Our second game jam was the GMTK 2025 Game Jam. We went in wanting to apply everything we had learned from the Kenny Jam and make something more polished and complete. I think we pulled it off (we definitely did considering the results).
One of the biggest changes we made this time was building the essentials first - settings menu, level select, a way to actually close the game (very important!!). We didn't get to any of that last time and it made Solar Charged feel very unfinished and lacking. Getting those things out of the way early also gave us more time to think carefully about the core idea before we started implementing it.
The theme was "Loop". The concept we landed on was defining a sequence of movement commands that loop endlessly. You select a set of moves, hit play, and your character repeats them until they either win the level or you stop it manually. To complete a level you have to slay every enemy - sounds simple, but once rotation gets introduced it gets genuinely difficult (if you don't believe me try it yourself).
We actually did very well in the rankings. A very exciting surpise considering how our first jam went. Out of over 9,500 submissions, we ranked 583rd in Enjoyment - top 6%. That's the second game we've ever made. Quite motivating to see it do well and be enjoyed by so many people. There's a final cutscene if you make it all the way through, and if you get stuck there's a hints and solutions sheet on the itch.io page.
Despite how well we did, it was clear the game had some noticeable flaws. Rotations specifically were not only hard to really plan out and visualize, but they also made it super hard to make levels for us. This problem with a core feature in our game was something that prevented many players from getting past a lot of levels. I know when I would show people the game, they could often get through the first few levels, but would get stuck and just give up when rotations became necessary.
Overall, this game wasn't perfect, but it was a huge step up from our first jam and we're really proud of how it turned out. Again, go give it a shot! Maybe you'll reach the super cool ending cutscene.
Links
Rat Haven Studios