Final Broadcast: Postmortem-ish

Ideation

When the Brackey's Game Jam was announced, I was not planning to join. My husband and his friend were the ones who were keen to participate and I was merely listening to their conversations. When the theme was announced, ideas were swirling in my head.

Hmm.. Calm Before the Storm, eh? Sounds like what I feel before a panic attack.

I had ideas like:

• cloud watching and looking for signs for a storm <-- I felt like this would require a lot of art
• trying to calm a child having a tantrum  <-- It didn't feel like it fit the theme "before"
• writing all your bad/panicky/stressful thoughts until it forms into a storm cloud <-- This didn't feel like it'd be fun, just stress-provoking

Then I thought of music. How your soul feels calm listening to certain songs. How when you hear notes or lyrics, it brings out emotions that remind us about our humanity. Then I remember when I listen to the radio and how there were soft-spoken DJs who just brought music and advice. That was it. I wanted to play a calming game as if I am a DJ.

Below was the first draft of Final Broadcast during ideation:

What I learned: Sometimes, you don't choose the game jam; The game jam chooses you. Some ideas will suck. Some ideas will stink. But if you find an idea that resonates with you, do it. It's like a gift to your soul to just unleash what you wish to create.

Research

I am not new to game development, but my game programming is quite ancient (Anyone here remembers Adobe Flash?) I considered learning Godot, but knowing me and knowing I only had one week, I scratched out the idea. 

So I retreated to my comfortable skill: web development. I borrowed a book about HTML5 Game Development (yes, I still borrowed a book) and checked if it was right up my alley. Seemed straight-forward so I decided to make an HTML/Web game.

Now I had to research about user interface.

Colours were easy. I'm glad they presented the theme with colours.

I did have to imagine what a DJ would see for the interface. Since I was going to be a solo developer, I can't afford spending time in making art. I had to make use of CSS to make the game look good. So I looked at buttons, slides, textboxes, etc. Took inspirations from them and viola!

I had to look for songs that are good AND free to use. I couldn't afford to pay (ಥ﹏ಥ) I just quit my job to take some time and take care of myself. Luckily, there are amazing artists out there who share their love for music to the world by composing wonderful melodies. In a way, this game is a tribute to those kind souls.

With all the skill checks and assets research, I had a good feeling about developing the game. I need to finally start the race. Only five days left to make it.

What I learned: I'm glad I took the time to evaluate whether it's a project I can actually finish or not given the time, skills and resources I have. If I couldn't finish on time for the submission, I think I would have made an excuse not to finish it. Because I felt confident after researching, it gave me confidence that I can finish it.

Planning

I had a Google document where I dumped my ideas: script, links for credits, inspirations, etc. At the very top of the document was a list of the tasks/features I need to work on. I would open this document every time I am working on the game.

I also had two lists to differentiate features that I absolutely need to work on and features that sounds great but not really a priority. Near the deadline, I reevaluated the list of Important Features and created another list called Next Phase. This way, I can look forward to making it into the game I initially had in mind (or more!) but without the pressure to finish everything within 24 hours. I ended up working on the Next Phase features because it felt necessary to implement those features and add depth to the game.

What I learned: Not everything will go as planned. But boy, am I glad I had a plan!

Development

This is the messy part. I probably refactored my code three times thinking it would be "better" for my future self. It was not. Just look at all the TODOs in my source code:

Not only the JavaScript and CSS. I also had to rewrite the story script multiple times. At first, I thought of just a simple data structure for the responses. Then I got a feedback that the responses shouldn't always be positive. So I had to rewrite scenarios that would allow for positive and negative responses from the caller. The rewrite took so much time. I had favourite caller stories I needed to give up (temporarily) so I can finish before the deadline. Some of my favourites that didn't quite make it to the Brackey's Game Jam:

• Nurse on the Frontlines (They will be needed more especially with people getting injured and panicking)
• Reckless Daredevil (The "You-Only-Live-Once" crowd living the last moments to the fullest)
• Newlywed Couple (The sad reality that you won't be able to grow old anymore...)

I might end up rewriting the structure again especially if I want to implement caller stories that are related to the DJ.

Art took me awhile (even though there are just two images in-game!) as I spent a day just finding the right image. Thankfully, the game jam is lenient with art assets so I made use of the latest technology: Artificial Intelligence. It did take awhile to find the proper prompt. The ending took me two hours tops. Simple experimentation on Procreate and you got the ending screen of the game.

What I learned: Being jobless gives you so much time. I should still use that time wisely: time to properly reflect, time to properly learn, time to properly give myself credit.

Submission/Feedback

When I submitted the game, I didn't think of wanting to win. I was just honestly glad I could share a piece (or pieces) of myself through this game. I was pulled into a depressing abyss this year. I thought quitting my job would "fix" the darkness looming over my head. I realised there's no "fixing", just acceptance. Maybe that's why this idea resonated to me. The end of the world doesn't scare me. But I do feel sad for those around me who is "alive" and have so much to live for. The calm before the storm can be a reassurance of our "being alive" before disaster strikes. 

The Start button "Go Live" is an intentional word play. It can be read as "go  /laɪv/" as in start the broadcast. But I wonder how many people initially thought it's "go /lɪv/ " as in "go on and be alive!"

I am elated to know that there are people who took the time to experience the game and found it "philosophical", "deep", "emotional", and "calming". To the few people who tried the game, thank you.