The My First Game Jam: Summer 2016 was a game jam that focused on allowing new developers to create their first game or learn how to create a game with a new tool. The optional theme of this game was a spin on a popular story or myth.There were many games entered in this jam, I recorded all of them in my video compilation series. Below are some of my favorites, in a random order.

Vee Is Calling is a short but interesting dating simulator in which things start to go wrong. You have been waiting ages to have a date with Vee, someone you have met through, and only know, on the internet. You have set up a skype date with Vee, to get to know each other and see about this whole online-long-distance-dating thing. The call goes fine at first. You begin to talk about yourself and learn a bit about her. Everything seems normal until the files start disappearing from your computer. You start to notice them behind the screen, disappearing one after another. These files are very important to you and your work. Will you let your concern for these items ruin the date with this stranger?

ASHI WASH is a funny game based on a Japanese myth about a giant, disgusting foot that crashes through your roof and demands to be cleaned. This giant severed foot has come into your home and is demanding to be cleaned within two minutes. You must act quickly, gathering the needed tools around your home to clean the foot with. It has long nails that need clipping by a pair of garden shears, along with moles that can be pick-axed off, flies which must be swatted dead, and a bad smell that will only be fixed by spray. This foot takes up your whole living room, so you will need to go to the balcony and jump off to clean the top of the foot. While you are trying to clean this foot, it will continue to tell you to hurry up or else you risk your home being smashed! This wacky, slightly nasty game is super fun to play.

Ephem is a beautiful turn-based RPG that has you explore a cursed dungeon. You are a criminal, thrown into a cursed dungeon, looking for a way out. You are only a human, so you are unable to defeat the monsters that are lurking here on your own. Thankfully, a strange and powerful character finds you on your own. This new character, named November, can help you on your quest to reach the surface. She is quite powerful, able to heal you and willing to protect you along your journey. If she dies, the game will end, as you depend greatly on her. In some areas of the dungeon, it is not safe for you to enter as a human, so you will take control of November to clear the area and search for any potions or weapons there. Sometimes other characters come to visit you while she is gone, selling you potions for lost souls attached to your human. This game is quite mysterious - November, a powerful girl stuck under here? Something does not add up. Nevertheless, you must attempt to make it to the surface of this place and you will need all the help you can get.

Plantstead is an adorable game that has you collecting little runaway sprouts! Your aunt Natalie has had a little accident and needs your help collecting her little plant sprouts. These fun loving sprouts do not know that Natalie is hurt, so they are out playing hide and seek until she finds them. You need to fill in for her, exploring the little island to find them all. These sprouts will run away from you if you come here, but a little chasing will get them. You must bring them one at a time to the gated area and drop them back in. This island has a few hidden areas, so don’t give up too easily. The sprouts cannot climb the huge mountains or go into the water, so it limits the area they will be hiding in. Grab all of the sprouts and get them into their home before they get too homesick.

Saturday Grocery Store Adventure is a strange story based game that has you going to the store. Normally, going to the store is not a very fun thing - most of the time not deserving of the word ‘adventure’, This is not the case in this world. Going to the story, you get to choose which fruits or vegetables you get to interact with. These vegetables will talk to you or interact with you in strange and mysterious ways. This game has multiple endings depending on what you do - each one full of twists, turns, and surprises. This little story game is full of humor.

Amoris Flores is a strange and beautiful game about a land of flowers. You have woken up after being in a cryostasis pod for 5,000 years. There was a nuclear war, which caused Earth as we know it to transform into a wasteland. This is what you expected to see, but instead the world has turned green and full of life while you were asleep. Giant flower-human hybrids live in this new world. The one that finds you, Rose, is interested in taking you back to Eden. You do want to explore, but while in this new world it seems like nothing is being explained to you - bits and pieces of information are withheld. You must try to piece together what happened in the past to humans, without offending your new flower friends.

22 Cat is a super challenging yet very fun game that has you managing cats.There are different types of cats that will appear on the screen. Each cat needs to be handled differently and as fast as possible. Perfectly moist cats must be shocked until they go away with static electricity. Unmoist cats must be soaked and moist cats must be dried. Once these cats have gotten what they need, they will vanish giving you time. To give these cats heat, static, or water, you must use all of the letter keys on your keyboard. Some keys do nothing, some do nothing helpful, and others give you tools that you can then use. These tools will run out after you use them for a while, causing you to go back to using your keyboard to find another one or one more fit for the job. This adds tons of challenge and quite a bit of fun to the game. Watch you don’t leave the cats too long, or they will disappear unhappy!

Little Red is a challenging, spooky adventure that has you saving ghosts from the wolf’s forest. You are ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ - a little girl with a gun looking to get to your grandmother’s house. The only issue is, you fell into the wolf’s forest - a locked magical place full of stuck spirits and forest monsters. Dotted around this magical land there are some few forest bosses. You must make it to them, defeat them, and gather their colored key to unlock the forest. This will save the sad ghosts haunting the place as well as your soul. It is far from easy in the forest, each room is full of monsters and leaving the room will cause them all to respawn. You can only have four bullets on the screen at a time, so you must shoot accurately. Make it out of the forest - grandmother waits.

#MyFirstGameJam #VeeIsCalling #AshiWash #Ephem #Plantstead #SaturdayGroceryStoreAdventure #AmorisFlores #22Cat #LittleRed