first things first, i’m really grateful to my friend lemonink for introducing this jam to me and introducing me to all the lovely entries from previous jams – so many people that were once mythical figures i had only heard of i got to “meet” this jam and even have them play my game, what an honor! a keen eye will notice we elected to work on our own, and i will say i for sure learned a lot. it was my first time having to use ren’py, my first time solo deving a project (i’m a writer. i write. i do NOT code), and my first time having to puzzle everything mostly on my own like a big girl. i learned a lot, but i think i’m never doing this again LOL. the first thing i’m doing is crawling to the nearest person i can find on hands and knees and begging to collaborate on the next project. lemonink, i want you back….!
and not to drag on my thank you speech too long but i really am so grateful to lemonink for helping me get into game dev in the first place. i envision many more nights huddled together in the dorm lounge until you inevitably leave me in spring 2026, but until then we’ll keep on working hard together!
okay, onto the actual post mortem. first, let’s get all my excuses out of the way. it’s really not so bad tbh but the day of the jam i had to pack to fly back to my hometown & hobble through the mess that is LAX and the commute to it. luckily the jam coincided with my winter break, and unluckily my mom did not like to see my very serious game dev all-nighters. and yes, i did indeed have jury duty – i submitted the game while waiting to get my name called for the juror room HAHA. i’m also currently typing this from my vacay in hawaii – aloha everyone! forgive my tardiness & lack of service 🙈
but in that regard, i feel like my weaknesses are clear to see even with these minuscule excuses. michael smith had a very detailed post mortem i delightfully and joyously read through & i definitely can agree the theme wasn’t the easiest for me to navigate. that alongside having to now figure out the gui, the code, and ren’py meant i spent literal hours complaining to my friends about how i should just quit and not submit and never join a game jam again. i think my gui is a bit, well, unserviceable compared to everyone else’s polished games. i think i couldn’t really encapsulate the theme well enough just because it was, as my friend said, more of an aesop life lesson than a theme (second chances and you are expendable, in another life we’ll meet again!). and honestly, i just thought my game was boring … >_< well, i’m glad i stuck through! i got to play so many lovely entries, made a whole bluesky account, and ended up getting so many kind comments when a week ago i was determined to delete ren’py and withdraw from the jam. and i sound like a broken record, but i really am so stunned and shocked to have placed so high, especially in areas i was worried about and found weak. it means so much to me that the people who played my game rated it the way they did, and i will eternally be grateful that i ended up having such a wonderful experience for my first solo jam!
velox turbo 2 was a good chance for me to branch out, as a coddled princess who often has someone else at hand to do all the parts i don’t like doing :P i hope to be back in the future for a new jam, and i hope to find ways to mitigate the things i’m weaker at, like with visuals and sound. imagine us, you and me (katherine) together during sunset and we’re at the beach in waikiki, and i’m aglow in the light with my arms clasped behind my back like an anime girl, and i say, “it was fun, wasn’t it?” and you say, “it was.” that’s my velox experience! it was a pleasure to have it alongside everyone else, and i hope to see you all again in the future! 😊