Welcome to #1GAM episode 33!

Game jams are so much fun. You get a finished product - a game that you can play - and only risked a couple days of your life. That's a huge return on investment compared to average software projects, and it feels so great, because you get to FINISH. It's draining to crunch for months with no end in sight.

This month's new 250xp achievement theme is FINISH LINE.

Whether physical (a checkered flag, or a line in the sand) or conceptual (your destination, the final result) the glowing beacon that is the finish line in your life might seem a ways off in the distance... but it calls to you, doesn't it?

Crossing the finish line on any creative effort - on any project that required work to pull off is a celebration. A huge relief. A point of pride. A finished creation you can "hold in your hand".

That's why game jams are so good for you. The time limit draws the finish line closer to you. The closer it is, the more likely you'll cross it.

This month, put a finish line into your game, if not literally, then metaphorically. It doesn't have to be a racing game, of course. The finish line could be the end of a growing season at the farm, a ticking time bomb, or that moment of scientific discovery! That eureka moment when a prototype doesn't blow up on the launch pad or when a chemistry experiment results in a viable antidote. It could mean hitting SEND, or pressing the big red button, or reaching the last sentence of a book, or emerging from the water to first step on shore. It could be a marriage proposal, or delivering a baby... or it could be a game about the last day of your life.

Whatever you choose, the key is to have fun with it. The simpler your design, the less steep the hill to the finish line. Throw in a little hard work and you'll reach it! Join a fun game jam this month or set aside a few evenings and race to reach the finish line, will you? Be sure to hit your #1GAM finish line and submit your games here so you can level up. Break through "the wall" and push yourself to get there.

If you do, you'll get to bask in the glow of the spotlight, the roar of the crowd, and some well-earned rest, knowing you just created a finished product, a game you can show your friends and put in your portfolio.

This is the reward that awaits you once you sprint across the finish line. Good luck!

Music by the very talented Stephen Lu (chibola.com)

Christer Kaitila aka McFunkypants
twitter.com/McFunkypants
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