I’m sorry for writing so much on the last post, I was in dire need of sleep but wanted to put it all out before I went to bed. Also, if you haven’t checked out my entry, here is a link.

I saw other posts and decided to list the successes, failures and lessons of my weekend!

Successes

• Managed to finish the entry in time for the compo;
• Core idea developed based on the proposed theme;
• Made everything with a “low” level API (Java 2D API).

Failures

• Couldn’t add all the fancy features I wanted in time;
• Gameplay is too simple;
• Wanted to make 4 small levels but ended up making only one (too large);
• Most of the available time spent on making the basic graphics and platformer engines, too little time spent on actually designing the game;
• Completely messed up the code (which was somewhat organized) on the last couple hours by adding game data to it since I wouldn’t have time make a xml loader or something.

Lessons learned

• The need to code the basic graphics and platformer engines took valuable time that could have been spent on designing the game and developing different ideas and art for the game. Next time I shall use a decent previously published code base or engine so I can focus on the creative part (which I guess is the whole point of making games, right?);
• I was caught off guard by the proposed theme. Next time I shall prepare for all the ones on the final round, mainly the ones I don’t like or don’t expect to win the voting.

Bonus! Features I wanted to add but had no time to

• Space ship crashed with smoke rising on the start of the game (which would explain how the character ended up at the tiny world);
• Background color changing with player advancing through the level;
• More villages, buildings, tiny persons and dialog lines;
• 4 levels: desert, forest, cave and complex;
• Tiny persons moving on the landscape, falling into holes and doing silly dances;
• Y axis exploration: less linear landscape;
• Hidden amber stones as a bonus motivation for exploration;
• Achievements: talk to all the tiny persons, finish the game, get all the amber stones.

And that’s it! If I remember something later I’ll add here on this post.

I want to thank all the Ludum Dare community for this great thing we have here! And I’m so happy to be part of it as a competitor now, since I only spectated for a few editions. Thank you all, competitors, jammers, spectators, organizers! You are awesome! =)

Can’t wait for August!

This entry was posted on Monday, April 23rd, 2012 at 12:41 pm and is filed under LD #23. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.