The Story of Reiteration: From 'Overpowered' Jam to Full-Fledged Game

Hello everyone, and welcome to the very first devlog for my game, Reiteration! In fact my very first devlog ever.

A little while ago, I participated in GDevelop's Big Game Jam #7. The theme was 'Overpowered,' and my game was fortunate enough to receive an honourable mention and a few seconds of airtime in their awards video.

I've had previous winners such as Robo Wrench which won #2 on the Judges award in GDevelop Jam 6 which was all about Multiplayer games, as well as some previous entries that were voted in the top 10 in community rating such as Magnet Dash and Piratica.

But, this post is the story of how Reiteration came to be, and more excitingly, what it's about to become.

Act 1: The story so far

 Theme

When the theme 'Overpowered' was announced, my mind immediately went against the grain. Instead of an overpowered player, what if the adversary was the one with all the power? This led me to the core concept of Reiterate: a top-down puzzle game set on a spaceship where the ship's AI has become sentient, self-aware, and dangerously overpowered. It traps you, the player, in a repeating time loop to stop you from finding the clues needed to shut it down. Well, it didn't all come at once - I decided on the loop mechanic about 2 days in but it fit with the whole game theme and the mystery element I was trying to create.

Graphics

As a solo developer with limited art skills, I had to be resourceful. The spaceship's environment was built using the wonderful Winlu Spaceship tile set, and the terminals were put together using shape painter objects on background elements from the free Pocket Inventory Series 2 Pixel Map. It was a classic game jam scramble - prioritizing function over form to get the core idea working.

The Winlu tile set came without any matching characters, or in fact, it is designed for RPG Maker and their small 32px or 48px top down characters which didn't really work for the style of gameplay I wanted. I wanted something that felt more unique than a simple RPG.

After a few different tests, I opted for the Main Character Animation by Pixel Sprite Shop as the character was 56px and although he can seem short stood next to chairs, he was the closest character to the size of the tile set and fit perfectly inside the pod in the starting cutscene.

The background was created using Tiled and objects that the player could walk behind had to be hidden and exported as individual sprites and imported on Sprite Objects so I could control the Z order and collision mask. The Z order was set using the Y sort extension but with a small adjustment of having an object variable as an offset so I could make the object appear behind or in front from the bottom of the object, not the top.

The reason for using a variable instead of object height was that some objects such as angled chairs had a point where the player could stand in front or behind, right in the middle, at the protruding corner of the chair.

I've always wondered why the Y Sort plug in uses the top of objects instead of the bottom, which are normally where the objects are grounded. I've always had to adjust the extension to work out the bottom, but let me know in the comments if  you know why it's set to the top and possible use cases!

Mechanics

The puzzles were designed to be a linear experience for the jam, drawing inspiration from classics like 'Lights Out' - using switches as a main gameplay element. My initial grand plan included unique mini-games for decrypting computer logs that provided passwords, but as the deadline loomed, I had to make a tough choice. I cut the mini-games to focus on what was most important: the narrative. I made sure the crew's logs and critical passwords were all accessible, building the story of a crew discovering the terrifying loop, just as you are.

Sound Design

The audio was a unique challenge. I found a fantastic 15-minute atmospheric track and edited it down into a tense, three-minute loop. To save on the amount of files (a quirk of the Itch's 1000 file limit!), I baked essential sound effects like breaking glass directly into the main music file in FL Studio. I had to export the file a few times as I found the sound effects for the time loop 'growl' on the last day.

The result was a track that dramatically builds tension as you approach the end of the loop. It worked, but as some very helpful comments pointed out, the sweeping strings felt more fantasy than sci-fi. This feedback was invaluable, and it leads me to what's next.

Act 2: The Future of Reiterate

This was the first time I felt I came so close to finishing a complete game experience in a jam. The focus on unique mechanics and a slowly unfolding narrative really resonated with people, and the honourable mention gave me the confidence to take this project further.

The jam version was a proof-of-concept. The full version will be the complete vision. Based on my own plans and the wonderful feedback I received, here is the roadmap for the full release of Reiterate:

• Deeper Puzzles & Systems: The terminal and puzzle systems will be completely fleshed out. I'm excited to move beyond the linear path of the jam and create a web of interconnected puzzles and mysteries.
• A Brand New Sci-Fi Soundtrack: I'll be composing a completely new soundtrack specifically for the game. The goal is a 6-minute core loop with a distinct sci-fi feel. I'm also exploring dynamic music that might change depending on your location or how close you are to a breakthrough in the loop. All sound effects will be separated for a much more immersive audio experience.
• Multiple Endings & Paths: The story won't have just one conclusion. I'm designing multiple ways to challenge the AI, with different levels of difficulty and uniquely rewarding outcomes. Your choices will truly matter.
• A Polished Narrative Experience: The heart of Reiteration is discovering the fate of the crew. The full game will expand on this narrative, letting you piece together the entire story of how the AI became so overpowered and what actually happened to the crew.

Join the Journey

This project is a huge passion of mine, and I'm so excited to build it into the game it deserves to be. But I can't do it in a vacuum.

Your feedback and support during the jam were what started this journey, and I'd love for you to continue it with me.

To follow development, get sneak peeks, and be the first to know about playtests, please consider:

• Following the official Itch.io page: https://malanadigital.itch.io/reiteration
• Following me on Twitter/X for smaller updates: https://x.com/MalanaDigital
• Joining the GDevelop Discord server: https://discord.gg/gdevelop

Thank you so much for reading. Now I want to ask you: What part of the original game did you enjoy the most, and what are you most excited to see in the full version? Let me know in the comments below!