I normally use LOVE, but  think I’m going to switch it up and use Java, Slick, and TilED.  Should be interesting- I haven’t used Java in 3 years or so.  But I’m hoping to make something that people can just run in their browsers instead of downloading untold megs of LOVEly .dlls.

I’m glad I checked these things out beforehand with a wee warmup, because TilED QT 0.4.1 doesn’t notice my mouse clicks if the application already has focus! So I’m going to use the eye-burning Java version of TilED.

If it turns out that this change of coding scenery is killing my productivity, I may fall back on LOVE.  I would in that case also use LUPUS, a lua library which anyone is free to download and use.  (If you do use it, beware the Grid class; it’s not passing all its unit tests and I’m not sure why.)

Behold the almighty desk!

Last December was my first Ludum Dare, and it was a blast! So I’m definitely in this time around.

I’ll probably use the same tools I did last time:

• FlashDevelop + mxmlc compiler. +flixel if I do a game that benefits from it.
• Audacity and sfxr
• Acid Music Studio with some free softsynths
• Paint.NET or GIMP if I don’t do my graphics in code

I think I’ll also check out the IRC channel this time, although that may fall by the wayside as it gets down to the wire…

I hereby officially declare my intent to enter the Ludum Dare 48 Hour Competition #17.

And the standard goals:

• Keep the usual art style. I sketch things out on paper and scan them in so I can colorize.  Keeping with bold colors and gradients is probably what I’ll do.
• KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid!  Making something too complex is just a recipe for a headache at 1pm on Sunday afternoon.
• Make useful additions to the basecode that can be used in later competitions.  The screenshot stuff is an example of something I did previously that helps out a lot.
• Finish most of the work by Saturday night so I can spend Sunday polishing.
• Don’t run into dumb problems that eat up eight hours.

Same base code as the past six competitions.

Tools in use:

• Java 6 SDK (though I typically include a version for JDK 5)
• Eclipse IDE
• Photoshop, maybe some Illustrator
• DrPetter’s sfxr for sound effects
• Audacity
• HP OfficeJet 6450 All-In-One for scanning doodles
• Everlasting Gobstoppers
• mIRC for chattery
• Killer Game Programming in Java and the base code I mentioned above.

As far as themes go, Hunt, Island and Companion sound fun.  Evolution might be good, too, but I’d have to come up with something good. Might have to sketch some ideas out for each of these before Friday, and check the results of the previous rounds to see what else could slip through.  Good Luck!

To follow the tradition for this Ludumdare:
“I’m declaring that I intend to participate for the first time”
maybe it turns to the good or maybe it turns to the very bad, we’ll see.

Well this is my first Ludumdare…      …well my first Competition for making games ever.
Furthermore i must go for maybe 2 hours to a party.
And I must help a friend in Photoshop.

But I still have plenty of hope that I have something playable in the end.
You know “While there’s life, there’s hope.”.

Because I played in last time with AS3 and Flixel, I will use that, Photoshop for concepts and the visual eyecandys and maybe Alchemy for inspirational use.

I found out last week that I have not one, but two birthday parties to attend.  One is for my brother-in-law’s 40th, the other is for our friend’s son’s 4th.  I’m hoping I can scale back my idea enough so that it’s doable, even with the lost hours. 

I’m not sure what I’ll be using for my entry.  I have used Java in the past, and likely would use the same basecode that I’ve used for the past two compos.  I’ve been thinking about doing something over the web usign PHP, so if the theme is right, I’ll give it a shot.

Things to use for the compo.  The usual list: