itch.io

This game is pretty dang difficult! I like it, though. The music is nice and the movement feels fairly good. Sometimes it seemed like I lost more lives than I should have.

Thank you for the feedback! You are actually able to pause the game if you open the menu. :)

Confusing, but I like the graphics!

Game Title/URL: DanSim: The Enbaldening

Pitch/Information: Fight enemies. Become bald. Unlock your true potential when you find the Golden Razor and polish that noggin.

I'd like feedback on: Anything but the graphics!

Another layer of music is added each time you die! Otherwise it's a neat idea for a game.

A bit of a UI error, so I think I missed the instruction and was kind of confused as to what I was supposed to be doing. I would've liked to have turned down the music too. Looks pretty good though.

I joined this game jam having only really followed tutorials up to this point. I figured that if I really wanted to be able to create my own games, at some point I'd have to break out of the comfort of tutorials and create my own game without following a step-by-step guide. I'd heard about game jams in the past, and always wanted to do one, but I've never felt like I'm at the point where I'm "good enough" to participate. Thankfully, this game jam came about at a very convenient time when I was recently finishing up with a tutorial series I was following, and I had a vague idea for a kind of game I'd want to do. 

When I found out the theme, I knew I wanted to do something having to do with becoming bald, as that is a "change" in the main character (Dan)'s life. I really enjoyed the Spiderman and Power Rangers games on the SNES, and that was a huge inspiration for the play style of this game. Even if it's not pretty, the mechanics aren't polished, and it's just in general not "perfect," I knew this was a project I could complete in two weeks. I got to work right away, and would spend at least a few minutes every night after work developing the ideas, art, and programming for the game (which was made in Unity), and a bit more time on my days off between schoolwork. In the past I had started projects that had way too large of a scope for my experience level, so I was very careful with the planning for this project, utilizing a Trello board before switching to HackNPlan. This made it very simple to track my progress, and determine what I could and couldn't do within the time limitations, technical limitations, and the limitations of my own abilities.

So this is what I came up with! DanSim: The Enbaldening. A man's quest to find the Golden Razor and become bald. I'm very excited that I was able to FINISH a project that I started and developed completely on my own! From the (sub-par) sound effects, to the (sub-par) music, and even the (sub-par) sprites, I made this game from scratch. And without following any tutorials (though there was plenty of Googling involved). 

https://danbuckles.itch.io/dansim

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hi, I'm Dan. I currently work full-time and go to school part-time, pretty much filling the rest of my time with other learning, such as Udemy courses.

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 did not. I've been interested in game jams for a while, but never felt I was at the point to be able to make a complete game. Now I feel like I can probably complete a small project on my own.

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

Journey is probably still my favorite indie game of all-time, followed closely by Flower by the same studio. Those games are beautiful and are a huge inspiration to me. Otherwise I've always been a fan of RPGs and MMORPGs. WoW, OSRS, Witcher, Skyrim, etc.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

Very little. I dabbled several years ago when 3D Buzz was still a thing, and only recently got back into it. I've completed the GameDev.TV Unity 2D course on Unity and I'm currently working through their 3D Unity course.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

Bettering myself. The philosophy of "no zero-days" has kept me sane and productive over the last year or so. Every day, I need to do something to better myself, whether it's learning something new, working out, or even simply doing the laundry/cleaning the house.

6. What are your goals for this game jam?