From Inspiration to a Plan

Once a gj's theme is announced, everyone starts thinking of ideas and discussing plans. During those discussions, we're mostly doing two things: coming up with an idea and communicating it to other people. These two things repeat in a cycle.

Coming Up with an Idea

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Ideas Come from Your Intuition for Games

If you're a player with some gaming experience and your intuition gives you an idea, start by thinking that idea through.

But inspiration doesn't often arrive right away. More commonly, we see the theme and associate it with related things. Following those associations will usually get us somewhere.

Ways to Help Yourself Think

Some methods can help you find inspiration:

• If you can't get much out of thinking about the word's meaning itself, try your luck with a search engine. It can often give you a new direction. You might come across a single with the same name, a plant you'd never thought of, a company with the same name, and so on. Translating the theme into another language and searching for it can also bring unexpected results.

• Some game tags will often come to mind as you think about the gj theme. You can imagine it as a pixel-art game, a platformer, a top-down game, a puzzle game, or an action game. Following these tags can make the game in your head more concrete.

If you still haven't found an idea, try this:

• Pick an existing gameplay mechanic, then add this gj's theme. For example: Sokoban + "disappearing."

Know When to Stop

When a direction isn't working, it's important to stop as soon as you can and try another. The earlier ideas aren't wasted; they might become useful when you're thinking in other directions.

Consider changing direction in the following situations:

• You're certain the idea can't be implemented during the gj.

• Your idea never turns into a concrete picture, or you still can't mentally play through it.

• You get absorbed in building the world, characters, story, and so on.

Things That Are Hard for Beginners to Pull Off

Some ideas are difficult to finish in a game jam, such as:

• Optics-based puzzles: these require relevant technical experience.

• Narrative games: there's not enough time for repeated polishing.

Other Tips

A few tips for developers new to gj:

• 3D is just as easy (or just as hard) as 2D. Don't be afraid to try 3D.

Communicating Ideas to Others

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In teamwork, communication is just as important as the work itself.

For a team of three or more people, a sensible brainstorming process is important. One member needs to organize the meeting. Here's a brainstorming process:

• Think individually.

• Proposal stage: everyone presents their ideas. Don't argue against proposals at this stage.

• Think individually.

• Selection stage: consider feasibility and narrow down the ideas.

• Discussion stage: among the remaining ideas, people may already have the beginnings of a well-developed plan in mind. Share these and gradually settle on a plan.

• Divide up the work and get started.

If there aren't many people (two or three), it's better to keep the discussion simple. Share your ideas when no one else is speaking. When a topic is being discussed, stay with that topic first.

Whatever Happens

• Keep your wording as concise as possible.

• Don't interrupt someone who's explaining something.

• Don't steer the conversation somewhere unrelated.

Compromise and Standing Your Ground

When you team up for a gj, your teammates often won't share your interests. Frequent clashes of ideas are common in team discussions. Keep an eye on whether you're getting stuck insisting on your own idea, and reflect on whether it's practical enough and lets everyone participate enthusiastically. Also, the same description can easily bring two different games to your mind and someone else's. Spending more time explaining an idea is worthwhile.

But clashes between people can be more painful than you expect. If you find it hard to get along with your teammates, it's better to say so early. If you ultimately can't resolve the problem politely, here are some last-resort but workable options:

• Leave without saying goodbye.

• Pretend you have a lot of other things to do.

If you ultimately can't escape the team's control, approaching it with the mindset of "observing humans rather than finishing my game" can make you feel a little better.

When forming a gj team, paying attention to teammates' personalities and interests is just as important as their abilities. When asking someone to team up, saying something like "Let's discuss it after the theme comes out and see whether we have any ideas in common" can make the process more polite and healthy.