1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?
hello, everyone. I'm Iakoff, and this is my first game jam!
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 joined the jam for two reasons. One, because I really like the idea of being given a theme and building something -a videogame, in this case -around it. I know this jam's theme will be optional, but I'll still most likely keep it in mind when making my game -unless I really can't think of anything to do with it! Reason number two is that I want to start getting acquainted with the indie gamedev community, and because I think it will be fun to see other people's projects come to life and share my own project with them.
3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?
My favorite games mostly belong to the RPG genre. Final Fantasy IX is my favorite game of all time, followed close by FFVI and Chrono Cross (yes, Cross!). Some of my other favorite games include Shadow of the Colossus, Resident Evil 1-3, Silent Hill 1-3, Fable I, Daggerfall, Crusader Kings II and, perhaps the outlier here, Fight Night Round 3.
All of these games have inspired me in one way or another. FFIX and VI have some phenomenal characters. Chrono Cross has one of the most beautiful OST's I've ever listened to. Shadow of the Colossus is unique in a variety of ways... well, I could keep going on and on, lol.
4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?
My, this is a long story. I've had an interest in game development for something like... fifteen years? I don't even remember when I started, anymore. I think it was trying to code a game using Perl. At some point I came across RPG Maker. The XP version was the brand new toy back then, but I never used it that much. I liked 2000 and 2003 better. I made some (very) small games with those, but never finished a full one, sadly. Still, I learned many useful things, like some notions of programming, doing non-horrible looking pixel art, stuff like that.
Eventually, I began learning programming. I started with Java and JavaScript but I ended up mostly focusing on Python. Unfortunately, not long after that I had to put my interest in game development (and all my other hobbies, really) to one side, because life got weird. Probably the reason why most of my favorite games are pretty old. But nevermind that, we're not here for sob stories. The thing is that I ended up pursuing a different career, and for some years I didn't go back to anything related to videogames, programming, etc.
Recently, like many others, I've found myself working from home because of the pandemic. Suddenly, I had a lot more free time, so... why don't go back to that thing I really used to like? And that's what I've been doing for the last three months. I found out about the Godot engine and fell in love with it. I've been learning to use Blender (don't expect a 3D game yet, though, lol). I've been having a blast. Luckily, I seem to remember just enough not to be helpless at everything. I've been making (and finishing!) some small learning projects, and I'm feeling confident enough to challenge myself to a jam. And will you look at that! 'My first jam' is about to start! Perfect!
5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!
Creating things. Throghout my life, I've joined writing contests, I've taken art classes, I've learned to play a couple of instruments. I just love making stuff. And that is what I really like about game development: I can take all of those things and make something with them.
Also whales. I flippin' love whales.
6. What are your goals for this game jam?
Well, I've had an interest in game development for long, but I've never showed it to anyone. Why? Because I used to think it was scary, and that my stuff wasn't good enough. I want to change that. I'm no genius, of course, but I can't get better if only I judge my work. So that's my goal. I want to just make something, be like "here, look at it!" and have people tell me why they love it and why they hate it. I know it sounds silly, but it will be a big step for me.
That's also why I wanted to join a jam. Because all the games will be made in a short period of time, none will be perfect, probably few will be complete, and I will feel more comfortable sharing my own lousy, incomplete project :)