Is there interest in games created for game jams?
Hello everyone. I am an avid gamer but I allocate my playtime very differently from most other players. I prefer to spend my time playing very short(typcially under 30 mins) games created for game jams(limited time themed game development events) on itch.io.
Here is example of what a set of game jam entries looks like.
Many of these games are only about 15 minutes long so it is possible to play and review many of them per week. My question to you guys is that given the short nature of most of these experiences, is there at least mild interest in posts about these games and if so would it be better to post a weekly thread where I focus on a specific gamejam and review some of the games and encourage other users to join in and review some more of the games or should I focus on posting direct links to the best games I find when I sifting through these collections.
I’m am excited to share this area of gaming that people don’t talk about much and I would love to hear peoples thoughts on the subject.
Edit: The first thread is up
This is an interesting idea. I would be interested in reading reviews about the different game jam games you've played.
I like the idea of game jams, and I have participated in one and also played some. But honestly, most of them aren't that great. So I can't bring myself to spend time to play many to find the good ones.
So your reviews would be a great way for me to get to know them without spending the effort to play.
Most of them are not great but I think that is part of the fun. Its bit a like a slot machine, its low commitment and you ever get a good or bad outcome. I used to play more mainstream games that had lootbox mechanics in them and that gambling urge never went away even after I stopped playing. I like to think that this is more interesting way to channel that urge.
That is a very interesting way to view it and to channel the gambling urge. I never thought of it that way. It's like turning it into something productive. It's cool.
I look forward to feeding off your gambling tendencies when you write reviews of game jam games.
I know we have a few people who participate that may be interested, like @Tygrak, and you may be interested in playing their games: Ludum Games by Tygrak.
Yeah those games look interesting. I will try out them out at some point.
Oh yeah! I am a big game jammer -- I have been doing game jams for at least 7 years now and in that time I have made quite a few game jam games (I think more than 15 just in Ludum Dare now?). I'd say the ones that are worth trying are only the more recent ones though, as the older ones are definitely quite janky (well today they still are of course janky :D) and overall worse quality. I think almost all of the games are less than 30 minutes long, most of them closer to 15 minutes I'd say. For most of my games I try some more experimental art styles, so expect some a bit weird visuals.
I'll do a small list of some of the recent ones just so you know what kind of games they are and if you might enjoy playing them, as right now it's just a wall of games and it can be a bit hard to know anything about them at first look (they are just ordered by recency):
If you try any of the games let me know what you thought, it's always really cool to get some feedback!
(thanks for the mention @apheonix !)
Another option might be to post your reviews as top-level comments in the biweekly discussion threads:
https://tildes.net/~games/16mk/what_games_have_you_been_playing_and_whats_your_opinion_on_them
https://tildes.net/~games?tag=recurring.weekly
I do look at those threads and I think for top tier games I find I was considering posting there. I was curious to see if there would interest in a sort of weekly event where a gamejam is picked and people review a game or 2 from the list of entries and talk about it or alternatively a weekly thread where I review the best games from the pile.
Game jams (and playing them) are quite different from the usual so I think I like them being on their own more, for increased visibility.
I’ve played a couple but also find it daunting to go through many myself to find those I like, so I am very interested in reviews and recommendations!
I'm curious about game jams, but have never played any yet. The prospect of wading through dozens of games myself (albeit small ones) seems daunting. The most adjacent I've been to is watching GMTK's videos on their jams' winners, which are always very enjoyable. So I'm definitely interested in reading your reviews at least.
It can be daunting since the quality can be a mixed bag, though you don't have to play every single game in a jam if you don't want to just picking 1 or 2 of the entries that look most interesting is what I do most of the time and it seems like based on the feedback I have received so far that I am leaning toward doing a thread that is best of list pulled from multiple gamejams
Usually I end up playing through the top couple games in a jam before going to the next one. This probably wouldn’t be sustainable to do consistently, but luckily I only do it every one in a while and not for very long
I've played a couple more robust things that started as or grew out of game jams but haven't gone straight to all the entries for a particular event and played them all or anything. I respect indies and I think many are born this way so I'm all for it but it's not the center of my gaming world. That said, to answer your inquiry, I personally would have no problem with seeing game jam posts.
Interesting idea! The recently released Inscryption was really good and began its life as a Ludlum Dare game called Sacrifices Must be Made. I don't think I would seek out games like these, but having some curated examples and reviews of especially cool ones would be nice to at least read about.