Hello! VeryRBLX here. Over the summer, I attended RDC 18, which was a very fun experience, meeting other developers that I’ve talked to/worked with in person. The panels taught me a lot about things like monetizing my games and making my UI better, but the thing that stuck out to me the most was the Game Jam. My first one ever. It was a very eventful 15+ hours but it taught me a lot about how I can improve as a developer. Here are some of the things I learned from my first ever game jam.
Team Selection
Before RDC, there was a topic made exclusively for RDC. There, developers would call to make a team, looking for positions like builders, scripters, UI designers, etc. These people would exchange their Discords and Twitter @'s, which would allow for contact before RDC. This is what should be done. Unfortunately, I did not. So I ended up going to RDC looking for a team. I was picked up by a team of 3 who were looking for a builder and soon after the theme was announced, we got to work. Clearly, you don’t want to go into a game jam without a team but you should make an effort to look for a team.
Time Management
This was something I learned the hard way. I didn’t know how to manage my time. I built what I was supposed to build, tasked by the team. But when they started working faster than I had been used to, my builds ended up getting sloppy. I took too much time thinking about what to build instead of building while I think. I finished it behind the team and dragged them down with time, but we did finish in time. Always try to make the idea work while the idea gets to you.
Socialization
Socializing is an absolute must when participating in a game jam with a team. The team relies on you just as much as you rely on them. Being shy is understandable to many, my team being one of them, but this is what I lacked on, socialization. The best you can do is try to socialize and talk with the team. Besides, what’s better than making some new friends?
A little side thing that I liked when doing the game jam
Talking With Other Teams
It’s not a must-do but it does help after you’re done with your job for the time being (as I did a couple hours after the game jam started). Just a little something to keep yourself occupied. I went around the room, looking for some of my friends and just talked with them for a little bit. Obviously, don’t talk about ideas but you could talk about anything. It allows for bonding and good friendships.
This one probably won’t apply to you but
Watch What You Consume
Before RDC, I was on a diet, which was working well. During Game Jam, they had a lot of food, snacks, and drinks at the back of the room, just to serve yourself in case you’re hungry (this game jam was overnight so this would probably be your dinner). I decided I’d cut loose on the diet for a day and ate some food. I ate 3 burritos, drank 2 sodas, and drank 2 cups of coffee almost immediately after drinking the sodas. I didn’t feel it during the game jam but I did feel it the next morning. I had a really mean stomach ache and skipped out on breakfast. So basically, don’t go crazy.
My team didn’t get top 15 in Game Jam, but it was quite a learning experience for me and I’ll use everything I learned this year and apply it next year.
If you want to play our team’s game, Drop, then go play it here! Let me know what you think of it!
Thank you for reading!
-VeryRBLX
