Pokitto Punk Jam LIVE thread!

Introduction video

Game Jam page on itch

Dev Logs

In this jam, extra points are given for keeping a dev log somewhere (github or here)

You can use category programming / dev logs to keep your log on the forums

8 Likes

Game judging criteria

(adapted from a lot of discussions both here and on Discord)

CRITERIA 1: Gameplay mechanics (max 3 pts)

Gameplay is the core play loop. Is it fun? Are the controls intuitive?

3 points - extremely polished and addictive core gameplay mechanism
2 points - very good core gameplay
1 points - working, but lacklustre core gameplay 0 points - buggy or otherwise problematic gameplay

CRITERIA 2: Play time (max 3 pts)

Does the game have replay value or long story? Will you want to pick it up again and again? Will it keep you entertained for hours?

3 points - epic playtime, endless fun
2 points - very good playtime, good for hours of entertainment
1 points - ok play time, good for at least 15 minutes
0 points - not really giving any urge to try again

CRITERIA 3: Presentation (max 3 pts)

Presentation is all about the shiny package. Do the graphics jump off the screen? Do they evoke nostalgia? Are the sound effects ear candy?

3 points - both graphics and sounds are excellent
2 points - graphics are excellent, but sounds are lacking or vice versa
1 points - passable graphics and sounds, does not stop from enjoying the game
0 points - seriously lacking in graphics / sounds department

CRITERIA 4: Story (max 3 pts)

A good story can sometimes sell itself. Is the story in the game compelling? Is it interesting?

3 points - gripping story, have to know what happens in the end!
2 points - very good story, makes the game much more interesting
1 points - story is so-so, but does not spoil the game
0 points - no story / ruins the game

CRITERIA 5: ā€˜Punkā€™ theme (max 3 pts)

This is a more loose category, since ā€œpunkā€ can be many things: punk rock, cyberpunk, steampunk, bagelpunk, and so on. This is open to judgesā€™ interpretation.

3 points - YEAH !! Its *#% PUNK! It ROCKS!
2 points - Itā€™s Punk alright!
1 points - Itā€™s kinda punk I guess
0 points - nah mate. This ainā€™t punk at all

CRITERIA 6: Community Involvement (max 3 pts)

Is it open source? Are the assets shared? Is there a dev log? This category is intended to encourage interaction with the community, but open source is not a requirement of this jam.

3 points - 1)Opensource for game code, 2)all game assets graphics, music license allows others to use, 3)dev blog during jam

2 points - 1)Opensource game code, 2)game assets licensed for others to use and/or dev blog during jam

1 points - One of the above criteria (1,2 or 3)

0 points - None of the above

BONUS POINTS: uses TAS engine (+7 pts)

This jam is encouraging the use of the TAS library included with the Pokitto Library, so using the engine gains a free 7 points.

TAS = ā€œTiles And Spritesā€, a special mode, where all graphics is drawn using only graphic tiles and sprites on top of those tiles. This is similar to how graphics was drawn on 8-bit Nintendo systems.

NOTE: to get the 7 extra points you MUST also have open source, so we see how you used TAS mode to make the game!!!

@SkyBerron using TAS and open source is NOT a requirement, you can join the jam !

8 Likes

Letā€™s rock!

3punk-punk-rockin

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What language are you going to use for the jam?

  • C++
  • Python
  • Something else

0 voters

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This will be my first C++ entry :slight_smile: really excited to learn at the rapid pace :laughing:

2 Likes

As ever, Iā€™m happy to answer peopleā€™s C++-related questions if theyā€™re using C++ for their jam entry.

(I highly recommend people read up on ā€˜scoped enumerationsā€™ (enum class) before starting, theyā€™re an invaluable tool.)


As ever I have a load of C++-specific topics in my resource collection:


(The C++ stuff is in Cpp Resources, and thereā€™s also Programming Resources and Gamedev Resources.)


Also, donā€™t forget to check cppreference to see if the utilities in the standard library could save you time and effort:
https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/header

In particular:

  • <cstdint> contains all the handy fixed-size types like std::uint8_t.
  • <array> contains std::array, which is much more useful than a plain ā€˜rawā€™ array.
  • <utility> contains std::swap, std::exchange and std::move
  • <algorithm> is full of useful algorithms for doing things like copying, searching, sorting and shuffling (std::shuffle), and it has std::min, std::max and std::clamp (C++17).
  • <random> has several decent PRNGs (and if you canā€™t afford the decent ones, itā€™s got an LCG engine too).

Iā€™m undecided as to whether Iā€™ll be joining the jam or not.
At the moment my head is full of Haskell and parser combinators.

5 Likes

Which resolution will you choose for the jam entry?

  • HighRes, 220x176
  • LowRes, 110x88

0 voters

PunkJam is #2 on featured jams on itch jams front page!!

7 Likes

Ah yes, I also volunteered to have my daughter work on judge portraits. If this is already being done (I think @Pharap mentioned he couldnā€™t do it for this jam?), please let me know.

Otherwise, I will need either a representative picture (doesnā€™t actually have to be you), or a description of what youā€™d like your portrait to be. This was the reference style provided (the 4 chibi characters), but ultimately the portrait styles are at the capricious whims of my teenage daughter.

From what I could gather from this thread, the judges are currently:

@tuxinator2009 - CONFIRMED - HAVE PIC :white_check_mark:
@RagingR0nin (nominated) - NEED PIC? :man_shrugging:
@Zockeromi - CONFIRMED - HAVE PIC :white_check_mark:
Tuomo - CONFIRMED - NEED PIC :red_circle:

If there are mistakes or anything missing, please let me know! Thanks!

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Should hopefully be able to work with my profile pic but if you need a better image just let me know. My only request is I get to keep my wizard hat that @Pharap gave me. In a PM after he added it I confirmed that I actually dress up as Gandalf every year for Halloween so it was a perfect addition.

I do like that wizards hat he gave me :grin:

Thank you @Pharap for your efforts, but now I guess its someone elseā€™s turn to draw my fugly mugly :stuck_out_tongue:

2 Likes

Hey all

The jam is about to end. We have had a lot of discussion on the Discord channel about how we have had a bad habit of extending jam deadlines to the point where they have become meaningless.

So we shall not do that this time.

HOWEVER, it seems we have at least a couple of entries (mine included) that are close to missing the deadline / entries that will be badly affected by the rush to meet the deadline.

I have to balance the health of the Pokitto community vs. strictly sticking by rules. Considering how much effort has been put into the jam so far (including work done on TAS, Femto and organizing the jam itself), then if we get 4 + some half-baked / kneecapped entries, then I am going to be really sad.

In football, there is the concept of ā€œstoppage timeā€, which means that the referee makes a judgement on how much of the 90 minutes of the game was actually active play time and how much was used for stoppage (fouls and discussions, interruptions). On championship level, in 2018, stoppage time was on average 5.3 minutes. So game time was extended to 95.3 minutes on average.

Considering that we have had several revisions of tools (Femto, TAS and TASUI) during the jam, I am of the opinion that ā€œstoppage timeā€ would apply in this case.

And, using the same average of 5.3 minutes, that would mean in the context of jam, aprroximately 1.8 days. This would mean that with stoppage time, the jam would end on sunday, giving many (including myself) that vital weekend time to get our crap into presentable form. Those who have worked on their entries with friday in mind would not be unnecessarily disadvantaged, because 2 days will not change the world, but those who are on the verge of making it, will possibly have something to submit to the jam.

Enough explanation, letā€™s put this to vote asap.

Stoppage time from Friday -> Sunday 23:59 (midnight itch.io time)

  • yes
  • no

0 voters

8 Likes

A tough one for me. Sure Iā€™d want to see as many entries as possible, however, using the above analogy. How many peoples entries were directly effected by the pokittolib/tas/femto updates during the jam period and was it enough to prevent them from working on those entries? If those people make up more than 50% then sure, but if only 3 entries are effected and others are just late because real life got in the way then I am less happy for the extension.

1 Like

I think maybe we would need an unanimous yes/no on a vote like this to be perfectly fair to everyone

For the record, I voted ā€˜noā€™ but I donā€™t even have an entry. I just think extensions need to be thought of a number of days / a week before the deadline to be fair on everyone.

2 Likes

@filmote I believe in thinking aloud. What we have inside of us will come out regardless of whether we try to hide it or not. Because of that I really appreciate your honesty.

Me asking the community questions like this is also me messaging everyone, that I have no wisdom above anyone else. I am on par with everyone else.

At the moment, I feel that there is no fair way to extend the jam and that long term we (especially myself) need to start thinking about jam deadlines earlier.

As it stands, I see no grounds for any extensions. Its a gut feeling that ā€œthis is the right thing to doā€.

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NO EXTENSION

12 hours to go, good luck everyone

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Jam is over!

You can still submit (if you wish) but you canā€™t win. Your game may still be featured on livestream and pokitto mag #2

I will help the judges start their work tomorrow.

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I can be honest as an extension / no extension doesnā€™t affect me :slight_smile: If I was struggling to finish an entry I might have been less transparent!

1 Like

Ok regulars and others!! What happened? Why did you not submit?

My entry got stuck becauseā€¦

  • I didnā€™t start one
  • Started, but ran out of time
  • Theme was too hard
  • Could not get to grips with TAS fast enough
  • Dog ate my homework
  • None of the above

0 voters

1 Like

Personally, Cyberpunk was too close to my heart. My expectations for my own entry were wayyyyyy above what I could achieve in any case.

3 Likes