1st Place - Best Gameplay

About This Achievement

GMTK Game Jam 2024 was one of the largest game jams ever held, with over 5,000 submissions from developers around the world. The theme was “Built to Scale” and I created Pixel Dungeon Escape — a roguelike dungeon crawler where the difficulty scales dynamically with your progress.

The Challenge

The 48-hour time limit pushed me to focus on what matters most: core gameplay. I had to make quick decisions about scope and prioritize features that would make the game fun to play.

Key Features That Won

• Dynamic Difficulty Scaling: The dungeon adapts to your playstyle
• Tight Controls: Every input feels responsive and intentional
• Risk/Reward Mechanics: Players choose when to push forward or retreat
• Procedural Generation: Every run is unique

What I Learned

This jam taught me the importance of playtesting early and often. I spent the last 6 hours just refining the game feel based on feedback, and that made all the difference.

Reception

The judges praised the game for its polished feel and addictive gameplay loop. Many players mentioned they kept coming back for “just one more run” — which is exactly what I was aiming for!