Ludum Dare 24 - Evolution
remi
remedy [blu.knight] Join Date: 2003-11-18 Member: 23112Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester
remedy [blu.knight] Join Date: 2003-11-18 Member: 23112Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester
<div class="IPBDescription">and my entry!</div>For those that don't know, Ludum Dare is a solo event/competition where everyone is tasked to build a game in 48 hours. All sound/graphics etc has to be created during that 48 hour period. The only things that are allowed outside that are publicly available libraries.
This is the first Ludum Dare I actually attempted, and I was able to actually finish and get an entry in as well! The game, of course, is a bit rusty considering the time constraint... but it's a huge sense of accomplishment to have an actual functional game after such a short time period.
If you'd like to check out my entry, see it here:
<a href="http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-24/?action=preview&uid=15443" target="_blank">http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-...w&uid=15443</a>
Timelapse
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Anyone else ever do a LD48? Link yours, if you have (or even better, if you competed in this one).
Next time I think I'll make this post before the competition in case anyone else is interested. :-)
This is the first Ludum Dare I actually attempted, and I was able to actually finish and get an entry in as well! The game, of course, is a bit rusty considering the time constraint... but it's a huge sense of accomplishment to have an actual functional game after such a short time period.
If you'd like to check out my entry, see it here:
<a href="http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-24/?action=preview&uid=15443" target="_blank">http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-...w&uid=15443</a>
Timelapse
<center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XzZwZ-JIf0U"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XzZwZ-JIf0U" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>
Anyone else ever do a LD48? Link yours, if you have (or even better, if you competed in this one).
Next time I think I'll make this post before the competition in case anyone else is interested. :-)
Comments
As you said, if you can finish something even though its small but it's functional, it does feel awesome. Especially after you start getting positive feedback from it. :)
I did compete in #24 as well and here is my <a href="http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-24/?action=preview&uid=14709" target="_blank">entry</a>.
I could really use some feedback about it as I intend to develop it further after compo. :)
Also the ball control is kind of jerky.
You can switch direction too quickly, and it feels a little odd when you get stuck to a wall and can just go up and down it at will. I would experiment with requiring a certain amount of momentum to stick so if you tried to switch directions or were too slow about it you'd fall back down.
There's also a bug when going up a left-side wall where the ball rotates the wrong direction.
I also had some confusion about if the level was identical for each ball, and I wanted a overview map so that I could plan it out a little more, as it was I couldn't do them all together even if I wanted to because I had no idea which direction each ball was going to need to go and no clue of what obstacles they would encounter. Some surprise is ok, but the general path would be nice to know ahead of time.
Oh, and also-
Congrats on finishing!! :D
Did you do a timelapse or anything? This was my first LD. I will definitely be doing future ones too.
<!--quoteo(post=0:date=:name=Psyke)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Psyke)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->work on making tighter levels (which might require ditching the randomized levels idea unless you can get super fancy).<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Randomly generated levels were there just because of the time limit and cause I just love creating randomly generated content ;) For a better gameplay experience, I do agree that customly built levels might be a better choice.
<!--quoteo(post=0:date=:name=Psyke)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Psyke)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Also the ball control is kind of jerky.
You can switch direction too quickly, and it feels a little odd when you get stuck to a wall and can just go up and down it at will. I would experiment with requiring a certain amount of momentum to stick so if you tried to switch directions or were too slow about it you'd fall back down.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Controls were previously more "smooth" and more realistic, so that you were only able to slow down the ball and wasn't able to do those funky fast direction changes, but I changed it after getting feedback that it was too hard to control and was frustrating. And tbh, I myself like the controls that are in now, more than the old ones.
That momentum idea for climbing the walls sounds interesting and I will experiment on that one for sure. Thanks for the idea. :)
<!--quoteo(post=0:date=:name=Psyke)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Psyke)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->There's also a bug when going up a left-side wall where the ball rotates the wrong direction.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The ball rolling when climbing was one of the last minute things to do so I didn't have time to do a checker that would consider which side of the wall the ball is climbing :P I know it's just silly the way it is now. :D
<!--quoteo(post=0:date=:name=Psyke)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Psyke)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Oh, and also-
Congrats on finishing!! :D
Did you do a timelapse or anything? This was my first LD. I will definitely be doing future ones too.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Thanks! And same to you too! :)
I streamed while creating so I'm gonna try to create a timelapse out of the recording. I did have a timelapse software on for the first 35 hours, but after I decided I'd quit(my first game-idea was too big to be created in time) I stopped the timelapse software. :/ So I don't have any screengrabs from my actual entry game( which lasted for the last 10 hours).
Definitely gonna participate in future too, this was my first one also and next time I'm gonna design the idea more carefully so I can use my whole 48hours on only one idea. ;)
Definitely gonna participate in future too, this was my first one also and next time I'm gonna design the idea more carefully so I can use my whole 48hours on only one idea. ;)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Funny. Same thing happened to me. I originally wanted to make a farming/gardening thing but I thought it would be too ambitious and I tried to chase down a simpler idea that ended up not working as a game at all... So the first 14 hours of work ended up being good for learning the HaxePunk library, but all that I created in that timeframe I scrapped (this is at about 1:57 in my timelapse). After that point I put some more design time into thinking about how I good do the gardening one, and then spent about 18 hours worth of work on my actual entry. ( 18+14+16 for sleep = 48 )
Next time I too need to spend more time doing the up-front design work and not be in such a hurry to get started. I wonder what percent of the participants ended up doing the same exact thing as us.
What was your original idea?
What was your original idea?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think that the theme was pretty hard and I have an impression that many entrants had the same issue, mainly because of the theme.
My original idea had a main character which had three abilities that got better as player used them against enemies. And if player didn't use one of the abilities it would wither away. Also the enemies would evolve depending the way player acted against them, thus creating a more and more challenging game which would eventually end in player's defeat and the player would have their end score shown.
One of the reasons I stopped developing the first idea was because I didn't have motivation to develop the idea as it was pretty much the same idea hundreds of others had. :P
Heh. Sounds like every project I've ever done.
Because of the 48 hour time constraint, I guess you have to locks in a core game mechanic and built up around that alone. Probably not going to develop a full blown platformer or custom physics engine, so focusing on a single aspect that you think will be fun to explore seem to me like a core design goal. Hard part is distilling a single idea that's sorta original and not another rpg/tower defense/asteroids/lol physics game.
Glad you enjoyed it!
<!--quoteo(post=1968721:date=Aug 29 2012, 10:22 PM:name=spellman23)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (spellman23 @ Aug 29 2012, 10:22 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1968721"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Heh. Sounds like every project I've ever done.
Because of the 48 hour time constraint, I guess you have to locks in a core game mechanic and built up around that alone. Probably not going to develop a full blown platformer or custom physics engine, so focusing on a single aspect that you think will be fun to explore seem to me like a core design goal. Hard part is distilling a single idea that's sorta original and not another rpg/tower defense/asteroids/lol physics game.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Exactly. The 48 hour constraint also makes it a lot harder to actually be creative, which then makes the rest of that really hard to achieve as well. There's a video I saw from one of the writers of Monty Python talking about lightbulb jokes and creativity and he was explaining how in order to be creative your mind needs to be in a state of play, not a state where you are stressed and worried about deadlines. It takes a whole lot of mental gymnastics to try to get to that point while the clock is ticking down.
A lot of people do make platformers or more complicated games, but they generally take advantage of pre-existing libraries/technologies so that they can get a prototype up faster. In general I do think the product you get out of a jam like this is not at shippable quality, but I think it gets pretty close because in order for you to actually be successful you do need to create a game (which means it must have objectives, conflict, etc). After that it's just wrapping it up pretty.
Have you ever done a Ludum Dare (or any other game jam) spellman?
<...>
Have you ever done a Ludum Dare (or any other game jam) spellman?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
To the first, makes sense. Guess part of it is pick the right tools for the right endgoal. I'd hate to have to build my rendering viewport from scratch. =p
To the second, unfortuantely no. I've designed a few games in the real world, but haven't done video game design at the code level.
Such a huge compliment. :D
I'm definitely planning on continuing with it. I'd like to polish it up and see if I can make a little money with it (not really for financial gain, but more to prove to myself that I can).
I'm definitely planning on continuing with it. I'd like to polish it up and see if I can make a little money with it (not really for financial gain, but more to prove to myself that I can).<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Good luck, I dont see why you shouldn't. I think you should go ahead with it but be sure to post your pollished version up on here for me to play :D
It's a fun little game, but I quit because I got bored. It doesn't take long to get used to controlling the space bar, and once I got there, I always had at least 15 mature flowers on the go.
There needs to be some sort of challenge to make you come back for more, but I really enjoyed it. Amazing work, especially in such a short timespan.
It's a fun little game, but I quit because I got bored. It doesn't take long to get used to controlling the space bar, and once I got there, I always had at least 15 mature flowers on the go.
There needs to be some sort of challenge to make you come back for more, but I really enjoyed it. Amazing work, especially in such a short timespan.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo(post=1970694:date=Sep 3 2012, 05:27 PM:name=Soul_Rider)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Soul_Rider @ Sep 3 2012, 05:27 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1970694"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I've spent over an hour playing this....<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Man. Glad you enjoyed it. I have some ideas for deepening the experience. Part of it is going to be trying to make the breeding a bit more predictable and adding more economy and stuff (like the ability to sell flowers). Another is to add natural "disasters", so plants could get overwatered, etc... and also making it so that if you leave and come back your garden will still be there, but time will have passed and your plants might not be doing so well.
But the sad thing was, I only played once. It was cool mixing the flowers, and seeing some of the crazy patterns you could get, but having flowers spring up automatically, randomly, was a bit confusing, do these replace dead flowers, or are they just random? Anyway, they provided too much help as I didn't need to buy seeds for a while once the game got going. In fact, I kept myself at a 15-20 mature plant garden, and deliberately killed flowers, because my garden was too full :P
Some of those flowers get really big! Next version must have a bigger base garden size. :)
I look forward to seeing your ideas implemented in an updated game. I think putting an updated version of this on something like Kongregate would be cool too.
But the sad thing was, I only played once. It was cool mixing the flowers, and seeing some of the crazy patterns you could get, but having flowers spring up automatically, randomly, was a bit confusing, do these replace dead flowers, or are they just random? Anyway, they provided too much help as I didn't need to buy seeds for a while once the game got going. In fact, I kept myself at a 15-20 mature plant garden, and deliberately killed flowers, because my garden was too full :P
Some of those flowers get really big! Next version must have a bigger base garden size. :)
I look forward to seeing your ideas implemented in an updated game. I think putting an updated version of this on something like Kongregate would be cool too.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Again, the fact that you played for that long even if it was only once is awesome. I wasn't expecting anyone to play for that long so the randomly appearing flowers wasn't tuned for that timeframe. The reason I had them spawning at all is that I needed a way to insert more diversity into gardens (since if you just keep breeding eventually all the flowers will become rather similar). Ideally I'd like that to be a super rare occurance and instead have it so that you can buy seed packs from a store for the same purpose. I also actually had the flowers about half the size they are now prior to submission, but it looks far less impressive when there are only 2 or 3 flowers on the screen in that case, and I again didn't expect people to actually fill their garden. I also had the idea of having a separate (safer) garden for keeping your favorite flowers (this is the thought train that made me add the move tool), as well as actually having a large garden that you could zoom in to (more like a harvest moon overworld where you could zoom in to what this game is on any of your crops). Alas, time constraints. :)
Mine:
<!--quoteo(post=0:date=:name=Ascension Garden)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Ascension Garden)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->#208 Innovation 3.21
#260 Theme 3.18
#442 Overall 2.85
#502 Graphics 2.56
#540 Audio 1.75
#570 Humor 1.48
#590 Mood 2.19
#619 Fun 2.21<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
And Bablo's:
<!--quoteo(post=0:date=:name=Dusty Balls)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Dusty Balls)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->#113 Graphics 3.70
#115 Innovation 3.52
#233 Overall 3.22
#320 Mood 2.72
#327 Fun 2.87
#459 Audio 2.16
#582 Humor 1.43
#664 Theme 1.94<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->