I'll be writing my own post-mortem so no one is subjected to me rambling for too long BUT!
This is my first time participating in a ranked jam and it's been... an experience?
Firstly, grappling with the idea of being rated myself? I have horribly fluctuating self-esteem, and while I'm proud of my little project, there is always going to be a part of me that compares myself to others and feels bad, especially with so much talent on display. Honestly, though, I'm not really thinking about the ratings I'll receive anymore, I'm just happy to have taken part. It'll actually be nice to be able to quantifiably see where things didn't connect for people. I've done post-game surveys before, but they are more player-based than dev-based, and I think the peer feedback would be helpful.
Secondly. HOW. DO YOU. RATE. GAMES?!
I've had a crisis of conscience to be honest, because I feel like the ratings are personal, and yet somehow I feel like my opinion should not be held in any regard. My personal taste is silly and specific, there are so many games here that I honestly would've never explored where it not for the jam (which makes me the poorer one), but I do find the idea of rating things unfamiliar and strange?
The category that gave me the most trouble was theme incorporation. Is it my enjoyment of the theme incorporation? The level of theme incorporation?
Anyway, I feel like I'm failing a test somehow...
Thank you for playing to anyone who has been subjected to my game, and thank you hosts for arranging this wonderful(ly stressful) time for us <3
The day writers stop rambling is the day the universe implodes : )
Rating is scary! If I had to explain my ratings in a public forum I would opt to melt into a puddle instead. And the only thing scarier than a numbered list is a numbered list with my name on it.
I personally ranked Theme Incorporation based on, first, how easy it was to determine who the “You” and the “here” is in “you shouldn’t be here” and then estimating how important that You and Here was to the *theme* of the story (since most very obviously pit the plot just fine). It was subjective! But if you’re gonna put it in my hands imma do as I please : )
Oh, yeah, getting rated is one big thing about it. I only entered my first Velox because I completely forgot that it's a ranked jam because I absolutely dreaded the idea of being judged. But in the end, it's all between fellow devs who know exactly how the craft goes. I know that I took a lot from my Turbo and Formido scores - they reinforced what I already (more or less consciously) knew about myself and my games and allowed me to know what I do best, and what I still need to work on. Hope that this jam gives you the same opportunity to reflect once the scores come!
Rating things IS a strange thing. I try my best to not let my taste dictate my ratings too much, but I guess there'll still be something personal slipping through the cracks. It's normal that you're trying games you wouldn't normally try here - I'm the same. I guess we're all here to broaden our horizons a little? We're gathered here to work with a theme we've never heard before, after all, so, it's all about trying new things out.
When it comes to how I judged Theme Incorporation, I had a couple of different questions in mind. Who's "you" and where's "here"? Is it easily identifiable, or at least easy to infer from context? Why the "you" shouldn't be here? Additionally, and I think this is just my quirk, I kept thinking about a certain degree of "unnatural feel", "hostility" or "destructiveness" that comes with someone being where they're not meant to be. Does it really feel like someone's out of place, like they don't belong? Maybe they're here by unnatural means, maybe they've come uninvited, maybe the world around them wants them gone. I don't know. Either way, there was still a lot of criteria that I won't be mentioning because this isn't my essay. Also, I'm pretty much sure that I broke so, so many of my own standards... which pains me lol