What is the finding brought about by game jam "js 13 kGames" that makes 13 KB game with JavaScript in a month?

The event "Game Jam" that makes games for a short time (24 to 48 hours) is held in various organizations (or companies), including global game jams held all over the world at once.
And, in many cases, it has been told about "the merit that game jam brings", but on the other hand "problem of game jam" also gradually began to be told among developers. Too bad it will be that game jam is not a silver bullet that solves every problem for developers, but there are benefits and weak points as well.


In such circumstances, Mr. Andrzej Mazur, who continues to operate the game jam "js 13 kGames" which is done differently from ordinary game jam, has been running from 2012, said at the Game Industry Conference held in Poland "What can we learn from 800 games made for a jam, 13 kb each ", and presented the results obtained by js 13 kGames.




It takes a month to make a game with 13 KB

There is a variety of features in the game jam called js 13 kGames, but the biggest feature is that "JavaScript is used, making a game with 13 KB code within", as the title indicates.

Another important feature is that the term of js 13 kGames is set as a term of one month. Unlike the game jam that requires completion in 48 hours, js13k Games is based on the premise that it will be done "in between usual tasks" (of course, it has been developed for 48 hours from the last two days before the deadline I do not mind).





By the way js 13 kGames also has a review of the work, prizes are awarded to the top prizewinners. Prizes are a very lavish thing, including a total of $ 20,000 software license, free commemorative T - shirts (shipping fee).
Although js 13 kGames that began in 2012 initially had about 60 works submitted, now it has expanded rapidly with 264 entries.

What is the finding brought by game jam "js 13 kGames" that makes 13 KB game with JavaScript over a month. The biggest limitation of js 13 kGames is "13 KB" capacity. Roughly calculate and 1 KB can write Japanese for about 500 characters, so if you write 6500 letters, 13 KB will be filled.
However, such restrictions sometimes give rise to creativity. As a result, js 13 kGames says to learn new technologies and become opportunities to acquire a small skill.
In addition, nearly 800 games submitted to js 13 kGames held so far, all of their source code are released on GitHub. For this reason, you can also look at the source of the game you care about, as well as the top prize winners, steal the technology used there.

What is the finding brought about by game jam "js 13 kGames" that makes 13 KB game with JavaScript over a month?
What is the knowledge brought by game jam "js 13 kGames" that makes 13 KB game with JavaScript over a month? Another big feature of js 13 kGames is the term "30 days".
If you are watching a short-term decisive game jam like 24 hours or 48 hours, you think that you can do anything as long as 30 days ... but the participants often use up "thirty days before using 13 kilobytes It is said to leak out the impression.
Of course there are rhetoric aspects as well, but it is not unusual to fall into the situation of "actually running out of time". Because various tools were invented in the history of js 13 kGames and they were left in GitHub.
And if you use a tool such as "Generate music with 3 KB", you will be able to attach BGM to your work - on the other hand how you combine those tools and what you use It will take a considerable amount of time to find an optimal solution to the puzzle of whether to implement it.



Make small, polish

Now, based on the premise that "only 13 KB can be used" and "unexpectedly insufficient time", the limits of the game that can be made come to be seen. For example, trying to make MMORPG is a completely reckless challenge.

When actually making a work with js 13 k Games, Mr. Mazur recommends "make it small first." I will prototype and complete the core mechanics of the game as soon as possible.




It is impossible to make such a game


In addition, Mr. Mazur also presents the guideline "I should not aim for perfection". Looking at the prize-winning work so far, there are cases where I got the first place even for bug-covered works. The designer who entered the top 10 also says that many people think that they are "better".
Mazur points out that "js 13 kGames is a game game only," he points out. The important thing is to perfectly complete it, not to make a perfect one. And for that, Mr. Mr. pointed out that if you feel that "this is useless" at the proto stage, you immediately abandon the prototype and the virtue of working on the next prototype is also important.

The findings brought by the game jam "js 13 k Games" which makes a 13 KB game with JavaScript over a month also means that by repeating this prototyping it is possible to "know that I do not know anything out of the world" .
People have an area of ​​"I do not even know" outside of "knowing things" and "what I do not know about this". To be able to perceive this outermost area is one of the utility of game jam.

What is the knowledge brought by the game jam "js 13 k Games" that makes a 13 KB game with JavaScript over a month. Another important thing to aim for completion is planning. Scheduling is becoming more important as it is a long-term of one month (and in parallel with everyday tasks).
In addition, by keeping the schedule firmly, it becomes easy to avoid situations such as too sticking to detail which is not important for the game. What matters is the process of making simple things and refining it.
What is the finding brought about by game jam "js 13 kGames" that makes 13 KB game with JavaScript over a month?
In this "polishing" process, iteration (repetition) has a very important meaning.
Mazur says that the best way to streamline iteration is "to expose yourself." Ask others to ask about opinions that others can play and listen to opinions or can not be implemented successfully by themselves. By expelling "What we can not do is not done," and "Do not try to manage it by yourself", we can create a more efficient cycle of improvement.

Also, as development comes into this stage, testing becomes more important. It's almost time for Chrome to see problems like Firefox crashing though it works.







Meaning and value to be completed

That way, when development comes into the last claw, the deadline is going to be pressure. But Mazur says "the deadline is your friend." The finished work always has higher value than the job of a dream that ended in incomplete. Also, many of the works are obtained from the finished work.


Therefore, Mr. said, "Complete it anyway and post it." And yet if you can afford it, you should build the game - but at the stage of making it, Mazur noted that 'keeping it simple' has important meanings.


From this link, you can actually play the 2017 js 13 k Games top prize winning work. If you are interested, please try playing.

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