First time game maker, Long time gamer. I was stoked when my buddy asked me to write a story for a PRPG. I worked night and day since the theme was announced, doing research so my story was scientifically airtight, then I proceeded to bust out an 8 song album for the soundtrack. I spent approximately 100 hours while I was under the impression everyone was doing this. It was like a forty-eight-hour film festival for game makers and I fell in love! I am stoked to be here, but I also feel a bit cheated out of a greater opportunity. people will always attempt to twist your words and break the rules to get ahead. that's life. We're a two man dev team and we both poured our heart and soul into this and we're now going up against projects that have had far more time to develop. I couldn't believe it when I heard that some of these weren't created from the neon theme, but rather, adapted to it. i studied chemistry and biology to make sure we were even using neon correctly and I developed the story around it. also, I thought violence and harsh language weren't permitted? I want to be supportive because this is a great new community. at the same time, I'm just confused. It's a bit disappointing finding this out, after i spent about100 hours under the impression this was a two week competition.
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I've left another comment like this to someone else, but just want to say to you too, stick around and keep doing jams! While this jam might've left a touch of bitterness on your tongue, you sound like you worked hard, learnt a lot and came away satisfied with what you achieved. That's a 10/10 score for game jams! Most game devs start a lot more projects than they finish and this leaves them lacking skills from the "finishing" side of things. Because of the enforced time period, jams are a great vehicle to perfect those skills while also not being locked into a project for months (or years, as the case may be).
Things like scoping, UX on the completed gameplay loop, options menus, audio, etc, are all skills that at least some devs leave till last (and consequently don't get around to doing for many of their projects that they don't complete). Hone these skills with jams as often as you can! It'll make any bigger games you work on seem much more polished, as you won't be attempting those "left till last" things for the 1st or 2nd time (or however many completed games you've made), but instead the 20th or 30th (or however many jams you've done).
This stuff alone is worth entering jams for, completely ignoring and prizes, recognition, or even people playing your game. So it's a good idea to keep doing jams, even if the occasional one doesn't go quite as you expected =)
Definitely check out the GMC Forums Jam when the next one comes up! It is every 4 months (the most recent one just finished up). The GMC Jam has been around for a LONG time and thus has a well-defined ruleset and guidelines. Even though this particular jam might have left you slightly jaded, every jam you do will help you develop your skills as a story writer! The best part about jams is that you get the feedback from members also participating, and that in-and-of-itself is a MASSIVE reward, as there are very few mediums where you can actually get constructive, thought-out, and passionate critique en masse! I hope to see you around soon! YOYO tried to do something different and it flopped a bit, it happens to the best of us. Just like us game devs, they will learn from the experience and adapt accordingly. :)