Hello everyone, Adrienne here.
I'm at the truest form of beginner here, so this will be something to look back on one day and see how far I came from. This game jam will be my first, and this game will be the first I've ever finished. Before the jam I identified what strengths I have (sequential art, drawing skills, writing) vs what I would struggle with most (coding & programming). While I understand some of the very basics of c++ and python, it was only ever enough to get through my animation degree. I settled on using Ren'Py as my engine and as I go along I'm learning how to do more than throw images up on the screen.
On day one I liked the suggested theme of "Nature", so I began brainstorming the morning of. I settled on a storybook-style narrative about an owl and a bunny that lived in a wood. Being that I didn't want to overwhelm myself with something complicated, I thought it nice to go back to a childhood style of writing in order to get something churned out from start to finish. I've been so amused by how pure the dialogue is, after playing some not-so-wholesome games recently.
Also on day one I came up with one character design, which is bunny.
I've been using stock photos for the character owl for the time being.
Between these two characters I'd like the player to go on a collection quest, piecing together 3 items to make a final outcome.
I'm using a handful of tutorials online to learn the ins and outs of Ren'py. I expect to learn how to make a custom GUI this week.
Thanks for tuning in!
Edit: 1/23/22
I've been spending my time learning about code and Ren'py over the week, and I have finished character art of both Owl and Bunny. I'm still working on a GUI, and I've been filtering photos of a nearby wooded area where I live for backgrounds. Here's some progress shots:
testing filtered background with first image of Bunny.