My First Game Jam Experience with Unreal SF

I recently had the incredible opportunity to participate in my very first game jam hosted by Unreal SF. The theme of the jam was announced onsite and centered around monster rituals, which immediately inspired the concept behind our game.

Mark Girouard | AAA Game Design Industry Veteran speaking on scope creep & management.

I was a little skeptical at first because I didn’t know many people at the event, nor did I have any connections going in. I worried that nobody would want to work with me or that I wouldn’t be able to find the right people with the necessary skills to form a small, effective team. However, the night before the jam started, someone who had playtested Kaiju Fury VR during GDC reached out to me wanting to collaborate. I was immediately excited! Our team came together with Thomas as our programmer, Nathaniel as our sound designer, and myself as the project manager, designer, and 3D artist.

Even then, I was still a bit worried the game might turn out as visually appealing since we didn’t have a dedicated artist specializing in art. Fortunately, I had enjoyed creating 3D art during previous classes, so I decided to take on the responsibilities and challenges of the art side of things. Since I wasn’t the most experienced artist, we decided to embrace a cutesy, non-perfect, whimsical style for the animals and monsters — the main focus of the game. The models weren’t flawless, but that worked in our favor; these were meant to be cute, mindless creatures running around a barnyard. I turned what could have been a disadvantage into an advantage by setting a charming, whimsical mood that fit perfectly with the game’s tone.

Screenshot from Barnyard Buddies!

We ended up naming our game Barnyard Buddies! A quirky and charming game where players gather animal parts to perform a ritual that summons monster friends. The gameplay balances cute visuals with a playful, slightly dark twist, creating a unique and engaging experience.

In addition to art and design, I created promotional content to showcase our game: taking screenshots, editing short videos, and sharing Barnyard Buddies! on various platforms. This experience gave me valuable insight into the importance of not only building a great game but also effectively communicating and marketing it to potential players.

One of the most rewarding parts of this experience was collaborating closely with a team of talented individuals I hadn’t worked with before. It was inspiring to fuse our different ideas and strengths into a shared vision, and through that creative process, I was able to expand my network within the game development community. The connections made during this jam have already blossomed into opportunities for future collaboration, which makes me even more excited for what’s ahead.

Working on the 3D models and eating a spring roll!

Participating in this game jam was an incredible learning experience that strengthened my skills in creative problem-solving, teamwork, and multitasking across art, design, and promotion. I’m excited to continue growing as a game producer by blending these disciplines to bring more concepts to life.

Feel free to reach out to connect and potentially collaborate! I'm always open to new creative opportunities!

Check out the other developers of Barnyard Buddies! below:

Thomas Jensen - Programmer

Nathaniel Basco - Sound Designer