I did a game jam! This video showcases my entry, A Gnormal Journey, for Acerola Jam 0. It was a competition where we had 2 weeks to make a game based on the theme: “Aberration”. I started with a multiplayer idea but the game ended up evolving into something completely different. I go into quite a bit of technical detail too, so I hope someone out there learns something.
Huge thank you to Acerola and the judges for organising this amazing event!
And shoutout to my brother & my partner for playtesting
Link to game (available for mac, windows & linux): https://jess-hammer.itch.io/a-gnormal-journey
Link to the music I made: https://youtu.be/qqS4Eek6a40
Link to results stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOb3fVgEVy4&list=PLUKV95Q13e_WeItE6xdZq3LOE_FBVg_R_&index=3
Link to sound effects tool: https://sfxr.me/
I also tried using Motion Canvas for some of the animations in this video - it is one of the most incredible tools I have ever had the pleasure of using.
PS This video is so late, I originally wasn’t planning to make it…and then it took me like 3x longer to make than the actual game itself rip 🫠
PPS Apparently the Undertale synth isn't copyrighted, but better safe than sorry and I probably would not have used it anyway
Music
https://pixabay.com/music/upbeat-atmospheric-14188/
Undertale - Hotel
C418 - Chirp
https://pixabay.com/music/upbeat-space-chillout-14194/
https://pixabay.com/music/bossa-nova-wintry-bossa-177917/
https://pixabay.com/music/corporate-yesterday-204606/
https://pixabay.com/music/beats-empty-mind-118973/
https://pixabay.com/music/beats-untitled-123636/
Other attributions
https://www.vecteezy.com/video/1797442-confetti-salute-exploding-in-air-on-isolated-black-background
Chapters
00:00 - Intro
00:36 - Day 1 (theme and idea)
01:40 - Beginning implementation
04:05 - Implementing a path
05:19 - Day 2 (gameplay loop)
05:51 - Tiles
06:57 - Tweens
07:42 - Gnorm reactions
08:49 - Day 3 (SFX & music)
09:58 - All about synthesizers
11:38 - Music!
12:24 - Day 4 (menus, pausing the game)
13:48 - A new character
14:31 - Days 5 to 8 (annoying bug fixes)
15:16 - Days 9 to 11 (special levels)
16:49 - Day 12 (cutscenes)
17:27 - Playtesting
17:52 - Exporting
18:31 - RESULTS!