After nearly a year, I wanted to reflect on the results of this game jam because I have some thoughts.

So, I broke my shoulder because of this game jam. I thought I wasn't trying to win. I promised myself that I wouldn't go hard. I even thought I took it easy. As usual, I don't have the luxury of being able to participate for the full jam. Due to life, work and other responsibilities, I usually only get a few days to devote to it, but I made a plan and stuck to it to avoid scope creep. Stayed up just a little later than normal. Woke up a little earlier than normal. Nothing too drastic. I even submitted the game with time to spare. I took a nap for 5 hours, woke up and could have never guessed how drastically my life was about to change.

I ate a quick breakfast, fine. I drove to the gym, fine. I warmed up, everything was fine. As I was lightly jogging around the outdoor sports track, for a moment I saw stars and collapsed into the ground hard. My shoulder took 100% of the fall due to the momentum. I was on the ground for about 10 seconds and when I tried to get up, I couldn't move my arm at all. I also didn't feel anything. A doctor was there at the gym and checked me out and recommend that I go to the hospital immediately because I might have a dislocated shoulder.

I rode the ambulance and started to feel something. It wasn't a good feeling... like my upper arm was on fire. The paramedic told me it might be because I damaged the connective tissues in my shoulder when I fell. I felt every bump in that ambulance ride. I arrived at the emergency room and the doctor did a quick X-ray to determine that my arm was indeed dislocated. They tried several times to set it back into place. After about four times, they gave up. Something else was going on. They gave me a shot of pain killer directly to my neck which made all the pain go away and I also couldn't talk or swallow. A loud pop echoed through the emergency room and they were able to reset my arm. In total, it took 7 attempts.

I took a second X-ray to confirm my arm was back in place and waited for about an hour to be told that it was still dislocated. The pain was real as the pain killer wore off. They said that due to the nature of the fall, I had broke, dented the head/top of my upper arm bone and it was vital for keeping the arm set. The type of dislocation was called an anterior dislocation. Is it rare?

I was taken to an operating room and the doctors put me under while they set my arm and made adjustments. When I woke up, I had a cast and instead of my arm being positioned against my body with a cool sling, it was set outward like I was serving food at a restaurant. The hospital was really great and the staff were really excellent.

For the next 3 months, I lived with basically one arm. After getting the cast off, my arm was so weak and had little muscle. I did physical therapy. twice a week for a couple months. After about a year, my shoulder is now back to normal. If I ever injure my arm again, I was told that surgery will be the only option.

For every single person that played RedBot, thank you. Honestly, if I was destined to break my shoulder, somebody playing my game makes me feel like it meant something. So few people play my jam games, but if no one did, I think I would give up programming after this experience. In any case, please be careful during game jams.

Please jam responsibly. Get proper sleep, drink water, stand up and exercise. This is a cautionary tale. Thank you for reading.