“CRAFT JAM” by Oscar Gonzalez, soves, Failpositive, WigglyGull, Chloe Halikias & Thimz.
“Rhythm based bullet hell where moving[, dodging and] crafting can only be done on the beat!”
The ten to fifteen minutes long rhythm game “CRAFT JAM” is a little emotional rollercoaster. First, you think you will be stuck in a boring resource mining task, but then an alien from the Music Planet comes along, drags you to its home and now you are mining again, but with smiling crosses running against you and a disco flair. Also, each of your movements must be perfectly matched to the beat.
But all the great audiovisual feedback, the sweet tunes and pixel art is not what makes “CRAFT JAM” special. It turns out that the alien is the only one inhabitant of this planet, making it feel lonely. What begins as a cute rhythm game suddenly gets a slightly bittersweet plot twist. Isolation hurts and can turn even the loveliest creatures to monsters for a moment. That is why this jam entry could be seen as a meta comment about the actual lockdown situation.
That makes certain sense, as all our lifes revolve about this topic right now, so why should that be any different for the creators of this game? Just take it as a nod towards yourself in the meaning of “Yeah, we are scared of being alone, too. We get you. But remember, we are all in this together.” At least, that is the way I interpreted “CRAFT JAM” in the end, and that made me smile for some minutes. And a reason to smile is one of the greatest gifts people can give each other. [PLAY]
