8 posts tagged with "Brackeys Game Jam 2026 #1"

I came into this jam with one main goal: finish something and ship it.

Not chase rankings. Not overbuild. Just finish.

And I did.

From Idea to Build​

The starting idea was simple: a forest trail that feels wrong.

No monsters, no jump scares, just atmosphere and tension.

Over the week it slowly came together: movement, camera, world swapping, chunk layout, and finally the forced flip moment in the clearing.

That was the point where it stopped feeling like a test project and started feeling like an actual game.

What Ended Up in the Final Version​

By the end, the game had:

• A title screen
• A complete playable level arc
• A swap mechanic tied to the theme
• A forced narrative moment
• A fade out + final line
• A credits screen
• A clean return to menu

It has a full start-to-finish loop, which is something I hadn’t done in Godot before.

What I Learned​

Biggest lessons from this jam:

• Scope control matters more than flashy ideas
• Atmosphere can carry a lot without enemies
• Simplicity works when it’s intentional
• Finishing is its own skill

I also learned that I really enjoy building pacing and mood-heavy moments.

Most importantly: I proved to myself that I can finish a game.

About the Results​

Whatever the jam ranking ends up being, I’m happy with this project.

I started with an empty Godot project and shipped something complete that I’m proud to share.

That’s the real win for me.

What’s Next​

Now that I’ve finished one small game, the whole process feels less intimidating.

I’m going to keep building, keep shipping small things, and keep improving from there.

This was a good milestone.

Today was about making sure the game ends well. Not mechanically - that part was already working. The forced flip lands. The fade hits. The final line lingers in silence. The clearing feels calm before it breaks. Today was about what happens after that moment. Because a game doesn’t just need a climax. It needs closure.

Today wasn’t about building something new. It was about making sure what already existed deserved to exist.

Yesterday the systems were complete. The forced flip worked. The fade landed. The final line lingered. The game had an arc.

Today was about asking a harder question:

Does it hold up?

And I’m proud to say… it does.

Today was different.

Not in a flashy, “I built something massive” kind of way - but in a quieter, more satisfying way. The kind of day where things stop feeling like systems and start feeling like a game.

Yesterday, all six chunks were finally built. The forest existed. The arc existed. The pacing felt right. But it was still missing something - the emotional landing. The moment that makes the theme stick.

Today, I closed the loop.

There’s a strange moment in development where a project stops feeling like a prototype and starts feeling like... something. Today was that moment.

When I opened the project this morning, I wasn’t looking at two test platforms anymore. I wasn’t even looking at a mechanic demo. I was looking at a journey - a beginning, a middle, and the shape of an ending waiting to happen.

And for the first time since starting this jam, the forest trail felt real.

There’s a moment in every project where the excitement wears off and the question creeps in:

Is this actually going to work?

Day two was that moment. Not because anything broke. Not because the mechanic failed. But because the idea had to survive contact with structure. A concept can feel mysterious in your head - but once you start placing tiles, spacing jumps, and timing traversal, it either holds... or it collapses.

Today, it held.

I’m officially participating in a game jam.

Not just thinking about it. Not planning for the next one. Not watching from the sidelines.

Actually participating.

The theme?

🏕️ Strange Places 🏕️

When it was revealed, I felt that familiar spark - the rush of ideas, the excitement of possibility, and, if I’m being honest, the quiet danger of over-scoping something wildly ambitious.

I’m officially joining Brackeys Game Jam 2026.1.

This is a big one for me because one of my goals this year is to actually finish and submit a jam project.