This was my very first Ludem Dare and also my very first original game!

Read my detailed postmortem to see how a novice approaches game development for the first time. I’d love to get real feedback and advice from some of you more experienced developers. Thank you Ludem Dare for pushing me to finally do something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time.

It’s been many hours since Ludum Dare #22 started. To be honest, I was really hoping for teleportation.

So, just a recap, i’m doing a browser game using javascript/canvas. I want to do something darker than i’m used to.

This is where i’m at at the moment http://www.stickymill.com/alone/alone_v0.01.html

Screenshot gallery http://imgur.com/a/6jLGr

And so it begins. Normally I use Ruby/Gosu but decided to try something new… Goal for evening #1 (LD started at 9pm for me) was to get a base app created and deployed using Sinatra, JavaScript/CoffeeScript, HTML5/Canvas, SASS, and HAML. Success!

code: http://github.com/adambair/afn
game: http://afn.heroku.com
log: http://afn.heroku.com/log

Time to get some rest. More fun tomorrow!

I’m in. HTML5/JS for the cross-platformness. Specifically, CraftyJS, Underscore.js, jQuery…

I have a game idea that I’ll need to fit into the final theme. It’s sort of an action resource management game that draws on pipe tile games like the classic Pipe Dreams or the card game Waterworks. Except you’re on a spaceship that’s under attack.

• Language: Javascript / HTML5 Canvas
• Art: Adobe Illustrator / Adobe Photoshop
• Audio: If there is audio, i’ll be using sfxr and any modifications to that with Audacity
• Base Code / Libraries:
  Asset Manager from the Google I/O presentation for pre-loading images.
  My base template
• Screenshots: I’ll set up to take periodic screenshots, a word of warning though, I can’t guarantee it will be completely SFW

I just realised I hadn’t actually committed to LD22 yet, consider that rectified.

This will be my second LD48, I did a platform game last time, it turned out ok, but I spent far too long fussing over the graphics and nowhere near long enough getting content in. Hopefully with that lesson in mind this weekend I can come away with something much more complete.

As usual I will be using HTML5 Canvas / Javascript (all my own libraries / classes) and Photoshop for graphics.

I am super excited this time, i’ve made sure the entire weekend is cleared of any commitments, the cupboards are stocked with programming fuel, and everything on my computer is organised and ready to go, it’s the most organised i’ve been in years

“I’m in” video saved, cat got in the way, all good.

I’ll be using HTML5/Javascript/Canvas. Using Chrome, may have to install Firefox and IE to check compatibility.

Also it just occurred to me that my WordPress name and my handle are not the same.

I am nogbog aka Colin Capurso

This will be my second LD.  Last time I did the comp, this time I’m recruiting some friends and doing the jam.

Using Ren’Py or Javascript

Susan

So many placeholders. My goal for this evening is to finish the “go” button logic that executes your actions on the characters and rooms each night, dress up the placeholders a bit, and get a story put together that can evoke some horror from the player. That’s probably enough to submit for this, though not enough to satisfy me. I might keep polishing it for a while after the mini-LD with an eye toward this month’s Experimental Gameplay and Super Friendship Club.

I was able to formalize the story module format last night. Everything’s in CSV spreadsheets; characters, rooms, story fragments, story-specific game configuration… This lets me almost completely separate content from logic, and should let a person build a story module without learning/modifying the code.

Screen shot below. That’s the basic interface once you’ve started a story. Clicking a room gives you a menu where you can “lock in” an experience type for the night (e.g. noises, dreams, physical manifestations). Once the actions are locked in, the “Begin” button will start the night. You’ll get accounts of the night’s goings-on from the characters the next morning, which will help you understand the story you’re trying to tell them.

Very nearly operational

My first Ludum Dare game, Madness, may seem a little cheaply made, but I have reasons why it doesn’t have power-ups, or enemy intelligence:
I started working on it on Saturday after tea, just after installing openSUSE. I added the basics and implemented lasers. On Sunday I was near to completion when the computer froze and wiped the game (i was editting it when it froze – thankfully a back-up was made of it on Saturday) – I had to try and re-implement enemies in an hour, which I did.
However, they deleted themselves after like 3 frames. So then I go on to Monday, which was school, tea, computer 1h, scouts 2+1/2h, computer 1+1/2h.
So, that’s why my entry’s not so good and not so well-developed as the others.

Tomorrow I’ll finish off the game’s lost and won screens and add in more enemies – I promise!

Still going on the Mini-LD. It’s my first time, so I figure I’ll get the blatant cheating out of the way now; it’s been more than 48 hours on the wall clock. I probably only have 12 hours of dev time so far, so I’m running with that. =)

Javascript is a tricky mistress/master when you’re not accustomed to working with it. I’m learning the CraftyJS framework at the same time (for the second time). Got the concept for a data-driven horror-ish story game pretty well worked out and more than half-implemented. It’s almost interactive now.

The premise is that the player is a location that has experienced something wrong. My sample case is a house which experienced a tragedy. Some folk have chosen to spend the night at the house, and it’s your job (as the house) to communicate the tragedy to the occupants through metaphysical actions. Your basic set of actions can produce different outcomes based on the person and the part of the house they occupy. The player learns the story through the experiences of the visitors.

So I chose to make a game with HTML5 / Javascript using the JawsJS html5 gamelib.

I used the <canvas>-tag since I wanted to make a freeform level with pixelperfect collisions, basically I made the whole thing in graphics gale, could as well have done it in paintbrush.

The new HTML5 <canvas> tag makes it easy to get the data in raw format, basically an array with RGBA values. From there on it’s to check collisions.. 1 pixel at the feet is a decent start.

The most annoying thing is probably the audio-formats that’s supported for the new <audio>-tag.

Safari doesn’t play OGGs for some lame reason, and Firefox doesn’t do MP3s. So all audio has to be provided in 2 formats.. also you wan’t detection at asset-loading time etc. I could have lived without that cruft.

Otherwise Javascript has become amazingly fast, I think V8 is faster then ruby and python. All browsers come with good debugging possibilites.

Javascript doesn’t have the traditional classes and inheritence, but rather prototypical inheritence.. which can be confusing at first.

What I love is the dynamic nature of objects in Javascript.. basically all objects are big key-value storages (hashes).

So you can whenever you want just set a new flag/property on whatever object.

/* Player.dead has never been defined or used at this point */

if(player.dead) { … do sometting …} // won’t throw any error.. played.dead will just return undefined

player.dead = true

if(player.dead) { … do something .. } // played.dead is now true and code will be executed

The biggest upside with javascript is ofcourse ppl not having to download anything. No virus-scan etc etc. Just instant gaming. And the big players are making the javascript engines faster on a daily basis.

Play my Javascript game here:

http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-21/?action=preview&uid=108

Here’s a teaser-shot from the game, you start in the “west prison” and have to find your way out of a huge castle.

Hullo, I’m Scio. Nice to meet you :bows:.

This is actually my third Ludum Dare, but so far I have been totally asocial and never even introduced myself, let alone post the games, of which there was only one that was even remotely playable. Don’t ask.

But motivated by the trivial coincidence of this being LD #21 and being 21 years old myself, I have finally braved an intro. I am quite proud of that.

Let’s see if I can make a game too; shouldn’t be too hard. No pressure…

I will be working with the following tools, depending on how far I manage to go of course:

• The ever lovely LÖVE, if making a desktop game. This’ll mean lua.
• The ever…scripty…Processing.js, if making a web game. This’ll make it sort of javascript, sort of Processing.
• Inkscape, GIMP, and Mypaint for graphics.
• Blender for CGI: I won’t be making a 3D game.
• Sfxr (yay) for sound effects, and possibly Neil if daring to make music.
• My snazzy, Compiz-y desktop running Ubuntu Lucid Lynx.
• Certain other non-computational implements.

I will, almost certainly, not be able to make the competition deadlines, so I’ll focus on Jam instead. And I will try to come up with something fitting the winning theme, but if I can’t…I’ll just choose another one I like and roll with it >.>

As for participation: I will silently stalk the IRC, and try to visit the Hangouts if my connection holds. I don’t have enough bandwidth (or courage) to livestream my work, but I will set up gLapse which was thoughtfully made for this very occasion!

Furthermore, I promise not to get too nervous and go into zen-procrastination-mode like I usually do during rushes.

[Also: Did I go overboard with the tags?]

This’ll be my first LD and even my first game.

I’m using Javascript and wrote myself a little game engine for fun (source here), so this is an awesome opportunity to test it. Probably gonna use LMMS and sfxr for the sound.. if I have time to do sound (:
Let’s see what I can come up with…

Javascript, sfxr, GIMP, Raphael-JS (maybe), Autotracker-C, SoundManager 2.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5227720/HTML5/grid.html as basecode.

I may give up half-way through and make it with Ruby instead. If so, I’ll be using Ruby(duh) and Chingu/Gosu.

I’m in, almost certainly going to attempt to write a game in SVG/Javascript as a proof of concept for a larger idea. I’ll be using a program I wrote a while back to generate some of the more repetitive SVG code from XML/XSL, and maybe some of the animations if I get that far. It’s got a Google Code page for those who are interested http://code.google.com/p/batchsvg/

Given I’ve never used Javascript with SVG, and SVG games are fraught with issues anyway, the chances of producing an unplayable trainwreck are pretty high

This will be my second fullblown dare, and I really look forward to it.

As I’ve done earlier, I will be writing my entry using JavaScript. I will most likely be using ImpactJS or Three.js for my entry depending on the theme and what game I will be making. I’ve learned from my earlier mistakes, and will not try to learn a new library for this compo. I will also be using Paint.NET for graphics, possibly Blender if I go 3D. For sound I will be using the awesome BFXR. Music will most probably be generated using Wolfram Tunes, simply because I suck at music. If I get to make an explosive game, I will also be using the Explosion Generator. I haven’t used this tool before, but it looks promising.

Good luck to you all !!

Codename: Der Soldat

I got all the art i need.
Now: some BFBC2.
Later: Coding

Will be done in JavaScript for Canvas with my lib http://gamejs.org

So, I don’t really have the time to write a lengthy introduction post, because I’m at the gamescom in Cologne right now, well actually I’m already there since Wednesday.
Here are the cornerstones:

My base code: Download here
Language: Javascript with Processing.js
Graphics: Cinema 4D and Blender for 3D stuff, GIMP and MS Paint for 2D stuff
Sound: Garage Band and sfxr

My workspace is whereever my notebook is at the moment, so no deskphoto, but I can take some nice pictures of the gamescom instead.

Well, I guess that’s it for now…

managed to do a 24h warmup game with the javascript library i’m gonna use.

didn’t turn out too bad.. i say: when it displays a score, its a game

works only in firefox3.5+ and safari4, though. and takes a while to load i hope that won’t kill my game in the competit.

http://gamejs.nekapuzer.at/tyround/

oh and hi, all! it’s my first time.