How It Started vs How It Ended
I always enjoy seeing how game jam projects evolve, so I thought I'd share mine too.
Day 1
The jam theme was COUNTDOWN, and honestly... I completely wasted the first day experimenting with ideas that went nowhere.
Only near the end of the day did the actual concept finally click: a king fleeing a natural disaster with his kingdom—or at least whatever he could manage to save. The disaster itself became the countdown constantly chasing the player.
Not the most efficient start, but at least I finally had a direction.
Day 2
The second day was much more productive.
I managed to put together a combat system and a resource-based building mechanic. Ironically, I also managed to break the combat right before submissions, so the jam build doesn't play nearly as well as it did earlier that day.
Looking back, I definitely should have spent the last hours polishing instead of making "just one more change."
Day 3
Unfortunately I don't have any footage from this day (sorry!), but this is when I finished the procedural level generator.
Days 3–4 (The Sleep-Deprived Finale)
From the third day into the fourth... I basically didn't sleep.
I was determined to implement the "buy new land" mechanic before the deadline. It fought me every step of the way, and for a while I was convinced it wasn't going to happen at all.
Somehow I managed to make it work just in time.
Out of everything in the project, the falling hex tiles are still my favorite effect. Seeing new land literally drop into the world made all the frustration worth it.
Game jams are always a mix of bad decisions, last-minute fixes, panic, and somehow ending up with something you're actually proud of.
If you've read this far—thank you!
I'd love to see your own How It Started vs How It Ended screenshots or GIFs. Feel free to share them in the comments!
Also would be very appreciated if you play my game and give some feedback! https://hasuverse.itch.io/hurry-up-were-moving-out/devlog/1606422/how-it-started...