Grave Defender: Learning Godot in 5 Days During Brackeys Game Jam 2021

Game jams have a special place in the hearts of developers. There’s something uniquely thrilling about the constraint of limited time forcing you to make rapid decisions, cut scope aggressively, and ship something-anything-that resembles your original vision.

In August 2021, I participated in Brackeys Game Jam 2021.2 with a goal that was perhaps overly ambitious: learn Godot from scratch while creating a complete game in just 5 days.

The Challenge: Everything at Once

The Setup: Brackeys Game Jam 2021.2 with its theme and tight timeline
The Goal: Create a playable game combining tower defense and top-down shooter mechanics
The Catch: I’d never used Godot before, and I wanted to handle programming, music, and even some art

Looking back, this was either brilliantly ambitious or gloriously naive. Probably both.

Meet Grave Defender

The result was Grave Defender, a game where you play as a wizard defending gravestones from undead hordes. The concept emerged from wanting to blend two genres I enjoy:

Core Mechanics:

Tower Defense: Build defensive towers and strategically place them
Direct Combat: Control your wizard directly with wand shots and fireballs
Resource Management: Use daylight strategically to gain advantages
Objective: Prevent undead from reclaiming the gravestones

The gameplay loop centers around this tension between active combat and strategic tower placement-do you focus on building defenses or dive into the action yourself?

Technical Deep Dive: Learning Godot Under Pressure

Coming from other game engines and general software development, Godot presented both familiar concepts and unique approaches. The game’s codebase (originally named “Moria” internally) reveals the complexity we achieved in just 5 days:

What Worked Well

Node-Based Architecture: Godot’s scene system clicked immediately. Coming from a software engineering background, the component-based approach felt natural and modular.

GDScript: The Python-like syntax was approachable, though I occasionally missed stronger typing. For a jam timeline, the quick iteration cycle was more valuable than compile-time safety.

Integrated Audio: Godot’s built-in audio system made it straightforward to implement the music and sound effects I was creating alongside the code.

The Learning Curve Challenges

Documentation Gaps: In 2021, some Godot documentation was still catching up to the engine’s capabilities. Stack Overflow had fewer Godot-specific answers compared to Unity or Unreal.

Performance Considerations: Understanding Godot’s optimal patterns took time I didn’t have. Some early architectural decisions led to frame rate drops that required late-night refactoring.

Tool Workflow: Switching between different modes in the editor wasn’t yet muscle memory, slowing down iteration.

Technical Achievements Under Pressure

Looking at the commit history and codebase, we managed to implement surprisingly sophisticated systems:

Procedural World Generation: The game features a 4x4 grid system where new map sections spawn dynamically at night, connected to existing areas. Each section uses one of 12 hand-crafted prefabs, creating variety while maintaining consistent gameplay flow.

Dynamic Enemy System: We implemented multiple enemy types with distinct behaviors:

FastZombie: High-speed low-health units
FatZombie: Tank enemies with high health
SmartZombie: AI that adapts to player behavior
WizardZombie: Ranged enemies with magical attacks
SkeletalArcher: Long-range bow attackers

Minimap with Real-time Updates: A fully functional minimap system that shows explored areas, captured territories, and player position with color-coded states (blue for safe, red for captured, green for defended).

Day/Night Cycle with Gameplay Impact: Time of day affects resource generation, enemy spawning, and visual atmosphere with integrated weather effects.

The Music Production Side

One aspect I’m particularly proud of was creating all the music and sound effects during the jam. This presented its own time management challenges:

Audio Direction: I aimed for atmospheric, slightly dark tones that matched the undead theme while keeping energy high for the action sequences.

Production Constraints: With limited time, I focused on:

Simple but effective melodies that loop seamlessly
Punchy sound effects for combat feedback
Ambient background tracks that enhance mood without distracting

Technical Integration: Learning Godot’s audio system while composing meant I could test audio implementation in real-time, leading to better integration between music and gameplay.

The “Programmer Art” Experience

Let’s be honest: my artistic contributions were definitively in the “programmer art” category. Working with Evil Pacman on actual art assets highlighted the massive difference between functional placeholder graphics and assets that enhance the player experience.

What I Learned:

Even basic placeholder art benefits from consistent color palettes
Simple animations can dramatically improve game feel
Collaborating with an actual artist makes everything look exponentially better

Game Jam Lessons Learned

Scope Management

The Reality Check: My original vision was about 3x larger than what was feasible. Learning to cut features aggressively while preserving the core experience was crucial.

Priority Framework: I developed a simple hierarchy:

Core gameplay loop working
Basic audio feedback
Win/lose conditions
Polish and additional features

Time Management Under Pressure

Development Rhythm:

Days 1-2: Learning Godot basics + core mechanics
Days 3-4: Feature implementation + music production
Day 5: Polish, bug fixes, and submission prep

The Music Parallel: Creating audio content in parallel with coding was actually beneficial-it provided creative breaks that prevented burnout while still contributing to the project.

Collaboration Dynamics

Working with GetCreative on design and Evil Pacman on art taught me valuable lessons about remote jam collaboration:

Clear communication about scope and responsibilities
Regular check-ins to ensure everyone’s working toward the same vision
Flexibility when someone’s strengths can cover another’s gaps

Git History Reveals the Story: The commit messages tell the tale of our crunch: from “initial commit” through “lots of stuff” and “most features done” to the final “dawn-of-final-day” branch merge. GetCreative focused on UI polish while I handled core systems and audio.

Technical Retrospective

What Went Right:

Modular code architecture made late changes manageable
Early focus on core gameplay loop paid dividends
Integrated audio implementation enhanced the player experience

What I’d Do Differently:

Spend more time on Godot tutorials before the jam started
Plan audio assets earlier in the development cycle
Implement basic save/settings functionality (player feedback highlighted this omission)

Asset Pipeline Insights: We used a mix of purchased placeholder assets for rapid prototyping and custom-created final assets. All shipping art was original work, including custom sprites for towers, fireballs, wizard enemies, and UI elements. The game features 5 original music tracks (daytime.wav, dusk.wav, nightstorm.wav) plus custom sound effects for combat, interactions, and environmental audio.

The Broader Context: Game Development as a Software Engineer

This project reinforced several parallels between game development and traditional software engineering:

Rapid Prototyping: Game jams mirror MVP development-get something working quickly, then iterate based on feedback.

Technical Debt Trade-offs: Time constraints force pragmatic decisions about code quality vs. functionality.

User Experience Focus: Players provide immediate, honest feedback about what works and what doesn’t.

Post-Jam Reflections

Grave Defender received a 3.0/5 rating, which for a first Godot project felt like a solid achievement. More importantly, the experience:

Gave me practical Godot knowledge I still use today
Reinforced my interest in audio implementation and game music
Demonstrated that cross-disciplinary skills (coding + music) create unique opportunities

Would I Do It Again?

Absolutely. Game jams offer a unique learning environment where constraints force creativity and rapid skill development. The combination of programming, music production, and game design challenges different parts of your brain in ways that traditional software projects don’t.

For other developers considering game jams: embrace the chaos. The tight timeline isn’t a bug, it’s a feature. Some of the best creative decisions happen when you don’t have time to overthink them.

Play Grave Defender

Curious about the final result? You can play Grave Defender on itch.io. It’s a browser game, so no download required.

The game represents a snapshot in time-5 days of learning, creating, and problem-solving under pressure. While it’s not perfect, it’s a complete experience that taught me valuable lessons about game development, time management, and the creative process.

Interested in game development, Godot, or music production for games? I’d love to discuss techniques, share resources, or hear about your own game jam experiences. Reach out on Twitter or email.

🐍 Snake