1. Consider a tips screen on death

Every single one of us knows how difficult onboarding is for LD players. People are either impatient and don't read the tutorial, or they'll skip it outright if you allow them to. This time around we added an additional layer of protection in the form of a tips screen on death for common pitfalls encountered during testing. Yes of course a game should have visual elements that obsolete the need for a tutorial, but in lieu of that this is another option I haven't seen used much in LD.

2. Intentionally force conflict in design sessions

If I had my entire way with the design process and just did it solo, we would've had a much less interesting game than the one we came up with. Because my teammates turned down a lot of initial ideas, it forced us to dig deep and find something that really stood out. Revel in the chaos and see what comes out of it.

3. Try a turn-based game if you haven't yet

Our team has done about 6 action games in a row and we've always had trouble balancing a game for both casual and hardcore skill levels. We've noticed a lot more positive feedback in terms of difficulty now that we've tried a turn-based game. It gives players more time to think and evens the playing field for raters.

A 4D puzzle dating sim - How I Met Your Great Great Grandmother

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/39/how-i-met-your-great-great-grandmother