How to Jam?

There are countless guides out there for participating in a game jam, making a game and more... And in essence, they all touch the core parts how you can approach the jam time. So, any know-how you acquire before the jam, is helpful. That said, also none of it is the 100% success guarantee guide or review, including this one. Everybody has his own way of working, his own pace, ambitions, goals and thoughts. But, eventually you will find your way of how to approach things to maximize the chance (still no guarantee) of success. This brings it to the key points, what you should think about to clarify before the jam starts:

• Decide to go solo -or- meet up with a team, meet & greet & communicate, as you all are in the same boat once you team up
• Make sure to set the expectations right, for yourself and for each team member
• Hold your thoughts (pen, paper, document, ...) and communicate them well - to not forget and so that team members are as good aligned as possible
• Prepare your tools and items, which you want to use during the jam (for us it was: Discord, Trello, Github, Fmod, Unity with some key assets/scripts) - and get familiar with them if you don't know them yet

Sounds like not a lot and quite obvious, but from past experiences & discussions - it is not always "normal". Sure, the project can still run well and be successful, but the better things are prepared, organized and communicated, the higher the chances to reach the goal.

Ultimately, jams are about having fun and learn new things... but of course everybody is even happier, when you can reach the previously set goal: Submit a completed game, which you can be proud of. :)