WOLVES IN

THE WOOL

Brackeys Game Jam 2026.2

Play it here!

Project Goals

Development of design and communication skills
Working within a limited timeline to make a polished game
Time management skills and multitasking ability between projects

Research & Planning

Game Design

The team came together for the game jam and a week prior to the beginning, we decided to do a mini 8-hour jam to test our compatibility and better understand each other's workflow. While the scope of the pre-jam was too massive, one of the ideas pitched was themed around herding sheep. When the Brackey's theme of "Trust No One" was announced, the image of wolves in sheep's clothing came to mind. While many ideas were pitched by all team members, we ultimately decided to go ahead with this concept.

Our aim for this jam was to keep the game small in scope, allowing us more time to polish and even add levels as needed. The aim was to finish the game within 4-5 days. While the game is made for PC browsers, I took inspiration from many mobile games for the overall look and mechanics.

Development Process

Game Design

Once the pitch was chosen, I prepared the design materials and asset list. The documentation was primarily visual via graphs and charts, showing an overall breakdown of the game that the team could grasp quickly, rather than a more detailed but time-consuming GDD. This method also provided creative freedom for the art and audio team while giving a list of deliverables. Our aim was to have a playable prototype as soon as possible, so the issues in gameplay could be identified and resolved during playtest.

Many elements remained in the game from the beginning pitch. The primary control being mouse drag/click, the wolves being identified only via lifting, the lose condition being when a percentage of sheep were lost and the ability of the wolves to open doors. Early on the behaviour of the sheep was decided as well, prioritising moving in groups and towards empty parts of the level to keep players attentive towards them.

The scope of the game was expanded during development, allowing for larger levels and more free movement for the sheep. The lose condition was developed further, killing the sheep instead of turning them into wolves, to allow players more visual hints on where they could find the wolves. The drag mechanic for the sheep was adapted to allow players to drop them into pens without having to open them, thus saving time.

The game was submitted to the jam within the allotted time, and currently we are planning on developing the project further once judging has concluded and player feedback can be implemented.

Prototype and Testing

The prototype was done within 3 days, allowing for the rest of the time to be used in testing. Early versions of the game had the wolves multiplying endlessly, without providing players any way to pause the game. This was changed, and the lose condition numbers were edited to allow for a more balanced experience. The biggest change made to the game involved the wolves' interaction with the sheep. Earlier versions of the game would have one wolf target a sheep for a specific amount of time, after which that sheep would turn into a wolf. Each wolf could only target one sheep at a time, and if the two were separated during that time period, the counter would be stopped and the wolf would need to find a different target. Due to the lack of audio or visual cues to the player, this was changed to instead have the sheep be eaten by the end of the counter. This gave the player a hint of where to look for a wolf as well as better serving the narrative of the game. Other changes included adjusting the sizing of assets and modifying the tutorial and loading texts. Since the submission of the game, we have received feedback from players about the controls and zoom of the level, which we are looking to adjust in future versions of the game.

What Went Right

Prototype was finished quickly, allowing more time for polish and testing
Each department was able to work independently and communicate when needed
Game files are structured to allow for easy creation of future levels and content

What I Learnt

I was able to develop my communication and conceptualisation skills
Practice with playtest and critique skills
Have developed more intuition for visualisation of games and identifying problems early on thanks to both the jam attempts with this team

What Went Wrong

Team was fully remote, leading to delays in communication and less individual accountability
Initial balancing issues due to wolf population expanding as the game progressed
Level design was trial and error rather than being planned clearly

How I Overcame It

The team discussed and agreed upon specific timings at which to do briefings and resolve any issues over call
Game was balanced to account for this, killing the sheep instead of turning them into wolves
The level design was playtested to improve upon, and I am developing documentation for future iterations of this game to follow for level design