Last week I wrote about game jams and why you should give them a try. Though I still love game jams and think that every game designer should try them out at least one, most game jams are far from perfect. While they can be a great opportunity to meet new people, refine your design skills, and inspire your creativity, those benefits come with some notable drawbacks. Not everyone has 24-72hrs of consecutive free time available to make a game. Even if you do have the time, making a game within such a tight deadline is super stressful. Some people certainly thrive under that kind of pressure, but for people like me I wish I had a bit more breathing room. So how can you make game jams less stressful? Slow them down.

In case you’ve never heard of them before, a Game Jam is basically a hackathon for game developers. The goal is to create a full game from scratch within a very limited amount of time (typically 24-72hrs). Often you’ll create your game in a small team, but you can also work solo if that’s more your style.

Most game jams will have a creative theme that participants must adhere to, such as “Occult Classic,” “Lost & Found,” or “Evolution.” Game jams might also have technical constraints for participants that want to spice things up, such as building the game in a specific programming language, only using sound effects you recorded using your voice, or making all the art in the game monochrome.

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