Welcome to the Jared Slawski Porfolio Awards!
In 2019, Jared surveyed his projects and picked the best of the best in various arbitrary categories for your perusing convenience.
All games are free to play/download, so go nuts!
All games are free to play/download, so go nuts!
Categories and Winners
Audience Choice Award
Given to the game that has been played or streamed the most by people around the world.
Winner: Serial Dater (2018)
- Speed dating in hell, featuring over 8.4 million unique dates
- Placed in the top 10% of entries in five different categories for Ludum Dare 43
- Featured on two different Youtube channels, amassing more than 1M views combined
Fan Favorites
Unique mechanics and original concepts of these games won the critical hearts of many during the height of their popularity.
Winner: Masseuse You Loose (2021)
- Frantic massage "simulator" where players strive to become a masseuse master
- Features an unlockable "challenge mode" gauntlet
- Placed in the top 5% in 4 categories, including 10th in Humor and 50th in Innovation
Winner: Dude Ranch (2020)
- Zany high-score arcade game about wrangling dudes with your lasso
- Set a personal record for "most played" Ludum Dare submission to date
- Ranked in the top 8% in 6 out of 8 categories, including 7th place in Humor
Winner: Knit Worth (2019)
- Fast-paced action game about lobotomizing your grandmother with knitting needles
- Placed in top 3% of entries in 5 different categories for Ludum Dare 44
- Featured in several “Best of LD 44” lists and videos
Winner: Orbitunes (2016)
- Physics-based music generation toy
- Placed 12th in Innovation and 7th in Audio out of 1100 entries for Ludum Dare 38
- Has been receiving significant updates as recent as 2019
Excellence in Narrative
The following games have been praised for the stories they tell. Several players have cited these games as the source of many emotional tears, so be prepared!
Winner: Wayward (2020)
- Low-stakes exploration experience about moving forward
- A first attempt at an open-ended narrative that was received favorably by playtesters and streamers
- Responsible for invoking several existential crises in players
Winner: Cipher (2013)
- 2D Platformer about life, love, and happiness
- Designed, written, coded, composed, and animated solo in 3 months
- Considered to be the game that Jared is most proud of
Best with Friends
Multiplayer games that got the biggest rise out of groups of players and destroyed the most friendships.
Winner: The Cabbage Code (2021)
- Community-centric ARG that spans multiple websites and mediums
- Requires communication with friends/family/strangers to complete
- A "limited-run" game with now deprecated live components
Winner: B.U.L.L.E.T.H.E.L.L (2016)
- 2-Player bullet-hell/fighting game hybrid. Each player has the firepower of a “final boss.”
- 5 unique fighters that utilize different strategies to ensure victory
- Featured in multiple public showcases to overwhelming positive reception
Winner: Splattershot (2015)
- 2-4 player arena brawler where contestants must splatter their opponents’ guts across as much of the stage as possible
- Includes 3 unique power-ups tuned to a player’s dynamic skill level
- Featured in several public showcases, took 1st in student showcase
Technical Achievement
Honoring some of the more technically impressive accomplishments in Jared's catalog.
Winner: Shader Shenanigans (2018)
- The fruits of various experiments done with shaders
- Features a blobby effect, dissolve effect, X-Ray vision, and “haunted TV” effect
- Some shader effects have found their way into other projects
Winner: Metroid Redux (2015)
Classic NES game reverse engineered in Unity with an additional feature and original level
Features a custom-built physics engine that doesn’t use any built-in Unity physics
5 unique enemy AI implemented. Stopwatches were used to accurately recreate speed and fire rates
Professional Achievement
As if making games in his free time wasn't enough, Jared also works a full-time job working on live games.
Winner: NeuroGrow (2021 - Present)
- Tablet game designed and developed to treat depression in geriatric patients
- Lead engineer, developing new features, crash monitoring tools, whatever is needed!
- Currently undergoing clinical trials, involved in design and development of nea features at the GApp Lab (University of Utah)
(Website for NeuroGrow coming soon!)
Winner: Zynga Poker (2016 - 2020)
- Shipped multiple player-facing features and made dozens of “quality of life” improvements to the game
- Monitored and investigated live issues on production and reported findings/fixes
- Developed critical admin tools to aid in testing and deployment
Honorable Mentions
Click here for a collection of games that for various reasons didn't quite make the cut
