This year we joined GBJam 13, with the classic Game Boy limitations:

🎨 4 colors · 📺 160×144 pixels · 🎮 simple controls

The theme was “Unlucky”, and at first it wasn’t easy to figure out how to approach it.
We started with the idea of a game where you always had bad luck and had to solve problems knowing adversity was guaranteed.

Then we remembered a common saying in our country: “If you’re really unlucky, lightning will strike you twice.”
So we thought: what if you’re so unlucky that you attract every lightning bolt?
That became the core concept: a character cursed to be struck by lightning all the time… unless they place a lightning rod to survive.

🎮 From concept to gameplay

We weren’t sure if the game should be a platformer, a puzzle, or something else. Eventually, we decided on a boss rush, where the main mechanic is turning your curse into your weapon.

We didn’t manage to implement everything we had in mind, but we did create several bosses with their own identity.

🐦 The first boss

We needed a clear way to show why lightning always struck the same place as the player. The solution was a flying boss whose shadow revealed the impact zone.

• It attacked with lightning strikes and side hits to force dodges.

• It only activated once you entered the center of the arena. To guide players there without big signs, we added birds flying away when approached.

• It was the boss with the most animations and detail.

We also knew that in a Game Jam most players only try a game for 1–10 minutes. That meant the first impression had to matter the most, so this was the boss we gave the most love and polish to. In the end, its skeleton even reminded us of Hollow Knight—probably because of all the time we’ve spent playing for Silksong 😅.

🛡️ The second boss

The original idea was a boss with multiple breakable parts. You’d be able to stick the lightning rod into a broken section, attract a strike, and destroy it.

But it got too complex to explain without text, and since text boxes were limited, we simplified the fight:
The boss rams into the wall, weakens its armor, and then you can strike.

🔮 The third boss

This one was inspired by The Legend of Zelda fights where you play volleyball with the enemy. Meanwhile, lightning keeps falling from above, forcing you to juggle reflexes and timing.

☯️ The final boss

The last fight represents your bad luck… or your good luck.

• At first, it’s untouchable and moves in perfect symmetry.

• The key is to use the lightning rod strategically: drop it on the ground and trick the boss into standing on it.

• While you’re trying that, the boss also rains down lightning, and we removed most of the usual strike indicators to make it a real challenge.

⚖️ The challenge of balance

One of the hardest parts was balancing timing and movement.
We analyzed:

• how much the player could move,

• the timing windows for lightning strikes to feel fair,

• and how long a dash should last to work reliably.

But in practice, it turned into constant adjustments. The math wasn’t enough—gameplay had to feel right. Within the Jam’s limitations, tuning everything was challenging and often came down to playtesting and iteration.

🚧 What we couldn’t finish

Time ran short, and we had to cut some mechanics, bosses, and text systems we had planned. Still, we’re proud of the result: a game where bad luck itself becomes your greatest weapon.

👾 From Up A Lightning was created for GBJam 13
By @Crull & @JhonaMath ✨