Play the game on itch.io

Inspiration

Inspired by anxiety about how I sometimes talk in roundabout sentences and can't always find the right words, and how maybe that's okay.

What it does

It's a simple game about building a sentence from words scattered around a small space. You get a prompt describing information you want to get across to another person in a conversation, and have to find the words to build a sentence that conveys that meaning. However, you may not always be able to find the right words every time. At least, that's what the game's meant to be, I didn't get too far.

How I built it

I built the game in the FOSS game engine Godot, and programmed the functionality in GDScript. I also created all art assets myself in GIMP.

Challenges I ran into

My main challenge was that I wasn't actually very familiar with Godot before programming this, so I had to do a lot of learning on the fly. I didn't end up getting that deep into what's possible with the engine, but learning the basics took a decent bit of time. It was worth it though, I'm getting more comfortable with using it and I think it's what I want to use for personal game projects in the future.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

This was my first major project made in Godot, and also the first solo project I've submitted to a game jam in a (mostly) finished state!

What I learned

On the practical side, I learned how to create a basic 2D scene in Godot, but I also learned that I have some trouble with the game jam format. I've done game jams in the past, but I've only submitted a finished project working on a team, where I mostly worked as an artist. Working as a programmer on this jam, I found it difficult to keep myself focused and to not let the tight deadline spook me too much. Maybe I would be better doing jams when I have less other work to do, or when I have a more stable work-life balance, or maybe I just need to get more comfortable with working quickly using my tools of choice.

What's next for Talking Simulator

I think the gameplay would be simple enough that it can allow me to make a lot of different permutations. These could provide both fun challenges for the player and insight into the player character's mindset and those around them. If I have the time, I want to build it into a full game that follows the character through a week of their life and the conversations they have during it.

Built With

• gdscript
• godot