[SA Game Jam 2019] SelfDevelopment

Game Download: https://gamejolt.com/games/selfdevelopment/440730

basically a person that lives through absolute bender of a weekend. hijinks ensue. peace of mind is not safe. P.S...duck

This game was a combined effort between five people.
It was a great learning experience for us showing the technicalities that are often encountered when delving into the game-making world.
The genre itself really had us brainstorming some crazy ideas and we decided that instead of the "crafting" that most people would know as building items, that we'd craft a story and a character.
It was truly a blast from the opening night at the Vega School to the following nights trying to figure out where we went wrong.
Many things have been "building" up to this moment.
We hope that you enjoy the craziness and 'escalating possibilities' :P
Greetings from the goof'd duck, we cut as many corners as he did.

Created by:
Ethan Le Roux [Megaguy32] - Codemaster/Codebreaker
Darren Marsh [Playersup] - Running the backgrounds/Code monkey #1/New City Pop fan/ Caffeine Junkie
Yaaseen Mallie [boeta_ghamad] - Storyboard/ Code monkey #2/Lead napper/Spent more time watching rugby WC than looking at code and narrative
Edward Batchelder [ShadowMage01] - Technical Art & Assistance/Resource Management/Sideline Gamer [Warframe advocate]
Abdur-Raheem Lee [LeMonADE519] - Doughnut bringer/Uber driver/Battle tester/Late comer

*Music, Visual art were gathered online. Creative Commons friendly.

Category: Student
48 Hour
Thanked by 1Trian


  • I wasn't drunk when I started playing this game but by the time I finished I definitely was. And I liked it. Well done everyone that was nuts.
    Thanked by 1megaguy32
  • Haha! Thats awesome to hear, thank you for the feedback @Jelligeth
  • Seeing the quiz format and first question intrigued me right away. After answering each question I got more excited to see what the results / consequences of my choices would be. I was expecting a pseudo-psychometric test. Ultimately it felt like my choices didn't have an impact on the final outcome?

    It's definitely a surprise when you see that 2D duck roll up on screen. It's totally different from the game before that so I was intrigued again to see how it played out. I dragged out a few wooden towers to try distract the duck but they didn't seem to have any effect?

    The ideas and segue in this really intrigued me, so wished my choices has more consequences. I'm keen to see the cool things this team produces in the future!
    Thanked by 1megaguy32
  • edited
    Initially the game didn't work on my laptop so I had to try it on my PC
    I enjoyed the quiz, it was very... interesting. My only gripe is that you didn't make a Naruto reference in the area 51 question Like @ashashza I was also super confused when the duck game came up at the end and I also tried to block it off with the wooden towers to no effect, I tried using the other drag and drop buttons they didn't work though

    Overall a fun and interesting experience, can't wait for next years entry
    Thanked by 1megaguy32
    Thanked by 1megaguy32
  • Interesting! I liked the format of the game, and that had me curious - as @ashashza mentioned - as to whether my choices influenced the storyline. I feel like the cryptic choices were probably the strongest part of the game and what had me the most invested.

    Some of the music was neat and fit well with some of the scenes and what was happening, but some of the other pieces broke the sense of suspense and immersion, mainly because the jumps were too great in genre, style etc. I think also adding a few smooth transitions to the music, so that it doesn't end so abruptly on scene changes, would smooth things up a bit.

    Seeing the stats at the end both raised my curiosity and felt a little like a lost opportunity - like there was more that could have been done, even whilst retaining that weird and cryptic ending. That last scene goes on a bit long, too.

    Great work!
    Thanked by 1megaguy32
  • Well... that was a very interesting experience. Everything felt a bit random and I had a hard time piecing a solid storyline together (although it's clear it revolves around the characters father and some other shady character, who are presumably aliens).

    I played the game twice, the second time was just to play around with choices. I did find one new screen (unless I missed it the first time), but the end was the same. I still haven't figured out why there is a duck walking across my screen. and it caught me off guard. But I had a good laugh and would like to find out what was going on behind everything.

    Impressed by the wide range of music to fit each scene. Some of the situations were quite far fetched and did make me think. I've never thought of what I'd ask a room of talking goats.

    My only suggestion: More influential choices and a bit clearer storyline. I feel like there is a thin line between what's cryptic and what's meaningless.

    Would like to see more in future (also, the team description is great xD)
  • Thank you all for the feedback and playing our game,
    I think an explanation is warranted.

    It's all a metaphor about how the absurd messes with our peace of mind.

    haha, but beyond that on a more practical level. The game is unfinished, but we at least reached a point where my team is able to say we're satisfied with what we've done.

    The mechanic and plot line we originally intended to incorporate was dream sequences at the end of each night where the character's psyche is likened to a fortess
    Nightmares each night, troubles manifest as enemies attacking your sanity.
    Based on your answers, you get unique points: Technical, Emotional, and Social. (You may have noticed the stats at the top left corner at the end of the game)
    which you may spend modifying your base.

    and the gameplay would've been tower defense like.

    but yes. Limitations IRL occured and we didn't get there. So we focused on our strengths and gave a solid questions UI and experience.

    I was so tired by the end of the weekend and had many more commitments for the week that I didn't give this explanation initially.

    I'm excited still for future efforts from myself and my friends. We legit feel we are improving each and every time!
    Thanked by 1GiGGa
  • The game engine used is Godot 3, it has some limitations to do with compatibilty with older hardware. Thats because of OpenGL GLES and stuff I don't have comprehensive knowledge over.

    I like it because of its modular workflow and that its FOSS.
  • @Fengol, We are based in Cape Town
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