So I'm planning to do some streaming of the games in the jam over the course of the month. However, with 121 games and 5 weeks, that is 24 games a week and I have maybe three hours a day to play, so...

• At the 10 and 20 minute marks, I may decide to not continue the game even if it doesn't crash.
• If the game crashes or I hit a progress lock, I will not continue streaming it unless I really like the game at that point and think it is possible to get past the problem.
• Past the 20 minute mark, I will try to complete the game unless it crashes or I hit a progression lock.
• I will only be streaming games with a windows marked/tagged download. (I will be using the Itch App, so if no files are marked as windows, there is nothing for me to download).
  • I will not be downloading games from an external site, I don't think those should be allowed for a contest like this because they can potentially be updated past the deadline.
  • If the queue of non-requests reaches a title and there is no install option on the Itch App by then, I will skip the title. I will not check on skipped titles.
• I will (inadvertently) try to break the games I play. Those that know me... know that I am more than happy to go bug hunting.
• I may or may not play my own submission.
• If requested, I may play a game out of order, but otherwise the same rules apply.
• Because I have very limited time, I will stream even if another streamer is streaming. I will try to remember to archive my streams.
• I am somewhat experimenting with medicine, but if it doesn't work, I might have relatively silent streams. (I can't talk for very long without coughing).
• I will try to give a fair rating and a review to all the jam games I play. Note that I will not give pity ratings or "I'll rate it well just because it is different" or "I'll rate it well because I know the person". I will rate each game as a game, not as anything else. Note also that I will only give a 1 star or 5 star for exceptional projects. This means really bad for 1 star and really well done for 5 star. Expect the average to be 3 from me.
• (Optional) I may try to figure out what went wrong if there is a bug I can figure out.
• (Optional) If requested to break/debug the game, I will try to be more thorough and will try to thoroughly test everything. Just be warned that I can also be a bit harsh.

If the moderators are okay with it, I'll post a link to my stream, otherwise I'm plenty happy to stick with my low 1-2 viewer streams, lol.

Edit: Looks like moderators are okay with it. I'll be streaming around 1200 to 1430 Pacific time most days.

My link: https://www.twitch.tv/sinnoaria See the 2021-07-23 VOD (Or the Part 3 highlight if the VOD is expired) to see how to add the windows tag  (start of the VOD).

Current record:

Games rated+played: 86? (Estimated as some entries have been removed)
Completed games that I haven't found bugs in: 4? (minor bug-likes, sort of bugs/logical errors, but very minor. 1 Unknown if bug or intended.)
Freezes/Crashes/Progression Block: 27 (4 continued with debug item/fixes, 4 reset game)
Games otherwise abandoned: 7 ( 3 poorly balanced/luck based - effectively blocked, 3 too annoying, 1 content)

When out of queued items, will start with the next item on the list if time allows. Once I am out of items to stream, I will stream my own game and some tips/tricks.

Some no plugin tricks I intend to show: (Let me know if there is anything you might want to see)

• How to do timed respawns (enemies and resources)
• How and why to use a set of 'local variables' and why you might want various amounts of these
• How to do a stamina system for running
• How you can build various crafting systems without a plugin
• Some weaknesses of working without plugins (including title menu, skills/items, battlebacks)
• How to display controls without plugins.

For 2021-08-17:

Planned: 2 hours, Tips and Tricks

Expected to stream somewhere between 1200 to 1430ish pacific time again.

Games left: 0 (Except own game)

I've gone ahead and made a topic for this one. :-)

Hey I'll watch some jam streams, what's your youtube/twitch link?  Ya'll should check this out https://wrath-of-wood.itch.io/star-dice I want to get lots of feedback on this one. Thanks :)

Please make sure that you post your link in the topic for this... otherwise this may get buried over time.

Hey. Feel free to do my entry! Hey there, here is mine if you are interested in streaming it. https://itch.io/jam/rpg-maker-mz-touch-the-stars-game-jam/rate/1131822

Well this sounds cute. I don't know if I'll watch, but yer free to do mine: https://itch.io/jam/rpg-maker-mz-touch-the-stars-game-jam/rate/1132853

(Going to start soon, almost done with preparing for today's stream).

Today's queue:

1. Will try to show how to mark a file for windows and what it looks like in the Itch App if there is no marked file.
2. Born of the Solstice https://itch.io/jam/rpg-maker-mz-touch-the-stars-game-jam/rate/1131822
3. The Stars Here Below https://itch.io/jam/rpg-maker-mz-touch-the-stars-game-jam/rate/1132853
4. First game on the list unless someone requests me to stream their game beforehand.

Mind taking a look through my game? I know there are definitely some bugs there, I've listed a few in a devlog and on the game page. but if you happen to find any others, I would appreciate knowing what they are. https://itch.io/jam/rpg-maker-mz-touch-the-stars-game-jam/rate/1132958

I posted this elsewhere, but a something that might help people who are trying to playtest their own game:

Generally those too closely involved in the creation of something are either too critical or not critical enough.

When playtesting something you've worked on, there are a few things to consider, including:

• Having worked on the project, you are:
  • Better informed about your project than others. What seems obvious to you might not be obvious to others.
  • More used to the project than others. What might seem obvious to others might not stand out to you.
  • More prone to ignoring mistakes, errors, etc..
  • Able to work around mechanics and puzzles more easily due to knowing the intended solutions.
  • Have a hard time seeing alternative solutions due to already knowing an intended solution.
• For effective testing, you want to:
  • Be able to step back from the game. No longer see the game as 'your' game, but as 'some stranger's" game.
  • See the project from the perspective of a player: 
    • With no preconceptions.
    • With preconceptions from similar games.
    • That has just beaten the game.
    • That has spend a long time away from the game.
    • Doing a new run/from a previous game of a series.
  • Be able to consider playstyles different from your own/what you expect.
  • Really want to try to break the game. Look for ways that you can break the game.
  • Try the consider how the game might behave under different conditions. If you have a really powerful rig and a cheap rig, you can do a test on both rigs. If you have just a powerful rig, you can use emulators or other methods to simulate a weaker or different rig. (Like Windows 10 and Windows 7 and Windows XP might all handle the same game differently and have different bugs). One very common issue is the game behaving differently at different FPS values. So like a game might be fine at 30, 60, 120, 144, then break at 146 and higher. A game might also be fine at 300,144,120,60,30, then completely break at 28.
    • Test the game's deployed version. One way to do this is to upload to itch.io as a developer branch (mark it for your system) and use the Itch App. This will allow you to use a mode that should somewhat isolate the game so that you can test it. The benefit of this is that you are testing it in a way that lets you see how the final product will react because the game can act differently under different environments (test vs deployed vs actual environment).
  • Ignore your own personal feelings, but also consider in feelings. 
    • Example of why to consider in feelings: How is a scene supposed to make you feel? How does it actually make you feel? If your MC's father dying is supposed to be a sad scene, but you feel happy about it because the father was a jerk, then the scene isn't working as intended, as an example. 
    • You don't want your personal emotions to cloud your judgement. (Having emotions affect your judgement is normal.)
• For effective fixing of issues, you need to:
  • Understand how bugs and issues happen. The better you understand the problems (and solutions), the faster and more thoroughly you can fix problems.
  • Be able to understand what problems your fixes might cause and avoid those problems.
  • Be able to prioritize what is important and what can wait.
    • There is a development side to this choice: Budget, Time, etc. can affect that side of the decision.
    • You also want to consider in the user/player side of this choice: What issues are the players going to see? What will a player be willing to deal with and what will a player find frustrating to the point of quitting?
    • Balance what the players will want with what makes sense from a developer standpoint.
      • For example, players see new UI as being most important, then sound, then a few minor graphical errors.  Your budget provides enough to fix one UI issue, or two sound issues and one minor graphical error. Your time left allows you to fix two issues. Which do you choose? You could fix just the UI, which the players want most, or Sound and sound or sound and some graphic error. 
        • This is actually more complicated than just that as what will the players find most annoying. When they just started, what will make them quit before giving the game a chance vs what will make them quit over a longer period of time? Which is more important to prioritize? There are many more factors to consider and you also have the issue that you can't spend a lot of time making that decision because that is spending time and possibly money.

That isn't an exhaustive list, but those are some things to consider. I put some of the ones that are harder to do in italics.

Going to stream soonish.  Probably last time I'm going to announce that for this time period unless there is a new request since I've been rather consistently starting around this time.