I have participated in few jams in the past and I must say this one was one of the best or at least the most special one for me!
THINGS I LIKED:
- Premade assets & 2 weeks of holiday time was perfect! Some of us have a limited time and having assets ready with that jam duration it allows us to participate. And what a better time than through the holidays.
- Usually jams are not that limited but having Pico-8 as an only options was a great choice in my opinion because entries and the whole jam have a coherent theme & feel.
- Mystery of the jam is one of the things I loved the most! I wasn't expecting new assets after solving one so I was positively surprised. In the future I would love to see more layers added to the mystery and with it more secret assets.
- Big plus for constant feedback from your side and for being active on Twitter & Forums! It feels great to see Jam host being active :)
SUGGESTIONS:
- The only thing that could be improved is the jam/rules page. Overall there was just too much text and after reading it some things still weren't 100% sure. Maybe more visual examples would be good (eg. what kind of sprite changes are allowed etc.). Less text and more visual presentation?
Overall, ToyBoxJam Jam made my holidays even more special because it touched the kid in me with the whole Mystery & Toys (available assets, Pico-8 tool) things.
Really good job on your first Jam as a host! Looking forward to the future ToyBoxJams ;)