Title: Making 3 Games in 3 Months - My Godot Game Dev Journey (so far)

Welcome game lovers, bug hunters and Godot tinkerers!

I’m Sherlocklini, and I have always been fascinated by game design.

This video is about how I came in touch with game development and how
it went so far. Spoiler alert: I created three different games for three
different game jams within three months. And two of my games even
ranked really well.

So how Did I Get Into Game Development?

I already had some experience in ‘easy’ level design…. I created some
levels for Human: Fall Flat, so I was somewhat familiar with the Unity
Engine and creating some 3D stuff. Not any code, just designing levels via
given nodes.
I already watched a bunch of game dev videos, also some tutorials on
unity.
One of my favorite channels was Brackeys, and I wanted to start using
Unity for more than just some silly workshop levels.
But when the game dev world needed him most… he vanished. And with
him my idea of using Unity for making games remained just that for
several years: An idea.

It was not until December ’24 that I finally pushed myself again to start
over, because I had. SUCH. A. GREAT. IDEA. OF. A. GAME!

I started looking for different engines and while searching through

YouTube, I saw something shocking.
Brackeys was BACK. And not only that. He was not making Unity tutorials
anymore… He was now using Godot!
It honestly felt like he had just thawed out after 100 years trapped in ice…
and I was happy he broke the ice.

I was already convinced Godot had to be good if Brackeys used and

recommended it. And let’s be real, he came back because of it!

At the time I found out, there were only two tutorial videos. One explained
GDScript, and the other showed how to set up a simple platformer…Of
course I watched them and tried a bit with the platformer stuff.
I started looking up more videos on Godot and tips on how to actually
begin game development.
Despite all the advice, I was still eager to jump straight into making a
complicated, story-rich, and difficult game from scratch. Every
experienced game dev said not to do that and to start with something
simple instead.
But do you know what???
They were right.

I wanted to make an RPG right from the start without knowing what I was
doing. I quickly gained knowledge, though. I created a character editor,
got my character walking, interacting with stuff, collecting items, and
more.
It worked, but it was a mess. Nothing was organized, and I was definitely
missing some basics and experience.

For every single new feature, I had to watch a tutorial or ask ChatGPT until
I finally understood how to do it…
While this was great for gaining experience and learning the basics, it was
definitely not the right way to build a complicated game…

With every day spent working on the game, I learned so much that I
constantly felt like it would be better to restart from scratch, thinking, I
know how to do it better now…
So yes. I had to learn this lesson the hard way.
When I reached the point of creating an inventory system and got
completely lost, frustration kicked in and I put the project on ice.
The new year began, work kept me busy, and I almost gave up on game
development altogether.
But then, I did a quick search on [Link] for upcoming game jams.

In a game jam, developers create a game within a set time frame based
on a specific theme. After submission, participants are encouraged to play
and give feedback on each other’s games.
It is the perfect way to stay focused, actually finish something, and get
real feedback on your work.

In January, I came across the 16th Pirate Software Game Jam and
immediately felt motivated to join. I had no idea what the theme would be,
but I saw this as the perfect opportunity to improve my skills.
I specifically wanted to learn how to interact with certain tiles in a tilemap
and had already decided to make a 2D platformer.

When the jam started, the theme was revealed: "You are the weapon."
An idea quickly formed: My character would be able to break tiles, switch
between different states, and solve puzzles to complete levels. I knew it
was not a perfect fit for the theme, but I was excited to build and
eventually finish something.
For my first (now frozen) project, I had worked with top-down movement,
but jumping and changing states I learnt due to Brackeys.
A great thing about this jam was the requirement to submit a Game
Development Document. A file where I outlined my inspirations, planned
gameplay mechanics, and scheduled what to work on and when.
I had 14 days to create a game while also preparing for my thesis defense,
and working, since I was still a doctoral student at the time.
Balancing all of that, while also being pregnant, was intense, but making a
game helped me stay motivated.

In the first 4 days, I got the player moving, jumping, switching states and
interacting with tiles. I also was able to design basic sprites.

The next days, I tackled things I had never done before: Menus and audio.
It turned out easier than I expected, and in the end, I was satisfied with
the result.

The final 4 days were spent building levels, polishing the game, and
setting up the [Link] page. I called my game “Thawtful Decisions”, as
players enter different water states and need to carefully consider their
movements.
I should have spent more time planning and playtesting the levels, but in
the end, I had finished my very first game in just 14 days. I submitted and
people could actually play it!

The feedback was incredibly motivating. Some players said it was short
but funny, functional but a bit janky. Honestly, for my first game, that was
a huge success. I also received judge feedback, pointing out minor issues
but giving really nice compliments as well: "Seriously good job!"

And that is how my first game jam ended. I was thrilled with what I
achieved, loved the feedback I got, and immediately started looking for
the next game jam.

I joined the 13th GoedWare Game Jam, starting on February 28th and lasting
10 days. Less time than my previous jam.

This time, I wanted to go in without planning anything in advance. When

the theme was revealed: "Breaking the Loop", I first thought about time
manipulation or repeating sequences. But since I was still a noob, I
decided to take the theme literally and have a physical loop break in my
game.

I also wanted to try something new and experiment with a different gravity
system, allowing the player to walk in a circle instead of a traditional
platformer setup. I quickly implemented a functional gravity system,
though I ran into some issues jumping on curved surfaces. But I managed
to get the core mechanic working on the first day.

Over the next few days, I kept improving the mechanic and added an
actual loop the player could break. I designed the menus again and
introduced a power-up system. While I had already made some assets, I
ended up scrapping everything and starting over because I was not happy
with the initial look. Eventually, I settled on a design I liked and moved on
to hide Easter eggs.

The GoedWare Game Jam encouraged participants to include Easter eggs,

so I took the challenge and made sure to add some. Players needed to find
circular shapes throughout the game to unlock a final level, which,
fittingly, was about actually breaking the loop. And that is how "Hoopless"
was born. Because, well… you get rid of the hoops. Very creative, I know.

In the final days, I focused on level design. I remembered not prioritizing it

enough in my first jam and wanted to do things differently this time.
Eventually, I created 12 levels and managed to submit Hoopless on time.

With over 60 entries in total, I was eager to play every single game, giving
honest ratings and feedback. I was blown away by the creativity of the
submissions. I got more and more ideas on game mechanics and became
more and more motivated to design another game. One game especially
stood out to me, but more on that in a second.

I spent the next few days rating and commenting on every single game.
Then it was time to wait for the final results. Meanwhile, I received a bunch
of comments on Hoopless. Many praised the game design, but I also got
constructive feedback. Some players found the levels too easy, the
difficulty progression was not quite balanced, and a few movement
mechanics felt a bit off. Instead of being discouraged, I was looking
forward to improve.

The final results for Hoopless were announced a bit later, when I was
already deep into my third jam: The very first PULS Game Jam, starting
March 14th and lasting 2 days only. Since it was a German game jam, I was
extra motivated to participate. After all, I’m German.

The theme was revealed: "Kaputt", meaning broken or damaged.

Once again, I quickly had an idea. I wanted to create another puzzle-
platformer
You might have noticed, I love making those.
This time, the twist was: You play in the same level over and over again,
but each tile you break is gone forever.
You would be a glitch, stuck inside a game, and the developer does NOT
want you there. At the start, you lack movement abilities. You cannot
jump, run, or anything else than walking. You need to find the correct keys
to unlock these actions. However, each tile you touch is a keyboard key,
and once touched, it’s gone if you reach the goal of the game. If you’re not
careful, you might destroy your only way forward and get stuck… This is
when you need to restart eventually.

The goal? Breaking all the keys, drive the game dev mad, and completely
ruin their game.

In just two days, I implemented the core mechanics, allowing the player to
gain movement abilities, created all the sprites, designed the menus, and
built the level structure. Since the narrator doesn't see you as a real threat
at first, but slowly grows frustrated, I named the game "Mind the Glitch".

Once again, I submitted on time, played as many games as possible, and

gave constructive feedback.
The response to Mind the Glitch was incredibly positive. People loved the
concept, appreciated my voice-over for the narrator, and were impressed
by how much I had done in just two days.
Of course, smooth movement was still a common critique, but overall, the
feedback was fantastic.

The PULS Game Jam had a two-round voting system: first, a community
vote created a shortlist for the jury, followed by the final jury vote.

Actually the shortlist voting of the PULS Game Jam appeared earlier than
the final voting of the GoedWare Game Jam.

To my surprise, Mind the Glitch placed 9th in the community vote. Just
making it into the top 20 would have been a win for me, so landing in the
top 10 was incredible.

On the same day, I then received the final results for both jams.
Hoopless ranked high in the community ratings and even higher in the jury
voting for the GoedWare Jam. I placed 3rd overall in the community
ranking, 4th for theme, and 5th for gameplay. The jury results were even
more surprising: I won second place overall and even took first place in the
theme category, earning actual prizes. The results were beyond my
expectations... but things were about to change for Hoopless. Let me
explain after the results of the PULS Game Jam.

Mind the Glitch placed in the top 5 in 4 out of 5 categories, while there
were around 160 game entries. In three of them, I took second place! I
was completely overwhelmed. The feedback was amazing, and I realized…
I love making games.

Then, something unexpected happened. Just one day after the winners
were announced, I was shocked. The actual winner of the GoedWare Game
jam, who made one of my favorite games, had stolen it. They did not
create the game during the jam but submitted an existing project. Since
this jam had actual prizes, I felt sorry for GoedWare, but luckily, they
caught the cheater in time and disqualified them.

And then, I realized something. Because of the disqualification, my ranking

got even higher. In the end, I was officially the overall and theme winner in
the jury voting and placed second in the overall community vote of the
13th GoedWare Game Jam.

Just. Wow.

And that’s how it went. Three months, three game jams. I won one, placed
second in another… but more importantly, I learned a ton.
If I have any advice, it’s this: Just do it. Mastering game development is
probably impossible, but making small games in a short amount of time?
Learning new stuff every day? That’s totally doable.
So go for it! Don’t give up just because a mechanic seems out of reach.
You’ll learn, but only if you push yourself to try new things. Tutorials are
great, but figuring things out on your own is far more rewarding.

I might not have as much time in the near future, but I’ll keep making
games. And I’ll keep you updated!
If you’re interested in what I’m working on or have any feedback, feel free
to subscribe, comment, join my Discord, check out my [Link] page…
whatever works for you!

Case closed, see you next time.