1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?
Hello! My name's Rahul and I'm a senior Computer Science undergrad from India.
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?
No, but I did participate in Summer last year. That was my first ever time making a game. I'd joined a couple of others since that, but only ended up submitting 1 more game.
3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?
My favourite games are mostly from the Strategy genre. I do like a bit of immersion/survival here and there (like The Long Dark or a heavily modded Skyrim), but I find that it's games like FTL (a legendary game this!), X-COM (RNGod bless you) and Into The Breach (Pacific Rim Chess) that keep me hooked for hours on end. And it's these that inspired me to join my first game jam.
4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?
I have created 2 games so far, both in the Godot Game engine (Support Open Source, people!). My first game was a turn-based one, which had the player moving across a chess-like board killing spiders in some godforsaken forest. The second was my attempt at a tower-defense game, but with the additional challenge of keeping the summoner(who summons defenses) awake for the fight.
5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!
Computers! And making them do stuff through languages. Just thinking about the processor gets me all philosophical about the human brain.
The Universe and it's physics! Somewhere around high school, I started to get really into Astrophysics and stuff.
I blog about video games, and dabble in some pixel-art from time to time.
6. What are your goals for this game jam?
It's been more than half a year since I even touched a game engine. Seems like my productivity rises after every Summer, and falls back in Feb.
So, my goal here is to get back to it. Planning the design and development process is something I miss.
7. Any advice to new jammers (if you're a veteran)?
Since everyone's already mentioned the scope thing, I'd like to say that planning is important, especially if you're short on time. A lot can be accomplished in 2 days, but not if you spend too much time perfecting the UI.
Also, a coding tip: Proceed step by step, testing everything as you go. The last thing you want is to write pages and modules of code and get a Segmentation Fault at the end of it all.
8. If you're a returning jammer, what can the admins do to improve your jam experience?
Nothing need be done. The experience is wonderful as is :)