If you’re looking for an imagination exercise, look no further than the latest crop of games from Philly Dev Night’s monthly game jam: steer a “friendship train,” make pretend sandwiches or trace the skies with simulated ink.
The group has been meeting monthly at Indy Hall since April, following the shutdown of game-focused coworking space Philly Game Forge. There’s also a new crop of organizers at the helm, who have dubbed themselves the “Philly Dev Knights.”
For the month of July, the games had a bit of a theme: quick, repeatable “core game loops” no longer than seven seconds in length.
We just wrapped up our July jam! Play all the great games at https://t.co/IvzqV6fQML #gamedev #indiegame #gamejam #Philadelphia
— PhillyDevNight (@PhillyDevNight) July 21, 2017
Here’s the lineup of games with public, playable demos. (Full disclosure: This reporter was just terrible at every single one, except at Friendship Train when aided by Technical.ly Editorial Intern Nia Dickens.)
Star Mapper, by Travis Chandler
Armed with a limited supply of ink, you have seven seconds to trace given constellations out of a group of stars. Don’t let the ink supply fool you: it can run out quickly.
Play the gameStar Mapper by @TravestyChan pic.twitter.com/9zeh1dxQWh
— PhillyDevNight (@PhillyDevNight) July 21, 2017
Seven Second Sandwich Simulator, by Jason Corbett
Can you make a sammich for yourself in seven seconds IRL? Unlikely. (Editor’s note: A boy can dream.) With this simple game, you can at least give it a digital shot.
Play the gameSeven Second Samurai, by Jerry Aviles
A samurai-themed game of rock-paper-scissors that has an incredibly tight timeframe. Play with a friend and the best two-out-of-three wins.
Play the game7 Second Samurai by Jerry @JerryAviles for the Micro Mechanic Jam! pic.twitter.com/wY0ugqVgAI
— PhillyDevNight (@PhillyDevNight) July 21, 2017
Friendship Train, by Kevin Mai
This was the crowd’s favorite at the showcase last week. The idea is that you steer a train cooperatively with a friend through three tracks, hopping between them to avoid bombs, obstacles and (yikes) humans. The catch: You gotta press the keys at the same time or it won’t work.
Play the gameRide the Friendship Train with @kmai270 pic.twitter.com/jE9hmlKGrP
— PhillyDevNight (@PhillyDevNight) July 21, 2017
Bonus: game dev Kotaro Fujita also put together a game during the jam. Puck Strike, a mobile air hockey simulator, is currently in development but you can see a quick trailer here.