Hello everyone!
We’re in the middle of the game jam! It seems that by now most of you already decided what you want to build and are already in a playable state. (If you just joined - these tips can be useful for you: https://itch.io/jam/no-code-summer-jam/topic/3906134/tips-for-a-great-game-ja)
We prepared some more tips for this stage of game production:
- Halfway through the jam, you should start thinking about an ending for your game, winning or losing criteria, and focus on that. Your game will look more complete with this.
- If you have time, add some collectibles. Everyone loves collectibles, especially the hunt for some rare ones. Collectibles are easy to make and populate at an empty level. It will give your player an extra purpose.
- Focus on optimizing while making your level beautiful. Play with a paint group - it will solve both of your problems. Add flowers, trees, rocks, and pebbles, and turn your world into a living canvas.
- Add some music. A background song or some ambient forest sounds. Add some sound effects. Audio will dramatically boost the player's experience. You can find a lot of CC0 quality audio files.
- Don't forget to give the player tips or guidance on how to play the game. You can use written guidance, icons, sounds to follow, and lights to show the right path.
- Make a test export of your game in our marketplace. Become familiar with the system and ask for help if you are stuck. The video on how to do it is here:
- Prepare some screenshots (or even better - a video!) for the Itch.io page of your game. It’s your game, after all, you need good marketing materials for your game page.
- Test your game with the more silly way a player will do. Remember that the players are not familiar with your creation and usually they don't play the game the way you imagine it or you want them to. Test for game-breaking events: something that will stop them from playing the game. Check the colliders that will prevent them from stepping outside of the game area.
- From a level design perspective, don't add invisible walls. Nobody likes these. Add obstacles that would make sense in the game and will prevent the players from stepping out.
Good luck, fellow creators!