If you’ve ever participated in a game jam you know the excitement and the pressure that it brings. Game jams are an excellent way to improve your dev skills and an ultimate way to test your ability to scope the project “just right” to finish on-time. It also doesn’t mean that you have to stop once the jam ends. So many legendary games began as game jam prototypes. Hollow Knight, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Surgeon Simulator, Superhot, and Karlson, which has been in the top 50 most wishlisted games on Steam for a number of years, just to name a few.

It’s no wonder, every time we watch a jam and playtest the submissions, we think to ourselves: this game has so much potential, I could see myself buying this game, or THIS could blow up on Twitch with the streamer community! 

This summer’s Unity Game Jam hosted by TheXPlace was no exception. Genies’ team sponsored the Game Jam and provided an Avatar Starter Pack to jamming devs or teams that were creating an avatar-centric game. Besides hosting a number of talks to help developers with our tools, we closely watched the submissions and quickly jumped into playtesting once the Game Jam ended. Here are our highlights!

The most innovative game based on the theme

Our team played the games that were submitted and nearly unanimously named Remembering Diane as our favorite game for the theme. The premise of the game is so incredibly thoughtful and it blew us away. Taken from the perspective of a person struggling with Alzheimers, the player travels through the memories of the character and experiences the places they’ve visited. What made it a top pick for us was the powerful connection a player makes with the story! A story that will become a reality for millions of people around the world and affect their lives and lives of their loved ones. The art and design of the game really evoke the feeling of remembering as images gain more clarity with each question answered. If you haven’t yet tried it, we highly recommend that you give it a play! 

Games We couldn’t Stop Playing 

Our team was really impressed with the quality of the games that participants produced! We tuned in to the livestream spotlight session to see the games that the organizers selected and there were a few games that stood out. 

A Page out of my Book grabbed our attention from the start. Its fun action-adventure gameplay was perfectly complimented by non-overwhelming SFX and VFX that made the theme and the gameplay come together! Exploring a fantasy world is always a great adventure, but the gameplay mechanics felt very fluid and rewarding!

When it came to the aesthetics and environment, That Cruise Trip was an easy pick! A game with an interesting detective’s story and a heartbreaking plot, immediately brought us back to the recent remake of Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile. The game really shines in the atmosphere. No spoiler alerts here, but the story you uncover is nail biting! The setting, color palette, and use of lighting really immerse you into this world of mystery. 

On a lighter note, Emotional Baggage was a very fun take on endless runners. As the protagonist, you are a suitcase navigating a busy conveyor belt full of luggage. Do you see any life analogies here? The creative adjustments that the team made for a genre full of blockbuster games was particularly impressive. We enjoyed the fun mechanics of having to slide under scanners and triggering various animations while running into triggers created a refreshing twist on a genre that we all love! And speaking of infinite runners, Otty’s Ottissey gets a vote for a fun play on words in the game title and the most ottorable protagonist. 

What’s next?

With another incredible Game Jam coming to a close, we hope that you participated, made something you are proud of, met fellow developers and artists that will continue to inspire you, but most of all, that this jam helped you to hone your development skills. If you missed the Summer Jam, don’t sweat it! Check out Ithc.io’s schedule of upcoming community jams to decide which one is for you. Notably, our eyes are on the GMTK 2024 and Kenney’s jam. And, of course, whichever jam you decide to join, remember that the Genies Avatar Starter Pack is available to the public, so grab it and jam! Don't forget to share what you build with Genies’ Avatars and tag @genies on the social platform of your choice so we can play and share your games. And last, but certainly not least, make sure to follow us across social media channels to be the first to know about the Game Jams Genies is going to host in the upcoming months!