It’s that time of year again! I’m sure you’re familiar with Secret Santa, but just in case, it’s an activity that takes place around the holiday season in which participants are assigned someone to get a gift for. Participants don’t know who is their gifter, and it’s always a fun surprise to see what your friends get/what they got for you.
Now, what if we combined this holiday undertaking with a game jam? Essentially, participants write a “letter to Santa,” AKA a short bio about themselves- their interests, favorite games, etc. After they send their letter to Santa, they receive a letter from another participant. The receiver is tasked with creating a game baser on the sender’s preferences.
As my semester was coming to a close, I decided to join in on the game jam. I received a letter from a person who loved space. Constellations were their jam. They also enjoyed exploration in video games.
Along with some other details, I came to the conclusion to make a space exploration game in which the player is a space engineer who is tasked with repairing “Starceivers:” machines designed to draw energy from the stars. Upon repair, the player can gain an upgrade to help them on their journey.
The game ended up being lackluster, to be honest. I wasn’t able to add everything that I wanted due to not spending enough time on the game (not to mention, ’tis the season). However, you are able to traverse a level, eliminate enemies, and gain three upgrades.
From here, I hope the remainder of my winter break can be productive- especially once things slow down.
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