Hi there Jammers!

The Deadline for the Kajam is approaching fast. Please submit your games until 2021-06-04 21:00 Berlin time.
Please add some instructions on how to set up your game for multiplayer session (e.g. which ports to forward (udp/tcp) of if specific config files need to be adjusted).

On 2021-06-05 we will have a dedicated gaming session where you are invited to join us in the Alakajam discord "general" voice channel to play all the submissions together. Of course you can also join if you did not participate in the Kajam. We will start at 18:00 Berlin time. Check this website for your local timezone.

So everyone: let's add the finishing touches to our games and then have a great time together. Looking forward to talk to all of you in person.

Hi there,

So there is finally some progress. Not so much on the gameplay side, but the underlying mechanics are getting fleshed out quite nicely.

As we are aiming for a SHMUP game, the client really needs to feel responsive. This will be achieved by some clever client side prediction. This will only roughly be described here. For a full introduction, I recommend you this awesome tutorial here.
Basically the server but also every client runs on it's own pace and a slow client should not block the server or other clients. This means that some sort of lock-step implementation will not work for us.
Due to network lag, the client will always be behind the server and there is basically nothing that could prevent it. The idea is that the client predicts the movement for a certain frame 60. Then it sends out the input state for this frame to the server. Simultaneously the gamestate for frame 55 has arrived (due to network lag this will always lag some frames behind).
The solution now is that the player locally stores the game state as well as the input state for the past frames.
The number of stored input frames as well as the framerate determines what input lags you can compensate.

If a mismatch between the locally computed frame 55 and the received frame 55 from the server is detected, the client code now needs to roll back its simulation to frame 55 and re-simulate the input up to frame 60. This will then be used to display the player position.

To simulate network trouble, you can use a tool like clumsy. This allows to add arbitrary lag, dropped packets, throttle, limited bandwidth or even message corruption to your in or outgoing network packets. It works for ipv4 and ipv6 and supports udp and tcp. This is very handy for testing purposes.

So I am joining the Multiplayer Kajam.

Tools that will be used:

• C++
• My self-written Jam Template, based on SFML
• Visual Studio & Visual Studio Code
• Aseprite for graphics

We will join in a team of three

• Thunraz
• BloodyOrange
• and Laguna

We started yesterday evening and already had some trouble with our ISPs. One was configured to use only IPv4, the other was configured for only IPv6 (with an ipv4 tunnel). We found a way around that, where the only restriction is that I cannot be the host, but we can work around that as local testing is still possible.

I wish everyone best of luck for the jam!

The Kajam is live! Let's work on some awesome multiplayer games!

The Kajam will run until 2021-06-04. On 2021-06-05 we will have a common gaming session in the Alakajam Discord. You can of course also join for the gaming session if you did not participate in this Kajam.

Tell your story

Are you working solo or in a team? Do you plan to work only on specific weekends or throughout the complete time of the jam? What are the tools you are using? It would also be awesome to hear about the issues you encounter during the Kajam and especially how you solve them? Are you using lockstep or some kind of interpolation?
And most importantly: What game are you making? Did you pick a round based gameplay? Some strategy or some fase paced action gameplay?

New to the jam?

Check out the original jam announcement here

The Theme for this Kajam is “Remote Multiplayer”. This relaxed, month-long event will start on 2021-05-07 and last until 2021-06-04. There will be no ratings after the jam, but a dedicated gaming session on 2021-06-05.

Please find the keynote on YouTube and SoundCloud

What does “remote multiplayer” mean?

By definition multiplayer means that more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time. Remote means that you can play together over some sort of network and that you don’t have to sit next to each other.

What might sound as a daunting endeavour, is the chance to start thinking about games you would normally not do on a GameJam. Most GameJam entries specialize on gameplay mechanics for one player or are dedicated couch multiplayer games.
However in the time of continuing lockdowns when you can not meet with your friends as you would normally do, multiplayer games are a great way to spend some time together.

This Kajam is all about multiplayer.
Let’s learn about the technical details of multiplayer games, like network protocols and client/server communication!
Let’s make a game that you would normally never try on any GameJam!
And most importantly: Let’s have some fun while creating and playing multiplayer games together!

What are the rules?

For this Kajam you can work solo or as a team.
You have four weeks to create and submit your entry, starting on Friday, 2021-05-07 and lasting until Saturday 2021-06-05.
Every Language, Framework or Engine is allowed.
You can use third party assets and are even allowed to add multiplayer functionality to an already finished game!

Detailed rules here

Now, start your engines and join this Kajam!

What is a Kajam?

Kajam competitions are month-long events in which people make a small video game focusing on a specific aspect of game development. They're a perfect opportunity to learn, experiment and level-up your gamedev skills!

This gaming session sounds great! How can I join?

Thank you! The gaming session will happen after the Kajam on Saturday 2021-06-05. We will meet online at the Alakajam! Discord server and have fun playing the games which were created during the jam and have a great time together.

Please find my raycasting game Burning Glyphs

7dfps

I always wanted to take part in the 7dfps. I always played shooters. My first one was DukeNukem3D, which a friend showed me and I was blown away.
When I received the Game Engine Blackbook for Wolfenstein 3D as a birthday present, I knew that I don't have any more excuses. I can wholeheartedly recommend the book. It is written very well and in an entertaining way, contains a lot of helpful explanations and also was proofchecked. This is important, because a lot of tutorials on the internet contain minor or major math errors, inconsistent or confusing variable naming and so on. I have been there, and I have found my missing minus sign just due to this book.

So 7dfps it should be. I only learned some dasy into 7dfps that the next kajam will be about raycasting. So bear with me for submitting the same game twice.

raycasting

The raycasting was written from scratch, and I have to say: "That is not so easy to get right!". It took me a lot of drawings and scribbles on paper. But eventually I managed.

c++ in 2020?

I am working as a c++ software developer and c++ is in fact my preferred language to write games. Lucky for me I was working on a so called JamTemplate which was lately being able to compile to web via emscripten.
I had to try this out! It wasn't easy, especially getting multiple libraries (SFML, SDL) combined in one framework. Burning Glyphs was so to speak the full rehersal and I am pretty happy how it turned out. Of course there are still a lot of quirks and issues left, but I am confident that they will vanish throughout the next projects. And to be honest, witnessing your c++ code being executed in a browser is pretty awesome :D

Hey there,

I am really looking forward to this Alakajam Feedback Fortnight event! Unfortnunately I missed the first FF event, but this time I submitted an entry! For LD41 DevilLime, xXBloodyOrange and I worked on a mashup between a Tower Defense and a Clicker game: Grantchester Meadows which is now awaiting your feedback!

I am also looking forward to play your entries. I will try and give detailed feedback.

Of course I will join the next Alakajam!

Although some friends are celebrating their wedding on the next weekend, I will try and sneak some hours of awesome gamedev into the schedule.

I will be using Haxe and HaxeFlixel and probably aim for an HTML5 build. If I find time for graphics, I will use Aseprite.

Regardig the themes: I am awefully sorry that "little robot workers" as well as "giant robots" were eliminated during the voting phase. However, I see a good chance for some of the themes to do something at least related to robots. :D

Other than that, I am really looking forward to joining ths alakajam and of course to play all your awesome games!

gl, hf and of course: see you on the other side!
Laguna

Hi there,

During August 2018 I was blessed to work with xXBloodyOrange, Thunraz and Aurvandil on Thyl's Tale. In about two weeks we created a Zelda/Hyper Light Drifter like game. I was really excited when I saw that our game is also featured in the 2nd Alakajam Tournament. In that tournament players fight for the top position in a leaderboard, which takes into account the highscores of 6 games from the Alakajam community.
This post will be a (non-exhaustive) list of tips and tricks to help you with doing a speedrun.

Thyl's Tale Tricks

This is separated into two parts, one that contains spoilers and one that is spoiler free.

NO SPOILERS

The intro is skippable (but doesn't count towards playtime)

If you are tired of watching the intro cutscene for the n-th time, just hit ESC to skip it.

Manage the movement

If you want to get a good time, you need to do precise movement. The normal movement ist done by WASD or Arrow keys and the attack/dash can be used with C/X or J/K. Alternatively: If you enjoy playing with a gamepad, Thyl's Tale also supports gamepads (tested with xBox 360).

Dashing is your friend

You will use the dash to avoid enemies, to pass over cliffs and just to move faster. Therefore get a feeling for the dash and how it works.
Did you notice the timer right above Thyl? That is the dash cooldown. Once the text gets bigger in size and starts to fade, you can dash again. Try to pick the appropriate timing.

Know when to fight … and when to run

There are only some specific places where you really have to fight to proceed. In dev speak we call them "arenas". Those are the levels where you enter a certain region and wall emerge, blocking your movement. The first time this happens in the third level after leaving the city, when entering the ruins and at the boss fight.
In all other cases you can easily run through the levels and not bother with the enemies.
Also see: "Learn the levels" below.

Get some healing

The shrines can heal Thyl if he gets beaten up by the enemies. Just walk near a shrine to trigger that effect. There are some shrine on the way which you can use to refill your health.

Teleport back to the city

When you are low on health you can also teleport back to the city and use the shrine there.

Take a look at the stats

When pressing F you can see your stats. Try to get items which maximize your walking speed and dash range and also minimize the dash cooldown. Good items are the Katana, and the leather armor.

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

Know your enemies

There are three different enemy types (plus the boss) and all of them require a different way of fighting:

• Slimes: They perform a random walk until they see you. Then they move towards you and if they are in charging distance, they will charge towards you. This is the only time when touching them will hurt you. After the charge hey are exhausted and need to rest a bit. This is the best time to attack them as they don't move.
• Smasher: This big grumpy ork will do a random walk until he sees Thyl. Then he will walk towards you and start his smash attack. Try to deal as much damage as possible before the attack comes down. Shortly before that you should dash out of the white "danger zone".
• Shooter: This cultist attacks you with a magic bullet over a mid-range distance. As he does not deal that much damage it is advisable to just dash towards him and kill him. Luckily he just takes one hit even with the starting weapon.

Of course all enemies can also be killed with the bow and arrow from a safe distance.

Easing the bossfight

The boss (called Raon) has three stages:

• In the first stage Raon shoots 6 magic bullets in a counter-clockwise order.
• in the second stage Raon fires three rounds of 20 magic bullets at a time
• In the third stage Raon summons some minions and goes into invincible mode until you kill them off. Additionally he will shoot an occasional magib bullet towards the player's position.
• The three stages loop in that order.

If possible, try to avoid the third stage as this will take a lot of time. If you bought a good weapon, Thyl should be able to defeat Raon way before that.

Learn the levels (and the world)

Knowing the progession of levels is really helpful as you can plan ahead. This image (created during development time) shows all the maps. They don't show the final version of the maps but a basic, blocked version. It might help you find your way through this adventure.

Know the puzzles

There are two puzzles levels in the game, just before the bossfight.

• The first puzzle level is easy: just activate the first trigger (best: shoot it with an arrow so you don't have to walk there) then walk up the bridge towards the second lever and activate that one. Then go back towards the first platform (the one in the south west with the wall) which is now reachable through a second bridge. Activate that third lever and continue to the north of the level.
• The second puzzle follows right after that but requires some tinkering. The combination is as follows: Left Trigger, Right Trigger, move towards the (now reachable) platform, activate that trigger, go back to the south and activate the middle trigger. Then move towards the top platform and fight with the boss.

The jam is over

You all did an awesome job! Thanks to all the great devs who took part in this jam, by creating a 'retro' game during August 2018 and especially by playing and rating other games. Telling the creators of a game what you feel, like (and perhaps dislike) on a game is super valuable and will create a huge amount of motivation! We are especially happy that we have a new submission highscore for a Kajam.

Of course we have some shiny medals to show! The games were rated on a single 'retro' score. While createing a game on its own is an awesome achievement and everyone can be super proud of the games, some were worth mentioning far beyond the other games. So without further adue:

Here are the results

Long live the jam

Of course we all get a sort of past-jam-blues after such an awesome event. But fear not! We have some awesome events prepared for you:

2nd Alakajam Tournament September 8 - 23 2018

During the tournamet you can compete in games created for the 3rd Alakajam or the 5th Kajam via our highscore system, either for the fastest speedrun or the highest score.

4th Alakajam October 12 - 14 2018

The next regular Alakajam will take place in October 12-14. This is a big, weekend-long event for you to take part in!

6th Kajam November 2018

The next month-long event will be run in November by @DaFluffyPotato . If you enjoyed doing this Kajam, save the date and clear your calendar as it will be equally awesome!