轉載地址：http://gamerboom.com/archives/77829
作者：Paul Suddaby
Game Jam（獨立遊戲製作節）現在非常熱門。過去只是一個地方性活動現在已經變成全球遊戲開發者的盛事。Game Jam流行開來的理由是：它爲開發者們提供了實驗新想法和展現創意和技術的好機會。爲了充分利用參與Game Jam的經歷，我整理出下文中的關於技巧、工具和資源的建議，但願對開發者們有所幫助。
什麼是Game Jam？
Game Jam是一種遊戲製作活動，參與者要在儘可能短的時間內製作出一款電子遊戲。大多數Game Jam活動在週末舉行，並持續兩天，每個參與者要在48小時內根據一個由舉辦方投票或選擇的祕密主題製作一款遊戲。主題作爲限定條件，鼓勵開發者創意地思考。
往屆Game Jam使用的主題非常豐富，比如簡單的概念如恐懼、島嶼、黑暗，或者從具體的東西如響尾蛇中提取印象，或者抽象的概念如時間操縱。
有些Game Jam帶有競爭性質——這類Game Jam被稱作“compo”；其他沒有贏家或輸家的Game Jam就相當於娛樂活動；有些接受贊助的Game Jam甚至有獎勵，根據投票選出各個類別的贏家。無論是什麼樣的形式，一般認爲Game Jam是一個純粹娛樂的活動。真正的“獎勵”就是你製作的遊戲。
快樂的程序員(from gamedev)
參加Game Jam的人要麼是爲了展現自己的才能，要麼是爲了從完成遊戲中獲得自豪感，或者磨練技術、從通宵製作原型的瘋狂週末中尋找靈感。
儘管有組隊活動，有持續更長時間（如一個月）的活動和由許多人在公共場所舉辦的活動，最普遍的一種Game Jam就是個人蔘加，爲期一個週末，在家完成遊戲。
技巧篇
1、吃、睡和實踐
這是我要說的第一個技巧，因爲毫無疑問是最重要的。當使用48小時法制作遊戲時，大部分人的第一個反應是訂購許多比薩餅、屯大量飲料，把自己關在房裏48小時不出來。這真是糟糕的做法。
做遊戲是件腦力活，你不可能連續兩天不休息還保持高效。你的休息越充足、飲食越健康，你的工作狀態越好。兩天高效、頭腦清醒地工作24小時，肯定比前10個小時精力滿滿，後38小時靠咖啡強打精神工作來得有效。
至於實踐，不是絕對必須的，我敢說我們這一生中總會有那麼兩天是無所事事的，不自己練習也不參加game jam之類的活動。然而，當我們遇到一個怎麼想也想不出來的時候，沒有什麼比出去跑跑步或騎自行車更能幫助我們理清頭緒的。無論你睡得多好、吃得多好，“閉關修煉”48小時會讓腦子一片混亂，難以做好工作。
2、如果有所懷疑，那就選擇2D
哪個更簡單？(from gamedev)
這條技巧非常簡單：如果你很糾結要做2D遊戲還是3D遊戲，那就選擇2D遊戲。3D遊戲的美術和代碼都更加困難，且付出與回報往往不成正比。3D遊戲可能更吸引眼球，但也許並不好玩，所以你必須花更多時間修飾基本的功能，這樣實驗新機制的機會就少了。
3、保持簡單
當你在考慮你的遊戲設計時，記住，一個運作良好的簡單機制比一個運作不好的複雜機制更有意義。多人模式、複雜的AI、過場動畫、物理引擎……還是省省吧。
我建議你在設計遊戲時想一些能夠輕易地在短短的24小時而不是48小時內完成的東西。完成一件事需要的時間往往比你預期的來得多，可能在48小時的最後一分鐘你才免強完成。如果因爲某些原因你的完成時間提前了，那麼你就有更多時間潤色你的遊戲——這就是優秀的遊戲和偉大的遊戲之間的區別。
4、着眼於功能，而不是漂亮
你越瞭解編程，你就越覺得清楚整潔的代碼有多重要。你知道if語句塊的混亂造成的危險和整齊的繼承結構帶來的美觀和簡單。
還是算了吧。
你只有48小時，你要把事情都做完。不要浪費時間去設計冗餘少又多功能的類，只要能實現功能就好了。
一週以後再看你的代碼，可有很難理解，但你此時你得到了最好的結果，在game jam中這纔是最重要的。如果你之後你想繼續你的項目，你可以返回去修改。這也是工作，但不是你應該放在寶貴的48小時裏做的。
5、動手前有清楚的想法
如果你經驗的話，這一點應該是常識。但對於game jam新人來說，這是一個普遍的誤區。只有48小時的工作時間，人們往往忍不住立即動手——在剛想到主題時就撲到電腦前開始寫代碼。
爲什麼要這樣？當你剛剛有一點兒想法時，你還不知道自己在做什麼，這時候動手你肯定也想不出來什麼。花些時間想清楚你到底要做什麼，當你坐在電腦前時頭腦中必須有明確的想法，並且能估計到下一步。
6、保證你的遊戲容易配置
web-browsers(from gamedev)
（保證你的遊戲能在這些瀏覽器上運行）
不是隻有你一個人參加game jam；作品會有非常多，玩家有豐富的選擇。所以配置才這麼重要：面對這麼多品質不同的遊戲，玩家在任何一款遊戲上都不會停留太久。
理想情況下，玩家在點開你的提交頁面後就應該能玩你的遊戲了。因此，網頁遊戲顯然是最好的選擇，但獨立可執行文件也是可以的。避免讓玩家下載額外的插件，儘可能不要求安裝你的遊戲。如果玩家發現安裝你的遊戲需要很長的時間，那麼大部分玩家就會跳過它去玩更省麻煩的遊戲。根據要求選擇相應的平臺。
工具篇
1、Bfxr/as3sfxr
bfxr_screenshot(from gamdev）
Bfxr是一個製作復古風格音效的免費工具。它容易使用，提供大量音效，開發者可以根據自己的需要做選擇。as3sfxr是一個簡單的sfxr（Bfxr的前身）的ActionScript 3導出工具。它允許開發者使用與Bfxr相同的參數、實時製作音效。當你想隨機化通用聲音的某個部分時，這個工具非常實用。
2、Ogmo Editor/Tiled Editor/Dame Editor
ogmo-editor-screenshot（from gamedev)
這是三個容易使用、多功能的免費關卡編輯器，適用於幾乎所有類型的項目。與製作自己的關卡編輯器相比，使用這些現成的編輯器會非常節省時間；因爲它們可能已經具有你想要的功能。
3、Pixen/GraphicsGale/Aseprite
pixen_screen(from gamedev)
這三個圖形編輯器在製作像素網格的遊戲時非常管用。它們都支持sprite表，還有其他許多實用的功能。
我個人最喜歡的是Pixen，因爲它很小，界面極其簡潔，但不是免費的，且只能在OS系統上運行。GraphicsGale是付費的，且只適用於Windows系統。Aseprite是免費的，且適用於各個系統，如果你像大多數人一樣不願意花錢，那就試試它吧。
4、Blender
blender_screen(from gamdev)
當預算爲0時，Blender是製作3D圖形的最佳選擇。它是最簡單的3D建模軟件之一，一旦你克服了對它的界面的最初困惑後，你就會覺得花錢買它非常值得。但提醒你一下，3D建模很難，即使是使用了像Blender這麼強大的工具，這個事實也無法改變。
5、Musagi
musagi_screen(from gamedev)
Musagi是一個製作芯片音樂的相對簡單的工具。與3D建模一樣，這裏的“相對”纔是重點——製作音樂是非常難的，Musagi也不能改變這個事實。但如果你具備了必要技術，使用這個工具製作音樂是非常快的。
資源篇
1、OpenGameArt.org
OpenGameArt.org是免費遊戲的美術材料的源泉；從sprite表到3D模型，從音樂到音效，應有盡有；如果你不是追求風格化的人，我強烈推薦這個網站。
2、NoSoapRadio.us/Incompetech.com
這兩個是免費音樂的資源網站。No Soap Radio的搜索功能很強大，你可以根據遊戲類型或在遊戲中播放的位置來尋找你要的音樂。Incompetech是一個比較標準的數據庫，但允許你尋找你想要的音樂類型，且它提供的音樂通常品質較高。
這些資源都適用於不太強調音樂的遊戲，確實可以提供遊戲的品質，畢竟良好的音樂也是遊戲體驗的支柱之一。
3、FlashKit.com
這個網站有一個龐大的復古風聲音和逼真音效的數據庫。我個人傾向於使用Bfxr，如果我需要復古音效的話；但當你製作的遊戲是走現實路線時，FlashKit就格外實用了。（除非你有一個非常好的錄音室來錄製警車的聲音）
4、CGTextures.com
CGTextures，顧名思義，就是一個爲3D模型提供各種高品質紋理的網站。如果要做3D遊戲，這個網站可以幫你節約大量時間。只是，這個網站要求註冊帳號。
5、Orteil’s Game Idea Generator
如果你做的東西總是千篇一律，你找不到任何靈感，那麼你真應該看看這個網站。這個網站通常可以幫助你產生一些原創的想法。當你覺得沒有靈感時，就來看看這個網站吧。
總結
以上就是我爲準備參加game jam的開發者提出的，關於遊戲製作的技巧、工具和資源三個方面的16點建議。好好利用它們，我敢說你會得到一些啓發。（本文爲遊戲邦/gamerboom.com編譯，拒絕任何不保留版權的轉載，如需轉載請聯繫：遊戲邦）
16 Tips, Tools and Resources for Your Next Game Jam
by Paul Suddaby
Game jams have exploded in popularity. What used to be mostly small locally hosted events are now massive worldwide gatherings of game developers. There’s a good reason for this: game jams are a great way for developers to experiment with new ideas and to flex their creative and technical muscles. To make the most out of your game jamming experience, I’ve compiled a list of tips, tools and resources that should help things go smoothly.
Related Posts For more advice on making games (and making them quickly), check out:
Tips for a One-Man Gamedev Team: What to Do Before Even Touching a Computer
How to Get the Most Out of a Game Jam
#1GAM: How to Succeed at Making One Game a Month
All of our posts on Making Your First Game
Before We Start, What Is a Game Jam?
A game jam is an event where participants try to make a video game as quickly as possible. Most game jams take place over a single weekend, where everyone has 48 hours to try to make a game often based on a secret theme that is either voted upon or chosen by the organizers. The theme is used as a limitation that encourages creative thinking.
Themes from past game jams have included everything from simple concepts such as fear, islands, and darkness, to abstract expressions like ouroboros, build the level you play, and time manipulation.
Some jams have a competitive element — this type of jam is referred to as a “compo” — while others have no winners or losers and are simply a fun thing to do. Some sponsored events even have prizes, and many feature voting on games to declare a winner in various categories, but the general consensus is that game jamming is primarily done purely for the fun of it. The real “prize” is your finished game.
Look at all the happy coders. (Image by menno.deen)
People who take part in many game jams do so more for bragging rights, the pride in completing a game, or in the pleasure of honing their craft and seeking inspiration in one crazy weekend of late nights and rapid prototyping.
Though there are team events, jams that last for extended periods of time (such as an entire month), and jams that are held in public places by large numbers of people, the most common type of game jam is one that is performed solo, at home, over a single weekend.
Tips
1. Eat, Sleep and Exercise
Give the energy drinks a miss. (Photo by Austin Kirk)
This is the first tip on this list because it’s without a doubt the most important. When approached with a forty-eight hour deadline to make a game, most people’s initial reaction is to want to order a couple pizzas, stack up on energy drinks, and lock themselves into a room for the entire duration. This is a bad idea.
Making games is cerebral work and you simply can’t do it effectively for two days without interruption. The more rested you are and well fed you are the better you’ll work. Twenty-four hours of effective clear-headed work over two days will get you much farther than an initial ten hours of solid work followed by thirty-eight hours of exhausted caffeine-driven work.
As for exercise, it isn’t absolutely necessary; I’m sure we’ve all spent two days at some point in our life without exercising, game jam or not. However, when you’re tackling a difficult issue that you just can’t seem to figure out, few things are more helpful than going for a run or bike ride to clear your head. No matter how well rested and fed you are, being cooped up for forty-eight hours can lead to a muddled head space that makes it hard to do good work.
2. When in Doubt, Go 2D
Which one looks more complicated?
This tip is a simple one: if you’re debating whether or not to make a 2D game or a 3D game, make a 2D game. Working in three dimensions adds an extra level of complexity to art and coding, and the payoff is almost never worth it. You may stand out more with a fully 3D game, but it probably won’t play as well, and you’ll probably have to spend more time working on basic functionality and much less experimenting with fun new mechanics.
3. Keep Things Simple
When you’re thinking up the design of your game, remember that simple mechanics that work well are infinitely better than complex one’s that don’t. Don’t plan for multiplayer, complex A.I, cut-scenes or a physics engine.
In fact, when designing your game, I recommend trying to come up with something you think you could easily complete in only twenty-four hours, rather than the full forty-eight. Things almost always take longer than you anticipate, and there’s a good chance
you’ll only barely finish by the end of the forty-eight hours. If for some reason you get things done faster than you now have that much more time to polish your game, and polish is what separates the good from the great.
4. Code for Functionality, Not a Beautiful Codebase
The more you learn to code the more you come to appreciate the importance of clear, well-structured code. You learn the dangers of massive nested if blocks and the beautiful simplicity that comes with well-executed inheritance structures.
Forget this.
You only have forty-eight hours, and you need to get things done. Don’t waste time setting up versatile classes with minimal redundancy, code for functionality instead.
It might be difficult to understand your code when you look at it a week later, but you’ll get the best results in the moment, and in a game jam that’s what counts. If you want to continue your project afterwards, you can fix things retroactively. It’s a bit of work, but it’s work you shouldn’t be spending your forty-eight hours doing.
5. Have an Idea of What You’re Doing Before You Hit the Computer
This might be common sense to the more experienced of you out there, but this is a huge pitfall that snares many a game jam newbie. With only forty-eight hours to do something, people are inclined to get to work immediately. This often means jumping on the computer as soon as the theme is announced and starting to pound out some code.
Why do this? You don’t know what it is you’re making within a split-second of the theme getting announced and you certainly aren’t going to figure it out as you go. Take some time to decide on exactly what it is you’re going to try to make, have something specific in mind when you first hit the computer, and see what happens from there. For a more in depth look at this topic take a gander at What to Do Before Even Touching a Computer (though keep in mind its suggestions might go a little overboard in the context of a game jam).
6. Make Sure Your Game Is Easily Distributable
Make sure your game runs on these. (Opera optional)
You’re not the only one participating in any given game jam; there are going to be a lot of games, and the people playing them will have a lot to choose from. This is where distribution is important: with so many choices of games with such a wide variety in quality, players won’t want to invest a lot of time into setting any specific game up.
Ideally, your game should be playable one click away from your submission page. Obviously browser-based games are the best for this, but a standalone executable can work well too. Avoid requiring your player to download some sort of framework or plugin they aren’t likely to already have, and under no circumstance have your game require an installation. If they see your game takes too long to set up, most people will simply skip over it and have a try at another game that gives them less hassle. Choose your development platform accordingly.
Tools
1. Bfxr/as3sfxr
Bfxr is a nice little free tool for easily making retro-style sound effects. It offers a range of preset sound effect types to choose from and an easy to use interface for tweaking those sounds exactly to your liking. As3sfxr, on the other hand, is a simple ActionScript 3 port of sfxr (the predecessor to Bfxr) that allows you to dynamically create sound effects in real time using the same parameters as Bfxr, whic his very useful when you want to randomize an aspect of a commonly used sound.
Check out the article on Bfxr and its sister programs to get yourself started with the tool.
2. Ogmo Editor/Tiled Editor/Dame Editor
Here are three free and easy to use level editors with versatile exporters that allow them to fit into the workflow of almost any project. Rather than making your own level editor, it can be a huge time saver at first to use one of these to get things started. Who knows, you may even find that they have all the functionality you’re looking for.
We have guides to both Ogmo and Tiled on this site, so I encourage you to check them out.
3. Pixen/GraphicsGale/Aseprite
These three graphics editors are incredibly useful when making games using pixel art. They all have support for sprite sheets as well as a host of other useful features to discover.
My personal favorite here is Pixen due to its tiny size and extremely clean interface, but it isn’t free and only works on OS X; GraphicsGale also costs money and is Windows-only. Asesprite works on everything under the sun and is free, so give it a look if you, like most people, don’t like spending money.
4. Blender
Blender is the quintessential tool for making 3D graphics on a budget of zero dollars. It’s one of the easiest to use 3D modelling programs out there, once you get over the initial confusion you’ll have with the interface, and it’s surprisingly robust for its price tag. Be warned, though, 3D modelling is very difficult and even as elegant a program as Blender can’t change that.
5. Musagi
From the same mind behind sfxr we have musagi, a relatively simple tool for making your own chiptune music. Just like with 3D modelling, the term “relatively” is important here. Making music can be difficult and musagi can’t change this, but if you have
the necessary skills it can be a great outlet for making music very quickly.
Resources
1. OpenGameArt.org
Open Game Art is a great resource for free video game art (go figure). With everything from sprite sheets to 3D models all the way to music and sound effects, this site is an invaluable resource if you’re not of the artistic inclination. I highly recommend you take a look.
2. NoSoapRadio.us/Incompetech.com
These are two useful resources with free music for use in your game. No Soap Radio is particular in its search features, which allows you to sort music based on attributes like the type of game you are making and where the music will be playing in your game. Incompetech is a much more standard database, but provided you are capable of finding the type of track you are looking for, the music is generally of much higher quality.
Both of these resources are useful for those less musically-inclined and can really step up the quality of a game, as good audio is one of the pillars of the gaming experience.
3. FlashKit.com
This website has a huge repository of both retro-style sounds and more realistic foley for use in your game. I personally prefer using Bfxr if I’m going for retro sound effects, but FlashKit is invaluable when trying to go with a more realistic style. (Unless of course you have a great mic and a sound-proof room to record a police siren in.)
4. CGTextures.com
CGTextures is exactly what it sounds like: a site filled to the brim with texture for use on various 3D models. Most of the textures are free, and they are of very high quality. If you are going the 3D route, this site can be a massive time saver, though you do need an account to use the site.
5. Orteil’s Game Idea Generator
If you’re really in a rut and can’t find any ideas for what you want to make you might want to take a look at this site. Though hit or miss, this site can often generate some cool game ideas that can be both original and hilarious. Take a look when all else fails.
Conclusion
So those were my 16 tips, tools and resources for succeeding in your next game jam. Make good use of them and I guarantee you’ll see some good things come from your future game jams. If you want to read more on the subject check out our other article: How to Get the Most Out of a Game Jam.(source:gamedev.tutsplus)