Bubble Hero

// 01 — The Challenge

Design, build, and ship a game in 48 hours

A global game jam gives you a theme, a clock, and nothing else. The pressure is real — every hour spent on scope that's too big is an hour you can't spend on polish. The challenge isn't just technical. It's knowing what to cut, what to prioritize, and how to keep a team moving when time is running out.

// 02 — Design Decisions

Scoping for a jam, not a studio

The top-down hack-and-slash genre was a deliberate choice — the camera angle is simple to implement, combat is immediately readable, and the loop of move-attack-survive is easy to understand without a tutorial.

Enemy AI was built using state-based logic — idle, chase, attack, dead — keeping the behavior readable and debuggable under time pressure. Simple systems that work reliably beat complex systems that break under crunch.

// 03 — What I Built

A complete game loop from scratch

As lead programmer and team lead, I was responsible for the core systems that made the game feel like a game — not just a technical demo.

Beyond the code, leading the team meant coordinating feature integration, managing the build pipeline, and making the call on what got cut when time ran short. Shipping on time was as much a leadership challenge as a technical one.

// 04 — Outcome & Reflection

What winning taught me

Winning Best Overall Game in a global jam with 48 hours on the clock confirmed something important — constraints make you better. When you can't gold-plate everything, you learn what actually matters to a player. Fun is a feeling, and that feeling comes from small details: how a hit registers, how the camera follows the player, how quickly enemies respond. Getting those right under pressure was the real win.

// Edit this section to reflect your honest experience — what the jam theme was, who was on your team, what you're most proud of, and what you'd improve.