Brackey’s Game Jam 2025.2 – Day 1

The theme for this jam is “Risk it for the biscuit.” At first, I struggled to connect it to a platformer, card games and gambling mechanics felt obvious, but I wanted to keep it closer to what I’ve been learning.

Brainstorming ideas

I sketched out a few possible directions:

• Risky paths: A platformer where you collect coins or gems. You can bank them at checkpoints, but if you die, you lose everything unbanked.
• Speedrunning risk: Each level has a safe but slow path, and a faster, more dangerous one.
• Bet your health: At the start of the level, you gamble some of your HP. Survive and it doubles, die and it’s gone.

After thinking it over, the first idea is the best fit for the jam scope . Simple to implement, but still a clear tie to the theme. The other two I’ll keep in mind as stretch mechanics or possible expansions post-jam.

Assets & theme

I decided to go with a mining theme. The “biscuit” becomes gems, riskier paths reward more gems, but dying means losing what you haven’t banked. For the jam, I’m using Kenney’s Pixel Platformer bundle. It’s colorful, instantly usable, and gives me a fast foundation. I can always swap art later if I want to expand into a monetised product.

The plan

• Build the risk/bank loop as the jam MVP.
• Add optional polish or extra mechanics (like betting health or time pressure) only if time allows.
• Keep focus: one character, one tileset, one collectible, one hazard.

I thought about streaming the process, but for this jam I’ll focus fully on Godot and the game itself. Streaming can come later once the core loop feels more natural.

Progress so far

• ✅ Player movement (running & jumping, with animations).
• ✅ First tilemap/world setup.

A small step, but the foundation is there. Next up: gems, banking checkpoints, and hazards to bring the “risk it” part to life.

Catch you in the next log.