I was originally planning on skipping speedgame this year too, but then I saw message about this in CGDC and started thinking the timing for the speedgame is sort of good.

Thing is, I am bit stuck, having to do some work that isn't unpleasant but not what I want to do really either.

What I would much rather do is Games, but unfortunately cant afford that in sense that it takes time before game is finished and even then it might not make any money, and bills need to be paid already now.

I, however, got one very simple game idea that would be quickly doable, it isn't anything special, but I realized a game like that is missing from the Amiga market, so I could maybe get a couple of sales from it in there.

But the problem is, doing this other work already, which involves being in front of a screen, sucks my interest in being in front of a screen even more.

So while I wouldn't call speedgames timing exactly good in the sense that due to that other screenwork, I would not like to spend more time on screen, this speedgame might however help me at least start on that game project.

Therefore I am taking very relaxed approach to Speedgame. I take it as an opportunity to motivate me to at least start making the game, maybe I get something playable to show in this speedgame time, maybe not.

In addition, I have been thinking that if I could figure out some unique approach, that is also easy to implement enough, to that game, then maybe it could become worthy enough to be published in other platforms as well, and not just Amiga market, which is missing a game like that.

But about the game.

It is one variation of a Tower Defence game. The one which is from a side and which has lanes, and where in addition to just defending, you can also send your units against the enemy, often having like tower vs tower kind of gameplay.

Plants vs Zombies is perhaps best known example of this approach, although Plants vs Zombies is missing the part of being able to send your own units to attack.

Anyway, that is the plan for my speedgame and now I am looking at the verses and looking how to implement it and perhaps figure out some more unique approach to the game.

I already checked that every verse does fit the bill:

Psa 127:1  A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. 

This I am thinking most since clearly this is talking of a tower defence kind of thing, but not directly, so this could yield some interesting approach to the mechanics.

Psa 127:4  As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 

This could simply be that there is some hero character who shoots arrows, but you could basically beat it by sending bunch of your own children against it. Say, you could be a bunny, and human with arrows attacks but you could produce more bunnies quickly to attack it.

Mat 21:13  And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. 

This would be basically fun, you would play as sort of Jesus, I would think it would be something like that you keep sending angels against demons, and when your angels are winning, Jesus keeps overthrowing some tables. Or maybe even literally interpret opponents as thieves.

Well, I have not got a single line of code done, yet I feel joining this Jam was a success already.

When I joined, I had basically two goals, or hopes, in mind.

The first one was in hopes of perhaps getting this game started, which I haven't, and might well be I won't either at this point yet.

However, seconds was that so far my idea was based on making a game to sell on a small platform, which was missing this kind of game. However, I couldn't help but think that if I could just figure out something simple new idea to this system, it might become sellable on other platforms too, and while having tinkered about ideas to this game jam based upon the verses, I did come up with, actually, even two simple enough ideas that would make it slightly more unique and worthy.

The first one is that when I was thinking of adding more units to lanes, I was unsatisfied by the basic idea that these have had. Idea have been that either you are able to choose the location of a tower (Plants vs Zombies) or if your units are moving, you simply click on your units icon, and one more marches from left to right. Basically I wanted these both. I wanted  to both get to choose the location more freely, as well as unit to move.

And then I figured it would be actually fun to drag them with your mouse from the unit icon to whatever location you want to drop them at, and that dropping gave me an idea. Why not that dropping itself do something too.

I haven't thought about it that much yet, but the basic idea is there. For example, you could have a unit that is otherwise not that good, but that unit is big and heavy, and when you drop it on the battlefield, if anyone is under him, it will hurt a lot.

Another thought that came to me was that there could be some units that could work a bit like bowling balls. Think as an example a hedgehog. You could throw it by dragging with your mouse and releasing the mouse button and depending on how fast you dragged it, it would roll forward as a spike ball for some time, hurting and collapsing everyone on the way, until finally movement stops and it starts walking/fighting regularly.

another thought, which had to do with the Psa 127:4  As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 

I thought I would very much like to have an arrow that the player can use to aim and shoot at enemies, as long as you are skilled enough to hit.

Either this bow would come to the bottom middle, or it would come to somewhere on the left. They both give different options on how it would work and what it can do.

Anyway, just having figured out these two things were already worth joining the jam, even if I don't get a single line of code done for the jam.

Still haven't done any code and basically planning not to do either.

However, I did get one idea just a moment ago, and I am not sure I am happy or unhappy about getting it.

For I just figured out that basically, instead of making a game, I could have made a mock-up of that game, of what it could have looked like. That would have been useful to me too since I would have that way got some more solid idea how it would look and feel like, and also would have been some first steps into figuring out some gfx I could have maybe used even in the final product in the future.

Also, this speedgame would have motivated me to make that mock-up.

 So everything seems good and dandy, so why am I not sure I am happy for getting that idea. Well, simply because I am about to go on a trip today, and I don't think I have time to make even that mock-up anymore.

Had I got that idea yesterday, I would have made it and would be very happy about it. Now it is sort of frustrating figuring something I could have got done somewhat easily and that had been even quite useful, but not being able to do it anymore today due to other circumstances.

But, I guess it is good since perhaps I can use this in some future years' speedgame, in case I end up joining in similar situation as this year.

All in all, it is funny that while I didn't get any concrete stuff done, joining this speedgame still served my purpose of having figured out that worthy addition to the genre that I can use in that game that I hope to make as a commercial release in, hopefully near future, when I am able to concentrate on making a game again.

Basically, I have never got so little done in a speedgame that I joined, yet, I feel this was very much a success for me, I got from it the thing I was most looking forward to from it.