Post Mortem

Overall, I found the game jam to be fun and valuable

I learned javascript
I made a couple of games

What went well:
Creating a camera definitely made keeping track of the coordinate system easier than last time. With that sorted out I was able to simply center the camera "object" on the user and not think about it for the rest of the game jam

Not worrying about art made the game considerably less stressful. I see why art is usually the last element to be added.

Items and item acquisition with the camera/coordinate system was a relatively easy thing to implement, although they are not pretty to see. 

The game itself was all right. I was able to implement a trait system which works, as well as three AI types. The gameplay, however, is very poor.

What did not:

The gameplay needs work. By this I am referring to the speed with which the characters move, the amount of time it takes to kill a character and the movements of the characters throughout the world.
The speed. With the trait system I need a variable speed which would scale fairly based on how many trait points were allocated to the speed stat. This worked for the most part, but because there are no boundaries to the game characters would take off across the map never to be seen again. In theory they would return, but because the attack was too weak it took a very long time. The final of my game has a tenuously balanced speed/attack ratio.

What I would do differently:

Planning.  I found myself completing my original plan early. A more rigorous plan would have pushed and aided me towards a more complicated and tune result.

I also might make my next game turn-based.

What I took away from the experience:

It was a good experience. And a great way to spend winter study. I am sure that I will continue making games.

Thanks Mike.