Another jam done! This one is honestly half-assed, because I was working on another game I collaborated on with some friends. Two games! At the same time! And with other artists! This is new for me.

And, because I can be absolutely anal when it comes to my creative work, I just had to do my own little piece. It's definitely pride. But here it is — Every Morning After Watching The World Burn, a game made for the UCSC Alumni Summer Jam #3, about the fires that sweep across California every summer, and told from the POV of a small child experiencing their first evacuation. 

Here's the deep structure:

I honestly didn't know how to end it, so I tried ending it multiple times, each attempt as unsatisfying as the last, until I finally noped out and just hit it with a bunch of error messages (iNtEnTiOnAl BuGs) and called it a day.

The result of this was actually a pretty interesting mechanic  — the player is required to use their back button if they want to proceed with the story. I like how this in-browser (but not twine-based) mechanic is crucial to the playthrough, but weary that players will not dig it. It (as all my things smh) has not been playtested! Lol.

What worked:

• Interesting mechanic of utilizing the browser's back button emerged organically from the creative process.
• Making two games at once! What fun.
• Hawaiian Tremoloa, salvaged from a thrift store, with all its rust and rot, made the music.
• Picture/image is from a grocery store reciept that got burnt (?) in my bag (!?) probably from me tossing a cigarette butt in there or something (?!?!). Not safe but yeah that came out pretty cool.
• Reuse of a poem I wrote in highschool. It's actually where the title comes from. I actually submitted it to an online writing forum (never to be heard from again) and it won a poetry contest there. Read it here.
• I think I did the theme "inseparable" pretty heavy-handed, and the twist "nostalgia" as well.
• I'm getting over the idea of being "perfect" and just letting myself get it done. 

What needs work:

• HOT DAMN I NEED TO PLAYTEST
• especially with more "weird" mechanics like the back button — I need to see what works for players and what doesn't. 
• Overall execution could be better. The writing is not strong, and it feels rushed (because it was, but still, I need to get better at hiding this), which detracts a lot from the narrative.
• Stronger ending. Like i legit did not know what to do.
• I seem to be getting proficient at How to do a Game Jam. It's become almost mechanical. Something to be aware of.
• Made this game to fit the jam, and not much other motivation behind it. It started to build its own heat (with the emergent mechanic and all), but idk? maybe this doesn't "need work," just a note.
• How I approach creative projects, and my undying need to be able to do my own thing.

Overall, I'm proud of myself for doing two games at once, and working with other people for a change. It was cool seeing my own reactions to things, like how I felt a need to give others complete agency in the piece, and how this made me less invested in it (not mine, our's) and necessitated me just doing my own piece as well. I can be ridiculous with my creative work and have a tendency to try not to rely on others within it. This in itself can be a limitation, especially if it keeps me from fully investing in it.

But whatever! It's all good anyway. I'm stoked I found a new mechanic pretty much accidentally, and honestly I'd like to see how this implementation would work if I could flesh out this piece/this mechanic in a different piece. It's an interesting idea, and I've learned that that's what jams are good for — they're a playground for trying out new things. It doesn't have to be polished (that's not the point), just try it out and get some feedback on your work!