What is fun questionmark

As I struggle with finishing gamejam projects I asked myself why. Often my ideas are too complicated, overscoped and simply not fun. The main gameloop isnt fun, which I then try to compensate by combining different gameloops which then seem fun to me. But as I am inexperienced I am not able to see if these mechanics together really are fun. What if these combined work-intensive gameloops and gamemechanics are not fun? What if I can not see that because I am not that experienced? What if, as I can not create a simple fun gameloop, I am not able to create a fun game that consists of multiple gameloops that should be fun? Do I expect them to be fun if I combine them together?

What AI recommends is to focus and consider incremental design. Build 1.0 in a gamejam, and then expand it post jam if its fun and people engage with it.

What things do I like?

coop (helping, being faster or smarter and then help out)
building (and defending, it has to have a use, bridges, towers, walls)
progression (understanding mechanics and upgrading, unlocking)

I should maybe add a question to every gamejam I take part in:

What’s the smallest, most focused version of a game I love that I could make in 48 hours? Not a simplified version of a big idea, a complete, polished, micro-game.

Example would be a tiny tower defense where only 3 unit types and 3 tower types exist. But if combined the synergies that are created are deep enough that players engage in the content.

Idea Coop game, every player has his own world and builds, farms and upgrades materials. Special materials are only in dungeons, so players need to cooperate. They combine both their attack power (items, units they can produce etc) and challenge a dungeon.

Or players need to send each other resources because they live in different bioms and can only progress if they got resources from other players. Think of the hoi mechanic where one has to trade resources, but one does not give factory capacity to other players, but establish trading maps.

Start with a recettear inspired game where only the dungeon is to be explored.

(Source: Game is called “Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale”)

So I like dungeons? But I also like sci fi and ODST…

Thats a good idea. Lets continue here, but i have to finish that baked lighting stuff first.