This will be my 11th time participating in Ludum Dare. Ludum Dare 39 was a huge disappointment for me. I kept all of my weekends in August open only for it to be scheduled on the last weekend in July! Still, I attempted, but losing over half the time to family plans made 39 the first Ludum Dare I've ever participated in where I failed to submit something. It was unfortunate too as I really liked my concept!

This Ludum Dare is a chance at redemption!

Tools:

• C# + MonoGame
  • Optional alt 1: JS + Phaser.js
  • Optional alt 2: C + SDL2
  • Optional alt 3: keeping options open :P
• On top of MonoGame I may use open source frameworks including open code freely available on my own GitHub account:
  • My GitHub: https://github.com/srakowski
  • I would not suggest anyone use any code I've written :P
• For Graphics: Paint.Net, Inkscape, GIMP, Paint, others as needed
• For Audio: [S|B]XFR, Bosca Ceoil, Audacity, others as needed

Strategies/Rules:

• Time management:
  • Day 1: Game mechanic(s) should be mostly completed
    • In the past I've tried to get this done by end of day 2 leaving 3 for polish. I think this gives me too much time to overthink. Forcing mechanics to be done day 1 will require me to A. consider an idea for all themes prior to the announcement (so I may hit the ground running) and B. force me to keep the scope small as I shouldn't be able to code much within the few short hours I have after the theme is announced.
  • Day 2 should be about content & tweaking mechanics
  • Day 3 should be about game feel & polish
• Low-To-No Beer:
  • Studies have shown some beer does help bolster creativity, but not in quantities I've tended to consume while trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to do for the theme. Hard cap at 2 beers any only on day 2 if in a creative slump during content creation.
• Audio must not be an after-thought!
  • I think this is a grave error considering how much audio contributes to feel & mood. I must have a song that contributes to the game feel on day 2.
• Don't overthink the story (if there is one):
  • Not everything needs to have an explanation. Sometimes it is better to leave things up to the player's imagination.

Things I'm Thinking About:

• Hand drawn art - I've wondered how hand drawing everything instead of using Inkscape or Paint.Net would affect the graphics of my game. I would think hand-drawing would a lot me a higher tolerance for imperfections because the cost of tweaking is much higher. Then again, making small tweaks for animations would be more difficult for sure.
• Photography - How could I use a camera to create content? perhaps using something like Play-Doh or clay I could sculpt some assets and use a camera to capture them. I think this was used to make the monsters in Doom.
• Acapella? - How can I use my voice to create Music instead of a relying on a tool?

Good luck with LDJAM 40!