SaltFactory: A Full Sail GameJam Adventure

In January 2015, I joined a group of friends for an incredible GameJam experience at Full Sail University in Orlando. While I was studying Computer Science at University of North Florida in Jacksonville, we made the trip down to participate in this intensive collaborative game development event. What emerged was SaltFactory - a 2D platformer that became a testament to the power of team collaboration and rapid game development.

Team Contribution Overview

SaltFactory emerged from the intense collaborative energy of a Full Sail University GameJam. Our team of six developers from different backgrounds came together to tackle the complexities of modern game development using LibGDX.

Development Team & Contributions

📊 SaltFactory GameJam Team Contributions
👨‍💻 Tyler Tracey        ██████████████████████████ 57 commits (34%)
👨‍💻 Riley Prescott      ███████████████████████    54 commits (32%)
👨‍💻 Justin Gagnon       █████████████████████      51 commits (30%)
👨‍💻 mwgeneral           █                           4 commits (2%)
👨‍💻 BSharp94            █                           3 commits (2%)

Total: 169 commits across 3 intensive days.

Why LibGDX for GameJam Development?

Our team chose LibGDX for its GameJam-friendly characteristics:

Rapid prototyping with immediate cross-platform builds
Team-friendly Java codebase enabling quick onboarding
Rich ecosystem of tools for fast asset integration
Real-time testing across multiple platforms during development
Proven performance under GameJam time constraints

Technical Highlights

Multi-Platform Architecture

LibGDX’s cross-platform architecture allowed us to deploy SaltFactory across multiple platforms from a single codebase, with separate modules for Desktop, Android, and HTML5 targets.

Key Game Systems

Our team implemented several core systems that showcased collaborative development:

State Management: Clean game state transitions and level loading
Input Handling: Centralized keyboard and touch input processing
Box2D Physics: Realistic collision detection and movement mechanics
Audio System: Dynamic music and sound effect management
Tiled Map Integration: Professional level editing with multi-layered environments
Asset Pipeline: Efficient sprite packing and texture management

Extended Development Timeline

4-Month Development Journey

Analysis of the ‘tyler’ branch reveals SaltFactory was more than a weekend GameJam - it became an extended collaborative learning project:

Phase 1 - GameJam Foundation (Jan 15-25, 2015)

Initial LibGDX setup and core architecture
Basic game mechanics and physics integration
Team workflow establishment
~60 commits establishing the foundation

Phase 2 - Feature Development (Jan 26 - Mar 2015)

Advanced gameplay mechanics and level design
Audio system implementation and sound integration
Cross-platform optimization and testing
~80 commits of intensive feature work

Phase 3 - Polish & Expansion (Apr 2015)

Final balancing and gameplay refinement
Additional content creation and level design
Performance optimization and bug fixes
~29 commits focused on polish and completion

Real-Time Collaboration Challenges

GameJam development taught us essential teamwork skills:

🔄 Live Collaboration Patterns

├── Feature Branches
│   ├── justinsbranch (UI/Menus)
│   ├── rileybranch (Levels/Art)
│   ├── max (Audio/Effects)
│   └── tyler (Physics/Player/Tiled)
│
├── Integration Points
│   ├── "Merge pull request #7" (Major feature merge)
│   ├── "libgdx ftw" (Framework milestone)
│   ├── "totally done done" (Feature completion)
│   └── "world 1 finished" (Content milestone)
│
└── Rapid Iteration
    └── 100+ commits in 72 hours = ~1.4 commits/hour

The intensive merge activity reflects the reality of GameJam development - multiple developers pushing boundaries simultaneously while maintaining a cohesive vision.

Team Impact and Key Contributions

Tyler Tracey (Project lead - 57 commits, 34%): Cross-platform architecture, system integration, and gameplay balancing across multiple commit identities.

Justin Gagnon (Core developer - 51 commits, 30%): LibGDX framework expertise, technical architecture, and team mentoring.

Riley Prescott (Full Sail student - 54 commits, 32%): Physics systems, gameplay mechanics, and level design implementation.

Supporting Team: mwgeneral (audio), BSharp94 (testing) provided specialized contributions that rounded out the complete game experience.

Note: If you’re one of the SaltFactory team members, reach out to get your current profile linked!

Key Takeaways

Technical Learning: LibGDX proved excellent for rapid prototyping and cross-platform deployment. The project taught us about collaborative architecture design, physics integration, and performance optimization under time constraints.

Collaboration Skills: Managing distributed version control with multiple active branches, coordinating feature integration, and maintaining code standards across different programming backgrounds became essential skills that influenced our future work.

Retrospective

SaltFactory evolved from a GameJam weekend into a 4-month learning journey that demonstrated the power of collaborative game development. Our UNF-Full Sail team proved that combining different educational backgrounds - computer science rigor with industry-focused workflows - creates solutions neither institution could achieve alone.

Beyond the technical achievements (cross-platform deployment, physics integration, professional tooling), SaltFactory forged lasting professional relationships. The patterns we established - distributed development, component architecture, rapid prototyping - continue to influence our approach to teamwork today.

Most importantly, SaltFactory proved that ambitious creative projects thrive when talented people combine their unique strengths toward a shared vision.

🐍 Snake