Hello again fellow gamers and devs!
I recently stumbled upon a game jam I just had to submit to simply because of the name of the jam: #n8jam. The theme was "Beat the System" with some optional lore you could add to the game to help boost your score which I also included. I decided to make a game where the system you have to beat is a pizza place that offers FREE PIZZA if it takes longer than 30 minutes to deliver....so of course the game is called:
Check out the itch.io game page here: https://nate-bit-games.itch.io/free-pizza
Voting for the jam is open to the public and would be greatly appreciated if you have a minute to check it out and gave it a proper rating/review as well as for the many other submissions.
The N8jam rating/submission page can be found here: https://itch.io/jam/n8jam/rate/1153047
The objective is to slow down the delivery driver by finding and placing obstacles in the driver's path to keep him from reaching your home within the time limit so you can get your pizza FREE! Just make sure to beat him to your place once the time limit has been reached.
I spent most of the timeframe of the jam focused on the gameplay mechanics and AI so I mostly used premade, public domain, retro pixel style art assets and audio I purchased the rights to in various audio packs previously. I did do some of the art though, mainly the UI and, most importantly, the Checker's Pizza logo and website (where I also included some shameless self promotion of Probe - I had to! It just fit the design too well lol).
I included 3 difficulty levels (Easy, Normal & Hard) but I didn't have much time left in the jam to play test near as much as I would have liked to in order to balance the gameplay difficulty levels. As a result I think it may be almost impossible to beat on Hard Mode - if anyone is so inclined to take on the challenge and can beat Hard Mode please let me know but will update it after the jam to make it beatable if not. Easy mode may also be TOO easy so if you want to see the ending (which is where the lore for the jam comes in) then I would suggest playing on Easy Mode but Normal Mode is also achievable. If you are finding you are having trouble navigating the world without having to play it over and over to get familiar with the map, here is a link to a screenshot of the full level map (SPOILER): FREE PIZZA Level Map
I originally intended for the game to be playable in browser as an HTML5 game but ran into some awful sounding audio glitches so I decided to stick with the EXE for now. Will see if I can resolve the audio glitches later and allow for play in browser. If I can achieve that I will also update my website to have the playable version from the FREE PIZZA game page once I get around to making the game page for it as well.
Once the jam is over, at some point, I might work on improving the game overall if it does well in the jam or gets enough interest. Would like to see about adding a mini-map to make tracking the driver easier - something I wanted to do from the start but ran out of time. Also considering adding some other interactions that keep the driver delayed like breaking fire hydrants or traffic lights. If you have any comments or suggestions feel free to post a comment below, on the itch page or shoot me an email with them (officialnatebitgames@gmail.com) and I'll see if I can implement them once the jam voting has ended.
Quick Update on Probe Mobile & Other Things:
In other news...I know it's been a while since I last posted to the blog or released anything so let me start out by saying it's been a rough past couple months. Summer at my night job has been fairly demanding of my time outside of work and on top of that I have had health issues arise off and on and am still continuing to have those issues. Basically have had daily dizziness and sometimes migraines that come and go making it very hard to focus and not sure what's causing it. Loud sounds also seem to make it worse (most of the time) and being a DJ at a nightclub that is not an ideal situation for me to be in. Still trying to get in to see the proper doctors to get it under control. Some days are better than others and bearable. It also made it very difficult to do this game jam, especially the first couple of days into it, but luckily had a couple really good days in there as well to get it done.
With summer coming to a close my free time should hopefully open up a bit more on my off days once I get these health issues in check. Even if I have to grin and bear it through the pain I am going to crack down on actually finishing Probe Mobile very soon. I have also been working on my other big title (TBA) in the works here and there still but mostly have only focused on things that are easier to do in a short amount of time or that I find more relaxing and enjoyable to help curb stress a bit. Hopefully I can also get back to some more regular posts and possibly even some more game jams soon. In the meantime thank you everyone for being patient and everyone is doing well! Take care!
Nathan Hicks
Nate Bit Games officialnatebitgames@gmail.com
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