Post Mortem

Here are a couple of notes as a retrospective of my experience making Lasso Sheriff during the GMTK game jam. It was a wonderful experience and I’d love to continue working on this game!

THE GOOD

• I loved the 4 day format. I could work at a more chill pace (except the last day, see below). This was new to me since I’m used to Ludum Dare’s 2 day event.
• I made a good prototype first. I prototyped all game mechanics and AI before doing graphics, art, colors, sounds, animations. I had a simple and playable version of the game very quickly, which is what I’m good at, before I started with the challenges of art.
• I kept things simple. As simple as it gets with objects and their single root scripts. No overcomplicating with clever solutions. See the source code on GitHub and open the project in Godot to see for yourself.
• This was my very first time drawing nice game art (hand drawn style). This was really the first time not using pixel art as usual for my game jam games. Just take a look at my games here on Itch…
• The animations are super nice and very easy to draw. I found the perfect way to make them. Most are just 2 frames and I rely heavily on squishing, scaling, rotating, and sounds! It makes the good look really good and adds juice to the experience.
• First time doing some sound design and not using a simple sfx generator. It was a lot of fun and the game sounds good! I used free sounds from the internet and combined them in Ableton.
• This was actually my first game jam that wasn’t Ludum Dare. Great experience!
• I must say, the game looks great! I’m astonished that I myself was able to draw this game art. Believe me, just take a look at my other games here on Itch. They don’t look that great.
• The game is a lot of fun and it has charm! The mechanics are fun. Enemies are varied and challenging. It has a ton of potential for a full game.

THE BAD (lessons)

• Music! There’s none. I don’t know how to do this! Maybe I should have just used some free one. I don’t know. I had no time to experiment here.
• Maybe I should prototype more. Not just mechanics, but also: game loop, art design, sound design, and some basic music. I only prototyped the mechanics and systems in the game before jumping into “production” and drawing the art. More time should be dedicated to experimenting, playing, trying things out.
• I should have prototyped a game loop at the start. I had the main mechanics figured out and tested, but I came up with a game loop only later, too late! And it’s too basic. Good enough for a game jam but so basic!
• In the context of the previous point I did not leave myself any time to play test the game. I was playing with the features and mechanics but not the whole game loop. I never played the whole game from start to finish!
• I got sick during the jam and I had bad insomnia. Terrible healthcare during this jam, really. I was so hooked on the project, and I was also working my job during the first 2 days, that I just could not relax. Luckily, I was able to finish the game nonetheless.
• I’m terrible at UI. I don’t know how to make a pretty UI for a game. I can only make it functional. I could have drawn a sketch maybe? There’s also no pause menu because I did not have time.
• The last day, Sunday, was brutal! I left too much to do and I sprinted for the whole day. I should have rather reduced the scope and had most of the core game done on Saturday.