There are different people and their goals are different: some artists want to make a game where every single asset is their creation. Some technical guys want to make a sophisticated simulation. And there are many other!
"something that is supposed to" <== I don't agree with the assumption that a jam' scope needs to be tiny. Especially in this day and age of AI copycats it is not sustainable for you to do one gimmick games as those are the easiest to copy. Maybe some people want to make a meaningful game that would have a lasting impact and not just be 5 minutes of throwaway fun.
In general it is not helpful to tell someone to make a change which means basically redoing the thing they made into something very different. It is more helpful to understand what the person is trying to do and contribute to their trajectory.
Disclaimer: I worked with Lars who made the progression tree. But for a different game.