Mark's Month - September 2024

Hey Patrons! Here's what I've been up to in September

What I Made This Month

So I started the month with the video for the best games from GMTK Game Jam 2024.

In previous years I tried to get the video done within a couple days of the jam wrapping up. Which was quite a fun challenge: to play 100 games, pick my 20 favourites, write about them, and make the video, in just 48 to 72 hours. It was like my own version of the game jam!

But in the spirit of reducing crunch during the jam, I gave myself a lot more time this year. So I was able to spend more time on each game, more time writing, and I think the final video came out better.

Speaking of reducing crunch: this was the first year where the jam lasted for 96 hours, instead of 48. The reason being that I didn't want to promote or encourage an unhealthy work load for my lovely jammers. Outside of a few teething issues, the new time allotment went well and I got lots of positive comments.

(Graph for the question "How long should the jam last in 2025")

And after the jam ended I ran a survey about the jam, asking people if they liked the 96 hour deadline and if it should return in 2025's jam. And after receiving over 2000 responses? 72% of people said this jam was "the perfect length", and 53% said it should be 96 hours in 2025, with only 9% asking for it to return to 48 hours.

So looks like we'll be going for a four day jam again next year!

Oh, and speaking of jams: did you see the GMTK Patron Jam? It's happening in December - exclusively for the awesome people who support me on this platform! That's you! Thanks!

I also released a big new GMTK video, this time on mystery and secrets in games. 

This is a topic that I've been thinking about for a while. How come some games give me a sense of mystery, curiosity, and wonder, while others just don't? So over the years I've kept a list of things that games can do to cultivate - and destroy - that feeling, from cryptic rules and locked doors to chatty companion characters and predictable rewards.

It didn't make sense to talk about how a game creates mystery by concealing stuff without also talking about how the player can reveal that stuff, so I also spoke about the ways players get to be mystery hunters and secret solvers. Everything from Animal Well's mosaic puzzle to The Witness's invisible question.

The video has been generally well received, but has been a little slow to bring in traffic. I predict that many people will skip the video, or dip out early, for fear of being spoiled on the games being shown (though I was careful to avoid spoiling most puzzles, and provided time stamps to skip past others). However it's picking up a little now and should have long legs.

What I'm Working On

Magnets! Magnets, magnets, magnets. (Which was a possible name for the game, as it happens).

Mind Over Magnet launches on November 6th and so this month will be dedicated to getting the game 100% wrapped up. The game itself is done and now that Zach has submitted the final songs there is nothing left to add.

I just need to do some polishing, some bug fixing, and then... I dunno. Send codes to journalists, I guess? Make a press kit? I've never done this bit before so it's all new!

Whatever the case - I definitely feel done with this game. I loaded Unity today after a big break and felt... nothing. Not excited to make more, not joy at getting it done, just a numbness. It's over and while I'm excited for people to play it, I'm ready to move on.

Sorry, that was a bit of a bummer note!

What I've Been Up To

My wife and I finally had our summer holiday, with a fantastic trip to the Greek island of Rhodes. It was wonderful - super warm and relaxing, with lots of cocktails, a trip to the acropolis in Lindos, and plenty of swimming. I felt incredibly lucky to be able to have such a wonderful holiday.

Oh and I played through Wario Land 4 during the flight and other bits of downtime. Great game!

Last month I talked about finally playing the System Shock reboot. It was so good that I immediately started playing System Shock 2, and finished it in September. Boy this game was ahead of its time. And holy moly I didn't realise just how much Ken Levine copied his own homework for Bioshock.

Researching enemies, a hacking mini game, security cameras, psychic abilities, a mid-game narrative twist - almost everything that makes Bioshock special was here all along! I feel silly for not playing it sooner. I'm not sure if I'll make a video on these games but I had a blast playing them.

Same goes for Astro Bot! This is such a delightful game: it's almost impossible to play it without a big smile on your face. And even as someone who is not a massive PlayStation fan, I appreciated all of the cameos and references. A few personal favourites included Katamari, Buzz (the quiz game series that was perhaps a PAL exclusive?), Alucard from Symphony of the Night, and Rez.

It's not just games, of course. I read my first J.G. Ballard novel on holiday, The Drowned World, and loved it. So looking forward to reading more of him. And I started a Sidney Lumet movie marathon - I'm going to watch all of his movies over the course of a few months.

I rewatched 12 Angry Men and it's still an absolute all-timer. But then watched his second film, Stage Struck, today and it was pretty awful. Oh well - that's how things go when you watch everything a director has made. Plenty of great flicks on the list to come, of course.

Right, better get back to magnets! Speak soon!

Mark