Forum › Yuri Game Jam 2016
I don't know if someone mentioned it before (and i'm sorry if someone HAS mentioned it before >.>), but the Jam has recently ended and it spawned A LOT of Yuri goodness, so if you wanna check out all of the games here's the link: https://itch.io/jam/yuri-game-jam-2016 ^^
I haven't played many of the games yet, but I'll give my opinion on the ones that I have played. As a side note, it seems that a few of the projects are still in development, such as Blossoms Bloom Brightest and Plain. I thought the whole point of a jam was to finish something or else release a demo for it within the time constraints, but, whatever, hopefully they're released soon.
Densha Girl: trashy, rushed, bad CGs, bad grammar and writing.
Frog Love at Frog School: only has one unique quality amidst a bad, cliche story. This unique quality really hurts the quality of the work in my opinion...
One Small Favor: I like the GameBoy aesthetics and all, but where's the yuri?? It's just a story of a girl running errands for her girlfriend, which is kinda yuri, I guess, but still...
First Kiss at a Spooky Soiree: I liked it less than Nami's other great works, but this was still quite cute. It had quality art and music as one would expect from a Nami game.
Once on a Windswept Night: ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. I don't want to spoil anything, but this is awesome and is definitely the best thing that came out of the jam.
last edited at Nov 5, 2016 5:05PM
Completely forgot the end date for this jam. Thanks for the heads up.
I thought the whole point of a jam was to finish something or else release a demo for it within the time constraints, but, whatever, hopefully they're released soon.
Uh, no. A game jam is a challenge to make a prototype in a very short time (usually 48h). So basically, it's putting together a "proof of concept", something that roughly works to show the outline of what the game would aim to be. Sometimes, a prototype there get enough attention to have a chance to become an actual game, but it's not all that frequent and it means it'll be worked on more to get through the usual remaining phases (alpha, beta then release). That's a place to show off your skill or build up experience.
It's a good way for people hoping to get into the video game industry to make themselves know, get experience and making contact with professionals which are the main point of those.
last edited at Nov 5, 2016 7:21PM
I'll these in mind.
I thought the whole point of a jam was to finish something or else release a demo for it within the time constraints, but, whatever, hopefully they're released soon.
Uh, no. A game jam is a challenge to make a prototype in a very short time (usually 48h). So basically, it's putting together a "proof of concept", something that roughly works to show the outline of what the game would aim to be. Sometimes, a prototype there get enough attention to have a chance to become an actual game, but it's not all that frequent and it means it'll be worked on more to get through the usual remaining phases (alpha, beta then release). That's a place to show off your skill or build up experience.
It's a good way for people hoping to get into the video game industry to make themselves know, get experience and making contact with professionals which are the main point of those.
I'll preface this by saying that I admit that I know basically nothing about game jams. Also, I worded that badly, but my point was that there are a ton of games up on the jam page which I presume the devs didn't finish enough of in time since there's nothing to download on their game pages, not even a demo or a prototype. Eight Sweets, Blossoms Bloom Brightest, Plain, and Fight or Flirt are the ones I spotted. A pity since those were some of the ones that I was the most interested in... I just feel like there's no point to participating in a jam if they don't even release anything during it. In my (probably dumb) opinion, they should have at least displayed everything that they had already finished and then released the full version later when it's ready.
It is a pity that none of the amazing authors who participate in this jam are going to receive any recognition from it... Ebi-hime's works in particular are glorious, yet it seems like there are few who care at all about them. I think her stuff on Steam sold pretty well for EVNs, so that's something, at least.
It is a pity that none of the amazing authors who participate in this jam are going to receive any recognition from it... Ebi-hime's works in particular are glorious, yet it seems like there are few who care at all about them. I think her stuff on Steam sold pretty well for EVNs, so that's something, at least.
Ebi-hime should be more well known in general. Everything I've played of hers so far was interesting. I just recently bought a Steam bundle of some of her games specifically because what I'd already played was good. (This World Unknown, Empty Horizons, Strawberry Vinegar, Asphyxia, and The Way We All Go if anyone's curious.)
I just feel like there's no point to participating in a jam if they don't even release anything during it. In my (probably dumb) opinion, they should have at least displayed everything that they had already finished and then released the full version later when it's ready.
The point will depends on the participant. Some go for the challenges, other for fun, many to show off their skills and try to enter the game dev world as professionals. Even if you end up with nothing worth showing in the end, you might still impress some people there by your knowledge in your field (be it code, graphics, writing or sound), which is always good self promotion. Also help you get to know that world's actors, which can help you land a job in a studio or find partners to make your own. And some just want to experiment the process of creating a game (discussing, planning, creating, testing, fixing, respecting the deadline) in order to improve their own skills and gain valuable experience for landing a job there.
Game jams are pretty much a "meet & greet" event. Finishing your project (and winning some awards) is of course the best, but even if you don't, just taking part is a good experience as you'll learn from others, gain actual experience and get to know people that might help you improve further or even hire you.
In that light, if you did a poor job there, you might not want to make it available to the public, especially those who weren't in the jam, as it might do you poor advertising. "Hey, I was part of that jam and what I did was utter crap, not even working properly !" is not the best way to promote yourself. ^^; Or they might not feel satisfied enough with what they did.
Point is, publishing something is not necessary the main goal of a jam, though it does happen that some jam-made prototype then end up being completed afterwards.
One Small Favor: I like the GameBoy aesthetics and all, but where's the yuri?? It's just a story of a girl running errands for her girlfriend, which is kinda yuri, I guess, but still...
It's kinda cute.
Once on a Windswept Night: ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. I don't want to spoil anything, but this is awesome and is definitely the best thing that came out of the jam.
"The Sad Story of Emmeline Burns" all over again. Disappointed.
One Small Favor: I like the GameBoy aesthetics and all, but where's the yuri?? It's just a story of a girl running errands for her girlfriend, which is kinda yuri, I guess, but still...
That is pretty much all you need for it to be yuri.
"The Sad Story of Emmeline Burns" all over again. Disappointed.
For a free kinetic novel Sad Story was pretty good. I wish game focused only/shown more of MC, but it still was a decent read.
"The Sad Story of Emmeline Burns" all over again. Disappointed.
For a free kinetic novel Sad Story was pretty good. I wish game focused only/shown more of MC, but it still was a decent read.
Don't get me wrong. "The Sad Story of Emmeline Burns" was good. I meant that "Once on a Windswept Night" is disappointing because the story is way similar to the Sad Story. I already read that. Too bad Ebi-hime didn't focus on the nuns and the present time.
To Libertad (https://sendo.itch.io/to-libertad).
Surprisingly good. It's is a short fantasy, action-drama kinetic novel. Unfortunately it's more subtext than yuri.
It is a pity that none of the amazing authors who participate in this jam are going to receive any recognition from it... Ebi-hime's works in particular are glorious, yet it seems like there are few who care at all about them. I think her stuff on Steam sold pretty well for EVNs, so that's something, at least.
I wouldn't say they aren't gonna get any recognition out of this big effort, there were more games in this Jam than the one last year, more people involved means more people coming to see and check out their work, PROFIT!. If a developer made a game for the Jam with the intention to get noticed they will definitely be noticed since there's gonna be more people to give the recognition these developers so rightfully deserve :D That was also my intention by sharing the link.