NOT THE BEES

The initial concept

Our initial concept for the game was two political leaders that were trying to convince a crowd to join them. Each player would influence neutral citizens, converting citizens one by one to join their party, until they overpowered the other party, and won.

Suddenly, bees

As we continued to make the game, we decided it would be a fun edition to have the followers attack the other party candidate. During play testing, the tiny citizens would erratically fly towards into other citizens and players, and we made little challenges between ourselves to "not get stung by the bees". We found that this was wonderfully entertaining, and pursued this premise further and further. And further. And further.

What our game became

NOT THE BEES is a deeply philosophical simulation of life, meaning, and the inevitability of suffering. It simulates bees to the finest degree, their movement fully based on gravitational force that their victims exert upon them. Like suffering, it is not the bees that seek out their victims, but the victims, that seek out the bees.

Conclusion

This is our first hackathon, and as a first project, it was enjoyable, entertaining, and full of great memories. The game itself, while ugly, is pretty fun to play, and while it's not something that would win a prize, creating it was definitely a great experience.