programmers. Two of the projects I helped with were made in GameMaker. It comes down to what you're most familiar and speedy with during the typical 3-Day time period.

 

10 minutes ago, Gri said:

In my case, I am a programmer, and I might be interested in a GameJam once I get used to some of the tools uses for such short project. My job is to program, so I don't think starting a real Game project is a good idea, as I would be programming all the time (and I need my daily break). In a GameJam at least, it is just "once in a while", and you only focus on making a small and simple gameplay loop.

Huh, interesting. Most of the programmers I've worked with are in that same boat. Ideally, many prefer to work in pairs (unless their work ethic is absolutely godly), because splitting the workload eases the process, especially when there's not a lot of time to work with. Setting up a GitHub repository during the planning phase is often needed with that.

 

2 hours ago, Yumetou said:

That said, I don't know the first thing about programming. Game design I like to think I have a grasp on, but certainly not professionally.

Designer is an important role that often gets absolutely shafted in my opinion, and even if you get to do Design, you are never credited for something so invisible to Players. But like, you aren't really allowed to be solely a Designer unless you have another craft from what I've experienced, same usually applies to the Writer role for some reason (the Artist usually takes the Writer's role, and results vary drastically). The Designer role is often forced onto the Programmer whether they want it or not, because many times the thought process from the rest of the team is typically: "Programmer = Designer".

There are some things that carry over, but I've worked with Programmers that don't want to do game design (it's extra work with time they don't have), and those who add everything in their head before asking themselves if it's even a good idea or not. It's the latter that eventually made me fed up with constantly finding a team to join, and why I prefer to organize and plan out things myself nowadays.

I'm mainly a Composer, but I have done Design for teams accepting of input, because I'm still attaching my name to something... and, you know, I want that something to be... good? Or, at the very least, be happy on how it turned out.

 

2 hours ago, Yumetou said:

I feel a certain vicarious excitement when Eulogous talks about his experiences, good and bad. So, it makes me glad to hear you want to join in the game jams. Hopefully, I'll be able to join you boys someday. In the meantime, you'll have to listen to me telling you again how I am just too busy to join in.

Thanks, I'm usually not very comfortable sharing my experiences in Jams, but I can tend to get over it if I'm feeling passionate enough about the topic. I know I'm probably not allowed to speak my mind where discourse about them are held, because I'd be browbeaten into accepting the status quo. Being critical often burns bridges existing and upcoming, and makes you the local outcast everyone ignores when all you want are for things to get better.

 

Honestly, I think it'd be neat to work with you someday. Also, the current ongoing Jam just ended, so I might end up seeing the rest of you someday for the next. Who knows?