Hi, Fellow Game Developers,
Today i want to talk about ‘Game Jams’, and why they’re a crucial part for every Gamedev’s journey to success.
So why ‘Game Jams’ are important ?
First point, you get to make a game! maybe not a full game, but it’s a playable version, not everybody can do that, so, good job.
Second point, as you know, game jams happens on short time frame, so finishing them helps you in becoming a faster developer,
and definitely helps with making faster decisions, faster coding, knowing when to take a shortcut or not,
and overall it adds to your ‘PROBLEM SOLVING’ capabilities, which what i think is the most needed skill for every Gamedev.
Third point, you can use Game Jams for prototyping some ideas you have or had, specially if the theme fits that in, or when the jam theme is open-ended.
So if your game idea got liked by the masses you can expand on it, and maybe make a full game out of it.
Fourth point, and this one i think is what makes game jams more special then any other game development events, it makes you more ‘CREATIVE’.
so how does that happen?
you see, being limited with the theme forces your mind to deal with that limitation, it brings the best out of it and pushes it to the limits,
forging a greater connection within itself and eventually reaching new areas in it that haven’t been discovered before,
making you a more CREATIVE / SMART person.
Fifth point, if you’re making these Game Jams with a team, it will help you tremendously in developing your soft skills,
and makes you a better communicator, which is a skill you will definitely need if you’re going to enter the professional world.
Now, i’m going to talk about why i’m joining ‘Game Jams, so this is personal for me :
“Game jams are one big chunk of my yearly for plan this year (2022).
Since i have less than two years in the field, honing my skills is a must for me,
so my specific reason is to familiarize myself with different game mechanics and genres,
I’m planning to do at least one jam per month ( which is the recommended ), and for every jam i’ll try to make a different genre while being
compatible with the theme that the jam have, which will give me a head start if i’ll ever think about a specific game to make,
also it will help me with the idea of ‘Mix & Match’.”
Back to Objectivity :
Last point, you may win some prizes, and get some recognition if your game is that good, but it shouldn’t be your main focus
if you’re entering game jams, we have to be more eager to learn rather than to win prizes.
So, this is why i think game jams are important.
Now tell me what’s your reason for joining game jams ? and what point do you think i’ve missed ?
If you wanna read more about ‘Game Development’ make sure you follow me on ‘Medium’ or Connect with me on ‘Linkedin’ :
Medium : https://medium.com/@oussikhazmenski
Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/oussama-khazri-38133592
And don’t forget to share it with other beginner game developers,
Thank You For Reading..
-” Oussama Khazri”-