Cookie Crumble — Lutz Hollstein

Short Description

Cookie Crumble ist ein 2.5D, Side-Scroller/Plattformer: der Spieler steuert eine Maus durch eine Küche, sammelt Keks-Krümel und Käse-Stücke(Highscore) und muss am Levelende einen Boss überwinden, um an den großen Keks zu gelangen. Fokus für dieses Projekt: während der Game Jam rechtzeitig fertig werden und viel Zeit für Playtesting und Polishing haben.

Background

"Cookie Crumble" was developed for the "Brackeys Game Jam 2025.2" (August 24–31, 2025) by a friend and me. My primary role in the team was programming, while I also created some 3D models for the environment. The goal of the game jam was to create a polished, well-playable single-level platformer with solid gameplay.

Gameplay

One level: the player (a mouse) runs from left to right through a kitchen.
Enemies block the path and can be defeated by jumping on their heads.
Collectibles: cookie crumbs and pieces of cheese as a scoring mechanic.
At the end, a boss awaits. If the player defeats the boss, they reach the large cookie and win the game.
Objective: complete the level and optionally improve the score (speedrun / high score).

Screenshot: Level-Layout (Übersicht) — Screenshot: Level-Layout (übersicht)

- Development & Technology -

Technical Details

Engine: Unreal Engine (Blueprints / Visual Scripting)
Source Control: GitHub
Team: 2 people (me: Lead Programmer & secondary Artist; 1 Lead Artist & secondary Programmer)
Development time: Game jam week (August 24–31, 2025)
Status: Jam prototype, a fully playable single level

Features

Pickups

Cookie Crumbs

Collectible for the high score mechanic. Often placed along the obvious path. Total number distributed throughout the level: 40.

Rarity: Common

Cheese

Collectible for the high score mechanic. Placed in hard-to-reach positions. Total number distributed throughout the level: 12.

Rarity: Rare

Double Jump

Once the player collects this pickup, the double jump mechanic is permanently unlocked.

Rarity: Unique

1-Up

Restores one of the player's lives. The player respawns at the respawn point.

Rarity: Rare

Speed Up

Increases the player's movement speed by 50% for 20 seconds.

Rarity: Common

Watermelon

Allows the player to fire projectiles for 10 seconds using the X key.

Rarity: Rare

Stopwatch

Allows the player to reduce the movement speed of all enemies by 50% for 10 seconds.

Rarity: Rare

Enemies

Jump on enemies!

If the player lands on an enemy after falling, the enemy is defeated.

Fly

Flys back and forth between point A and B.

HP: 1

Fly(fast)

Flys fast back and forth between point A and B.

HP: 1

Roach

Moves back and forth along the ground between point A and B.

HP: 1

Wasp

Follows the player while flying.

HP: 1

Wasp Queen

The queen of the wasps! Final boss.

HP: 30

Environmental Hazards

Stove

Heats up periodically and then turns off again.

Water Droplets

In certain areas of the level, water drips from above. The droplets deal damage to the player!

Challenge → Solution

Challenge: Achieving satisfying jump and collision feel within a short jam week, while still having enough time for thorough playtesting.
-> Solution: Focus on a few well-crafted mechanics. Create an early minimal playable build, followed by targeted playtest sessions to fine-tune jump height, jump control, enemy HP, etc.
Challenge: Limited team size / art resources → clear prioritization required.
-> Solution: Create art assets specifically for the most important level playthrough; prioritize gameplay polish over additional feature ideas.
Challenge: The textures of my art assets were not satisfactory to me considering the time investment
-> Solution: I focused solely on modeling the art assets and sent the finished models to the lead artist, who then handled texturing using Substance Painter and achieved better results than I could.

Learnings

Prioritization and an early playable build are the most efficient way to achieve good game feel in short jams. Repeated, short playtests are more valuable than long individual sessions.
Small adjustments to movement have a significant impact on player enjoyment.
Clear division of responsibilities (art vs. code) enables rapid progress even in a small team.

Art: Cookie Crumble

Art

Through my previous collaboration with LynZee (Lead Artist), we were able to divide our tasks very effectively: I primarily focused on programming and supported LynZee in creating meshes, while LynZee handled texturing the meshes. This allowed me to assist LynZee flexibly and quickly whenever new models were needed. All meshes were created in Blender.