Js13kGames 2022 Review

JS13K

In August 2022, I decided to participate in js13kGames, and I gradually created a game to join in. js13kGames, as well explained on the site, is essentially a game jam where you create a JavaScript game under 13KB. Although I am not a game developer and hadn’t used Canvas before, I successfully submitted my game by September 12, 2022. Despite some typos in the description, the submission was still valid… This year’s theme was DEATH. Death… Since most games have a game over, I thought anything I made would apply to the theme. As a simplistic person, I thought about death, reapers, and although I wasn’t sure what to make, I decided to use a reaper as the character and started creating.

Starting Out

What should I make? After some thought, I decided to create a side-scrolling running game, something simple… Thinking it would be easy since I had made games with Unity before, I initially considered making a running game. However, upon seeing someone else’s running game submitted early, I thought I should do something different and decided to create a game where you move using ropes, reminiscent of something I had seen before.

Although I had the idea, I worried about design and sound. Before starting, I thought about creating a shop and multiple items, but due to physical time constraints and laziness, I minimized everything. In the end, I didn’t create any items and omitted many of the ideas I had, submitting what I had. The final product? Or perhaps an unfinished game? I created a simple game where you expend energy to place ropes and advance forward. Consuming souls floating in the air restores energy, which allows you to continue placing ropes and moving further. Even now, I see missed opportunities like adding magnets or boosters as items. I also regret not dotting the ropes.

Graphics

For dotting, I used Aseprite, which I had purchased previously.

Dotting backgrounds and characters turned out to be quite fun. I found myself thinking I’d like to create new things in dots next time. Before submission, I mistakenly compressed image sizes and png files, thinking the zip file needed to be under 13KB. But once submitted, I decided to forget about it.

Sound

Initially, I planned to include background music and sound effects with options. However, as the deadline approached, I omitted the background music and made minimal sound effects using ZzFX. Foolishly, I inserted mp3 files. Submitting hastily led to a bot blocking my submission.

Warnings appeared because of the autoplay feature in video or audio tags. By simply assigning the muted attribute to the audio tag and then removing it, I managed to pass and successfully submit.

DOMException: play() failed because the user didn’t interact with the document first.

Reflection

About an hour after submission, my game was registered. Looking back, it was clearly made hastily, and the description had typos. I regret not designing the ropes and considering adding background music. This time, I approached web development too impulsively, thinking, “Can’t I just do it?” but ended up with procrastination due to other work and travel commitments. I realized once again that planning and scheduling are essential, much like working on a company project. Impulsive development can lead to half-finished projects like my zigzag rabbit game in Unity. Despite these challenges, the experience was enjoyable, especially since the duration was just a month, making it easier to decide to participate. Next time, I want to plan both the design and development more thoroughly and participate again. After submission, during the voting period, I received feedback, which was a fun experience. I was relieved to get feedback rather than none at all. Many comments suggested adding shops and items that I intended to create but couldn’t finish, and there were numerous remarks about the acceleration speed, which seemed odd even to me. Next year, I plan to schedule systematically and create a better version.

Ultimately, I ranked 103rd… There were indeed many talented people and fun games. Although I didn’t make it into the top 100, it was still a valuable experience.