sit back, relax, and grab a snack because this is gonna be a long one. long story short, this jam for me is one big cosmic joke and my game is getting discontinued due to events beyond my control. BUT WAIT! don't leave yet. i need to explain more.
it was april 2021. i had had an interest in video games my whole life, but just recently, i had thought about what it would be like to make my own game. before this, i had *tried* to use unity, but i soon found out it wasn't for me. i had also dabbled with godot, but that ended in failure too, though it was less of a failure because i sorta kind of understood the node based system. so i went with the obvious choice, godot.
in may 2021, i started following tutorials. this is where i learned movement code, collisions, and instancing, though i didn't really make any games with them.. i decided it would be a good idea to join a beginner friendly game jam, much like this one. in hindsight, i have no idea why i thought those three concepts, 2 - 3 hours of free time, my inexperienced, lazy self, and my limited understanding of Godot would let me succeed in a game jam... it's a good thing i found this one and not any others.
i had summer camp in june, so no last- minute prep work didn't really happen at that time, anyways: day 1! i started by thinking of an awful idea based on the theme, so i made a to-do list in milanote and started working for a little. right after the initial novelty of the idea wore out, (sometime in the middle of the night, lol) i realized i had to think of something new. when i woke up, i decided to not follow the theme because it was too vague. what i came up with a few after that was a platformer where you can only walk and dash, and you're only way of getting up is via moving platforms. (should have just made a normal platformer.) so i updated my plans and called it for the day.
so it's not starting off TOO bad, but it quickly becomes that way. on day three, i started off with the movement code, which i tinkered with until i broke it for some reason. the dash broke the D button and i have no clue as to why. to take a little break, i decided to start up a new terraria playthrough (modded, thorium, bard class for those who are curious.) anyways, on day 4, i tried to fix the problem using the debugging methods that i knew of, but the bug wouldn't budge. i tried to make a moving platform with a tutorial, but to no avail. i was getting demotivated , so i decided to take another "break" and continued my playthrough. on day 5, it was more or less a repeat of day 4, but with less coding, and more gaming. :(
on day 6, i decided to take a full break day, which is just an excuse to buy celeste. i had had this game on my mind for a bit, i had seen some people briefly talk about it, and i thought the 8 directional dash looked cool, so it actually inspired the buggy, 2-directional dash in my game. after 4 hours, 800 deaths, i was INFURIATED. not just with the game, but with myself. the movement system was so tight and polished, while my character could barely move! but, i thought i could make it better. i thought that this would be my big inspiration to complete my game- "WE'RE GOING TO TENNESSEE!" is yelled from downstairs. i didn't panic immediately, but i just thought it would be 2 nights and i would still have time. i asked how long the trip was, and i found out it would start on saturday morning and end at around friday the next week. i started panicking, and i realized i would have to write this.
i guess this is goodbye. thanks, MFGJ community for even trying to help me , even though in the end i would screw my self over. this may not be a failure in your eyes, merely a learning experience, and, thanks for that. i learned that my abilities to stay focused and procrastinate was min-maxed in a bad way. i'll try another game jam soon, but i'm not sure i'll ever find a community as supportive as you guys. well, i have to go pack for the trip. Farewell.