I Survived Global Game Jam 2014!!!

Global Game Jam 2014 (#GGJ14) was my first "jam" and a great look into the game development process. If I had to describe it in one word it would be intense. Originally I wasn't even going to participate in the jam, but on the way home from class I was talking to my lady about class. It went like this:
         "So this weekend they're having this thing called the Global Game Jam. You stay up for 48 hours and design a game," I said.
         "Sounds cool. Are you trying to go?"
         "Hell no! One, I don't know anything. Two, I don't think they'll like me without 48 hours of sleep. Maybe next year."
         She gave me a creepy grin and said, "You should go. It would be a great experience. You have a lot more to offer than you think."
         "Maybe."
I thought about it for the rest of week. In the end I decided to do it. Okay, I thought. It's jam time.

I was a part of the first/second semester student group, "the n00bs."

With some head-butting and a great leader, we successfully completed a board game called "Catnip Tails." We were also in the process of creating a Unity version of the game but we ran out of time. And energy. In the first 24 hours we had a full-functioning board game. By the middle of the second day we had the game fully tested.

Here's a picture of the board in it's infancy:

Here's some pics of the game in Unity:

Even when things looked grim while being energy-drink high and sleep-drunk, we managed to keep things moving. Personally, the GGJ was an amazing experience. I learned that I had more to offer than I thought. I ended up helping with the game design and I was the lead on the sound effects /music for the Unity version. I also learned that when working with a team you won't always get along, but when you play to your strengths, personally and as a group, great things can happen. We actually won the game jam! That's right, the n00bs kicked ass! I was surprised because there were so many other interesting games that I still would love to play. But it still feels good to be the champ.

Here's the finished board game: