Keep It Simple

Limiting Scope in Game Jams

Scoping via Schedule

48-Hour Jam

• Friday Night� Planning
• Late Friday Night� Start Creating
• Saturday Midday� Prototype Working
• Saturday Night� Roughly Playable Game
• Sunday� “Polish” (ha)

Week-Long Jam

• Saturday� Planning
• Sunday� Start Creating
• Monday� Prototype Working
• Thursday� Roughly Playable Game
• Friday/Saturday� “Polish” (ha)

Do...

Don’t...

• Cut your scope. Do it again.
• Get things working with placeholder assets
• Make it playable as quickly as you can
• One mechanic (maybe two)
• Work toward a working game loop
• Learn to let go (or at the least save it for v2.0)
• Add audio as you go

• Spend time on assets
• Optimize
• Be afraid to say “no”
• Forget to build your game from time to time
• Feel like the game has to be “finished” by the end
• Skimp on game-feel
• Feel tied to your original idea/scope
• Neglect your body

Examples

http://bit.ly/gamejamscope