<Alemos: The Mist of the MountainInn Piling Up Challenge>← Back to portfolio
GameJam2023 - Solo - 5 days + 1 month

Archery Wave Defender

🎮 Play on itch.io

Village en Détresse - French release name

Role: Game Designer & Developer - Solo

Context

First solo GameJam, theme "Gravity", 5-day limit. You play as a heroic archer defending your city against waves of magic-arrow-wielding skeletons. The goal wasn't to ship a polished game - it was to learn. Two completely new areas were on my radar: UE5's Niagara particle system and 2D gameplay in a 3D engine. This is the first playable game I shipped in UE5.

The game is available on itch.io - buggy, unfinished, and that's documented. It's a learning snapshot, not a polished showcase.

UI as a controller

The original intent was to make the UI an interaction tool rather than a passive interface. In practice: click and drag to define both the direction and speed of the projectile based on stretch distance - like a physical bow, but handled directly on screen.

An unexpected side effect: the procedural animation of the character twisting to follow the shot direction produced a goofy quality I embraced. It wasn't planned, but it contributed to the game's tone.

What was added after the Jam

  • Fixed buggy enemies - arrows now connect 100% of the time when properly aimed
  • Teleportation portals to kite enemies endlessly
  • Character auto-rotation after a few seconds of running in one direction
  • Upgrade selection system at the end of each wave
  • Additional particle effects throughout
  • Generally improved hitboxes

Scope and time management: what I learned

5 days solo - the ambition was too wide. The rogue-like upgrade system at the end of each wave was probably too much. I also invested time making my own VFX from scratch - enemy torches, teleportation portal - details that cost a lot of time for limited impact on the overall experience.

What I took away: immediately define my main learning focus for the Jam, and take fewer risks elsewhere. I directly applied this lesson to the next project.

Knowing when to stop

I kept working for a month after the Jam to polish and fix, then stopped. The real potential of the game didn't justify the additional time and money required to properly finish it. I had extracted the knowledge I was after - Niagara, 2D, win/lose loop, optimization - and team projects were waiting.

Knowing when a project has fulfilled its learning purpose and moving on is a skill in itself. One I'm still refining.