A Post Mortem

At the start of the jam, I established a realistic scope. Initially concerned about meeting the deadline due to my hiatus from game development, I refrained from expanding the scope beyond manageable features. Surprisingly, I not only stayed within the given time frame but also found additional time to implement features beyond my initial plan.

Coding progressed faster than anticipated, and despite my lack of experience in level design, the outcomes were well-received. Unfortunately, my good friend Adee, who crafted excellent player sprite sheets, had to withdraw from the project. Luckily, I managed to overcome this setback, creating sprites that exceeded my own expectations and maintained a cohesive style, despite my limited recent experience with pixel art.

Another aspect that went really well was the playtesting. In contrast to all my previous games, I involved testers from the very beginning. That helped shape the controls the way they are now and gave me valuable insights into how people perceive the different aspects of the game. I want to take this opportunity to thank all my playtesters for their incredibly helpful feedback. Especially, my sister Mia did a lot of groundwork.

However, the storytelling aspect could have been more robust than the two dialogue box sections at the game's beginning and end. Strengthening this skill remains a priority. Pixel art skills also require honing, as demonstrated in this jam. While I was fortunate with finding a fitting boss sprite and a great tileset, a more comprehensive skill set would help with unforeseen challenges, potentially enhancing the visual experience.

The third thing that could have gone better is the whole music and sound design. I have been slacking off in terms of my music skills for a very long time now. Thankfully, my man lashman helped me out with the background music, and he did one hell of a great job! But the SFX I ended up using are subpar. There's a lot of room for improvement.

Despite these areas for improvement, I am content with the overall result, particularly considering the scale and genre of the game, which marks a departure from my previous projects.

A thing to reconsider for future jams is the choice of game engine. Since the web export of Godot 4 has its problems and not everyone can access my game because of it.

Thanks again to all those who helped and supported me during this project. You are incredible!