Here are some of my thoughts on my favorite entries to #adventurejam so far. Voting ends in a little over two weeks. So, I’m not ruling out the possibility of looking at more games.

Ree’s Ruined Earth Courier Service: Shipment Delayed

• Amazing graphics.
• Loving the dialogue.
• I played the Unity version.

I find the story, characters, and world-building totally compelling.

Unfortunately interacting with the world is proving difficult. I could use some indication of when I can walk offscreen. I think that could help with some pathfinding issues.

I’d really like to see more work done on this game, and I’d like to see more content in the Ree’s universe.

The Endless Night

For as much as I wanted to play this game, I couldn’t. The platform restrictions kept me from trying this interesting looking game. I think the graphics for this game look pretty cool.

Speak of the Cloud

• Sound effects do a good job of situating the experience in a world.
• Loving the Dr. Strangelove allusions.
• Character animations are impressive, and jive well with the cartoon art style.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t play this game as much as I would have liked. It’s compelling, and the art design really sells intriguing, interactive spaces that make up for the ridiculous pixel-hunting puzzle I encountered.

Walkman

Like the animation and the constraint of linear movement.

Cascade

• Got chills from this one.
• The sparse sound does a great job of communicating atmosphere.
• Got the sense that there was more to this game than there actually was (in a good way), I think due to the writing.

Nice scoping for a two-week game jam. I think this is my runner-up, based on the strength of its story.

Therapods

• Great art, animation.
• Loving the parallax and layering.
• Great sound design.
• Great overall design, love the inventory and interface.
• Great examples of one-screen puzzles. The puzzles that I’ve heard Tim Schafer call donkey and rider puzzles.

Theropods is my favorite game of the jam. Not only did it scope the game correctly for the development team, it was also playable in a reasonable amount of time.

Conclusion

So there you have it, go out there and try some of these games. If you only have time to try one, check out Theropods. It’s groovy.