So the 2nd Kajam is over, and I'm very happy with the result (and we won, sort of)!

This was a very busy month for me, but fortunately I was working with some very talented individuals. They deserve most of the credit as I only managed to push a small amount of code and a couple of level designs.

I think the game is pretty fun, despite the simple gameplay. The music & SFX are great (albeit lodged in my head forever), and everything fits together nicely. There are also some brilliant touches which I would never have thought of myself, like the cat, which give the game character.

Given more time, I think we could have benefited from adding some hazardous items (e.g. spikes) for more varied gameplay, and perhaps some animations for the player in particular. But then, the lack of animation works quite well with the retro theme, and the game doesn't really feel like it's lacking. More probably we just chose a very realistic set of features for a game jam, and executed them quite well.

I learned a few things from working with wan, too: how useful a design document can be; how to pick a simple idea and do a good job (I quite often fail to complete something because it's too complicated); and how to drive something through to completion.

Overall I'm chuffed with the result and proud to have been involved :D

The 24 days of the 2nd Kajam, focusing on Sound Effects, have passed by. Congrats to the entrants!

Due to the low entry count, we have decided to bypass the voting phase and just end the jam as is. Everyone is a winner! We're leaving entry submissions open throughout the end of the month for any late entrant.

Until the next jam, go check the submitted games and make sure to leave a comment on them!

See you next year and… Happy holidays to all! :)

Warm up your mikes, prepare your Sfxrs, and set your volume to 11 on this new instalment of Kajam!

This time we will be focusing entirely on sound effects. Audio feedback, explosions, pew pews - you name it!

Sound design and sound effects in games are perhaps less celebrated than beautiful graphics and tight controls, but it can really change the experience of a game. Music can be very important but sound effects can make a game memorable and immediately send you back to a certain situation when you later hear the sound.

Let's put the focus on sound effects and see how that affects our games!

Schedule

• Dec. 1st - Dec. 24th: The jam. The goal is simply to make a small game while focusing on Sound effects. Make your game over an evening or during the entire period - work solo or in a team. There's little to no rules - just a chance to practicing your soundcraft. If you're curious though, feel free to check the event rules.
• Dec. 24th - Jan. 1st: The rating phase. For one week, all entrants will rate the Sound effects of the other games. Like on the first event: no Overall ratings, we'll only judge Sound effects.
• Jan. 1st: Start the new year by discovering which games had the most effective Sound effects!

Resources

List of free game sound sites
Wilhelm Scream (did you know there's also a Howie scream?)
Trusty old Sfxr and related as3sfxr, Chiptone, and jsfxr
Tutorial on how to use the libs above
Bfxr, Sfxr's younger brother
Wavosaur
Intro to Web Audio API
Tips for sound design in games
Bobby Prince (id software) on Sound Effect Design
Zachary Quarles (also id software) on game audio design documents
Excerpt from "The Complete Guide to Game Audio"
Sound Effect Fonts!
The story behind Batman’s fight graphics (OK, going off on a tangent here…)

Good luck! And have fun!

The Kajam month-long event series continues, with @dollarone being the planned host for the next event. Just like the first event was focused on Game juice, the next one will be targeting a different aspect of game development chosen by its host. It will be announced on December 1st.

Schedule

• Dec. 1st - 24th: The jam. You'll have around one month to work on a game and submit your entry! (see also the event rules). Note: You are allowed to submit your in-progress entry to let people know you are entering, then edit the page later.
• Dec. 25th - 31st: The rating phase. For one week, all entrants will rate the other games according to the topic of the month (to be announced).
• Jan. 1st: The event results

Stay tuned through Twitter or Reddit to be reminded of the event launch!