Global Game Jam '12

The 4^th annual Global Game Jam event was held this weekend; after tens-of-thousands of contestants, hundreds of world-wide sites, dozens of countries, 24 hours, and 1 theme, it has concluded.

My contribution to this superb yearly event was served on team Pink Tutus as the enemy and spawn programmer.  And the game?  Perpetuam Memoriam ("Unbroken Memory" – not cliché, right?) is a game of mind horror of your own making.  Delve into the nightmarish space of trippy imagination in this too lucid dream.  Want to play v0.6, the submitted version of Perpetuam Memoriam to the Global Game Jam site?  Go here.

The game may seem clunky, but rest easy; know that Bryce Fosheim (the primary programmer - his blog) and I are going to pound-out enough code for Pertetuam Memoriam to reach v1.0.  Games of Taste will have posts keeping you, dear reader, updated on the evolution of the game.

Though GGJ doesn’t actively give awards to the hundreds of teams competing, Dakota State University’s site has had a tradition of attributing various recognitions and prizes to the local groups.  Here are the awards given out:

• Jammer’s Choice – Run, Adam, Run
• Most Likely to Smash Controller – Madness
• Best Audio – Perpetuam Memoriam; honorable mention – ShapeScape
• Best Visual Art – Run, Adam, Run
• Edgiest Game – Reset; honorable mention – Perpetuam Memoriam
• Best Narrative Design – Cooking Snakes; honorable mention – Guardian Legend
• Most Interesting/Innovative Mechanic – Blob the Builder; honorable mention – ShapeScape
• Best Overall Game – Run, Adam, Run; runners up – ShapeScape; Blob the Builder

All these games are superb, and I’ll be checking them out in short reviews soon.  Other than that, GGJ was a blast.  Go to the site to see if there’s a location near you for next year’s competition; if no location exists, strive to make one!  GGJ is an exciting time that no-one is excluded from, and that no-one should keep going without.

Hope to see your game online next year.  In the between time, keep reading Games of Taste for further updates, links to some fine GGJ games, and some tasty reviews.  Until next time, take care!

P.S.  It is biased, but here is the short review of Pertpetuam Memoriam v0.6.

• + 4-way gravity control and shifting mechanics.
• + Over 400 articles of finished assets.
• + Driven narrative, with a new premise on the demons of the mind.
• + Vast levels interconnected to optimize level flow.
• + Strong sound-design.
• - Single enemy AI.
• A fix: Code the other enemies in the game.
• - Un-implemented animations.
• A fix: Program the animations to loop appropriately.
• - Only v0.6!
• A fix: Finish v1.0!