Where do I begin... I suppose I could start by saying that the theme was pretty awesome, but quite a few people don't seem to agree with that. I think it's a really neat theme to do, since it really makes you think and break down a genre to its essence, and cranks those creativity juices as you try to make two wildly opposing (or at least, not quite related) beasts come together.

But enough about what happened last night, I'd like to do a small post-mortem for the hell of it.

Overview

Dungeon Slider, if you haven't played yet, is a combination of a dungeon crawler, and a 15-puzzle. Y'know the ones, where there's this jumbled up picture, the grid has 1 tile missing, and you gotta slide everything into place. Here's a handy .gif, courtesy of @jfraser314 .

What Went Right

One of the reasons I was rather happy this theme was chosen was because... this game idea had been sitting in my head for the past week or two! What a coincidence! I'd already hashed out most of the design and played paper prototypes to the point that I'd like to think I'm a 15-puzzle master. It was only a matter of implementing the ideas I had on paper!

I actually didn't think I would be able to make it for this LD, as there were other work-related plans that were in line on the weekend. Still, I did as much as I could for the hell of it.... and lo, the whole thing was cancelled! I still had to go to work on Monday, but at least I had more time to polish whatever I had.

What Went Wrong

Gonna be honest, coding isn't my main skillset. A game this complex (at least, complex for ME) was quite a struggle to implement. If I tossed this idea over to an actual programmer, I'm sure they would've implemented this in half the time, looking at how oddly-structured my code was.

No time for sound and music. Normally I'd set aside some time to generate a few chiptunes and an SFX or two, but I had my focus set on... well, making other things look pretty.

Instructions. Oooh, the instructions. I worry over that day and night. Please, if you do play, read the instructions on the page itself. I don't know if the one included in-game does it justice... The game makes sense once you get used to how it works, but I've playtested with others, and they do all sorts of weird things, even after I've explained the rules to them.

Conclusion

So far, I'm really, really proud of this entry. Sure, it ain't one of my more polished ones, but I'd like to believe the concept is solid. I'm definitely planning to improve on it, add some new monsters, maybe a boss... Oh, some proper progression as well. Sound, particles... The works. All in due time, of course. I'm itching to do another post breaking down the design of the game too, buuut not quite yet.

If you're interested in trying out the game, just click here! Go ahead and leave a comment if you do play, so I know which game I should be playing next! Web games take precedence, simply because I'm at work... When I get home, I'll play the ones that require downloads, or a mouse.

Also, if you think any other game deserves some attention, lemme know down below!