Global Game Jam 2014

adventures in gaming, game jams, indie, Process Writing

You might remember my post about Global Game Jam from last year. It was a big weekend for me! It’s the weekend that I finished my first game! (I had started work on my Pixelles game by then as well, so it’s not the first game that I started to make, but it’s the first that I finished.)

This year, I worked with my new teammates, Nick and Jana, on a game called FishSport: A Sport for Fish.

Here’s how I put it when I posted the game on my social media outlets to show it off: “A Sport for Fish? It’s FishSport! Grab four controllers and four friends and buckle in for a mixed metaphor– er, game about the future and climate change and being a fish who is good at sports.”

“FishSport.”

About Global Game Jam this year:

TAG has had a new jam coordinator for the past few months, my Critical Hit teammate Charlotte Fisher. She did an amazing job organizing this year’s jam! She and Gina, TAG’s coordinator, worked really hard to get us a great space at Concordia and great prizes and food. Foodwise, we had healthy eating options along with our pizza, plenty of caffeine, but also V8. Prize-wise, Chimera Games in NDG donated a bunch of games for us.

This jam is the first jam where I actually stayed and slept overnight, since I usually drag myself home on the last bus or walk home. TAG’s couches were more comfortable than I thought.

This is also the first jam that my brother, Michael J. Marcotte, participated in. I was so happy to share the experience with him! The game won a silver honour and we gave him the prize since it was his first jam.

All in all, a good jam!

Mid-January Update

adventures in gaming, Process Writing

Hello there!

I owe the internet a few blog posts, I think. I’ve been remiss in keeping you up to date on my game making adventures!

I promise that I’ll transcribe the Vanier Symposium Talk from November just as soon as I get a copy, and maybe, if I get permission, I’ll post the video on the TAG website as well.

I also owe you pictures of the completed Pipboy-3000 that I made for Halloween. I have some cellphone pictures, but I still have to get to the real deal. As it turns out, one of the design features that I thought would be the easiest for the Pipboy turned out to work way better with my slapdash solution than with how I actually thought I would do it: getting the %#&$* cuff to stay closed! My magnets, one of the last things that I needed to complete the Pipboy, came late, so I had to come up with what I thought would be a temporary solution. As it turns out, the magnets wouldn’t stay glued with the epoxy because they were just too strong, and the epoxy was having a lot of trouble drying. These were not good times! I promise that I’ll get loads of great pictures once I get a little time.

Another thing that you ought to know about is my latest game, made for the DTGMA December-January jam. I teamed up again with Nick and Jana and we made “A Fistful of Wizards.” It’s a kind of interstellar magical game of tag. You should check it out! We’ll be teaming up again for Global Game Jam 2014!

Speaking of Global Game Jam 2014, which is yet again the weekend of my birthday, that weekend will be my one-year game-making anniversary. I made my first video game at Global Game Jam 2013. Exciting, right? It’s great to look back on how far I’ve come. If you want to check out the games that I made this year, you can check out the new “My Games” section of the site.