Game jam development process

Hello everyone!

In this blog, I’ll share the stages of developing a game during a recent game jam!

Tech stack I used:
JavaScript (I have my own engine that I’ve been developing and maintaining for quite some time), Aseprite, and GarageBand + a free sound library.

Day 1

After the jam’s theme, "Automation," was announced, I started brainstorming game ideas that would fit the theme. At first, I thought of something like an idle clicker or tycoon game where you manage little workers to gather resources. Then, the idea evolved into playing as a character who controls robots to mine resources.

The concept grew into a story where the main character buys a mine hoping to find diamonds and become rich. However, their plans are interrupted when they discover that the mine contains only coal and a few other minerals. Now, your task is to figure out how to turn coal and sticks into diamonds.

Late into the night, I worked on the graphics. The main character got his look, followed by the robots. Day one ended successfully with a solid visual foundation.

Day 2

Friday was a very productive day. I finished all the game’s artwork, added localization, and started working on the interface to make interactions with robots and buildings intuitive and clear.

I implemented a tutorial system and spent the evening creating background music and adding sounds. I decided to give each object its own sound track, with volume changing depending on the player's proximity to the object.

I also worked on the itch.io page, ensuring it was informative and visually appealing.

Day 3 (Final Day)

With one day left in the jam, I had to drop some ideas that could have taken up too much time. One of them was allowing players to place buildings in different locations — for example, having fewer robots but more workbenches and presses.

Even though there was still time, I decided to wrap up the project by evening. I focused on testing the game, adding descriptions for each building’s functionality, and finalizing details.

I implemented save/load functionality so players wouldn’t lose progress or settings. I added English localization, options to toggle sound and music, and a reset button for the game.

Additional Notes:

• Each item in the game has a selling price, but only three items have a chance to appear on the conveyor belt: coal (60%), silicon (25%), and iron (15%).
• If you approach the lava, you can hear atmospheric sounds.
• The inspiration for turning coal into diamonds comes from the Industrial Craft mod.
• With the help of robots, you can fully automate diamond production.

It remains a mystery why mined resources are thrown into the lava if not collected...