Postmortem on a 9-Day Game Jam -
3 Lessons in Remote Production

Just wrapped up an intense 9-day remote game jam for our project, 'BeanBlock'! It was a whirlwind of creativity, problem-solving, and a massive learning experience.

A huge thank you to the incredibly talented team of artists, designers, and programmer who poured their hearts into this.

While every jam is a success for the learning alone, this one provided some crucial lessons in remote production that I'll be taking with me to every project going forward.

1. The MVP is a Promise, Not a Suggestion

The biggest takeaway was the critical importance of locking scope to the Minimum Viable Product (MVP). It's always tempting to chase 'fun' new features during a jam, but we learned that any deviation from the core plan before it's stable puts the entire project at risk. A small, polished, and finished game is always better than a big, broken one. My focus as a producer moving forward will be on rigorously protecting the MVP.

2. Onboard Your Tools Before the Clock Starts

In a remote jam, your tools (like Trello, Perforce, and Discord) are your office. We learned that you can't assume everyone has the same level of comfort or discipline with them. Moving forward, a mandatory session for tool onboarding and process alignment is a non-negotiable part of my production playbook. A clear process that everyone understands and follows from minute one is the key to remote success.

3. Prioritize Time Zone Alignment

We had a fantastic team spread across the globe, but the vast time zone differences made real-time communication nearly impossible. This created delays in solving blockers that could have been fixed in minutes with a quick video call. I've learned that for short, intense sprints like a game jam, prioritizing a team within a similar time zone is a massive strategic advantage for communication and team cohesion.

Every game jam is a crucible that forges better developers. While I'm proud of what we created, I'm even more proud of the lessons we learned. A huge thank you again to the entire BeanBlock team for their hard work and incredible talent. Can't wait for the next one!