Jam mistakes : variety through multiple runs and what runs under the game

I noticed that I may have put too much unnecessary works on things, especially those that only take effects after you play it the second time. 

The main reason would be that its a jam, most people have limited time to play each game. So a simple game like this would mostly be played only once.

Just a recap for future self what went into the  multi-run mechanisms.

First, the ship's bullet changes direction every run, currently three modes : straight, falling, rising. In the first try, you will always encounter straight, then fall, then rise. That's 3 attempts already, way beyond a normalJjam game lifetime. Initially, I hope to introduce player to a more standard mode : straight, and then let them try out the falling ones, finally making the big twist in rising ones. Feed players one step of difficulty at a time. Turns out not much have noticed that, at least not yet reported so far. A way to solve the issue is to make it level based, so that players are exposed to them without proactive efforts. I could do that, but the enemy spawning were by a rising algorithm. There's a mental block that I treat it as an arcade or roguelike-ish type game. It's a situation that my heart beats my mind.

Second, the whereabouts of your friend. You can see that from the scroll button in the menu. I even made avatars and random names for the friend. By setting, 20~30 is a normal passing score, data acquired by AFKing through the game. If they did not pass, they leave, if they do, they will be currently on duty. However, for those striking beyond 30, one out of ten is "on duty", while every other else end with their friend resigned from the pilot. Which is at my heart the main point of this year's theme : "Out of control."

" The more you force your help onto people, especially trying to control them, the more they get outta control. " - CJ.

At its narrative core, this is a cheating game despite the cute  skin it wears. From my experience, (not cheating, more of an accident), I took a course as an exchange student in a different major at way higher levels than i could handle. Long story short, it was surviving rather than learning all new stuffs around. That's why I came up with the short narrative on the second day of Jam when I think of, " Hey... what would happen to them?"

Welp, in conclusion, multiple run mechanisms is ill-suited for a Jam game, ain't nobody got time for it.

Not sure if anyone noticed the detail, if they do, I will be very happy that there's people putting effort in my works.

For those that read this post, stay healthy, and good jam to you, my gem.

C.J.Tsai 蔡承儒