1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?
Hello I'm Alex! This is my third MFGJ, and I'm hoping to make a text adventure this year!
2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?
I've done My First Game Jam Winter 2018 and 2019! Last time I submitted a prototype puzzle game which I never got around to expanding on (maybe someday, though). This time, I'd like to make a complete small game without any big plans to expand on it. (Outside of bugfixes, of course.)
3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?
This year I want to make a small piece of interactive fiction. I've been getting into text adventures over the last couple of years, and I've found myself drawn to the big puzzly games - that is, the classic style "> get ye flask" kinds of games.
Two of my favourites so far have been A Beauty Cold and Austere (by Mike Spivey) and Curses! (by Graham Nelson.) There's a lot of really good interactive fiction out there, but these two share something inspirational between them, I think. In both games, the authors wanted to share their passion for something with the player - ABCaA is Spivey introducing the player to the history of mathematics, and Curses is Nelson giving the player a tour of British history and mythology. They're both really fun games (albeit super difficult, in Curses' case!) and they both left me sharing the authors' passion.
I'd like to put a similar amount of love into my games, if I ever make more. That said, I'm going to use the theme as a prompt this year, so I have absolutely no idea what my jam entry will be about yet!
4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?
I know my way around Game Maker Studio 1.4, and make my previous MFGJ entry with it, but that's not what I'm planning to use in this jam. I've been taking a course in Unity, but I'm not confident with it yet. I have some very slight knowledge of Inform 7, which is the engine I'm trying to very quickly learn for this jam.
5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!
Since the last time I answered this question, I have gotten a lot more interested in sports, particularly football (i.e. soccer). I used to write football off as just overpaid athletics, but I had a moment of clarity this year after I got fed up of professional wrestling. I had enjoyed wrestling because it was more about the soap opera than the actual sport, and I eventually realised that a lot of organised sports are like that. It's not about the football so much as it's about the atmosphere of a match, the community that forms around it, the big personalities that pass through and shape your team for better or for worse. Such a fascinating and weird part of human culture; I think I've fallen in love with it.
It also probably helps that my team, Sheffield United, are doing well at the moment. Maybe a few years from now Sheffield United will collapse again, and I'll decide that football is for idiots after all.
6. What are your goals for this game jam?
- Finish something! I want to end up with a complete game and a cohesive story or atmosphere, no matter how small. Other than bugfixes and better testing, I shouldn't feel like I ought to add to the game after submission.
- Learn Inform 7. I've been poking at the engine and documentation recently, trying to learn my way around the program ahead of time. I would like to gain more familiarity with it, and hopefully write more text adventures after the jam.
7. Any advice to new participants?
- Give yourself days off. Build days offinto your timetable, if you're planning that far ahead.
- Scope as small as you can, and don't be ashamed to make your scope smaller if time isn't on your side. You can always add those optional features back when your core game is done if you have a bit of time left.
8. What can the admins do to improve your jam experience?
Nothing - always had a lovely time in this jam!
9. What are some of the past works you've made for the jam? Show off your favorites!
I had to pull out of the Winter 2018 jam because of computer trouble. But I made a puzzle game called Arcane for Winter 2019! (Windows download only, sorry!) I still want to return to this someday, but building levels in Game Maker was a bit of a kludge - I think Unity would be better for turning this into a long-term project.