Collapse, the game I made for Ludum Dare 42 (Compo), turned out to be more fun than I expected? Did I expect it? Was I ready for what this game was about to become? And, over all, was this game eventually meant to collapse?

The Game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-pzHG1nQjc

Timelapse (x100):

If you are interested more in a video than text, here you go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH3sev6YSmQ

Tools Used:

Construct 2, BFXR, Audacity, Adobe Photoshop, FL Studio

The Idea:

Earlier, the idea was to make the a full version of the Multicolor Maze from Undertale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oQVVISpRbI

However, after terribly failing with this idea, I was left with nothing.

I came upon an idea of a simple platformer where a wall would chase you and you would have to reach the end goal. After some quick tests, I had a prototype ready. After a while, it was decided that the level would shrink evenly and you would have to reach the centre of the level, the "core". The game was eventually named Collapse.

What went right?

The Gameplay:

Physics and Primitive Geometric Shapes! Who knew that these two combined in a platformer could be this fun? The gameplay feels natural, and as the levels get harder and music starts pumping in, you feel more and more engrossed into the game.

The Highscore System:

Added as an afterthought, I'm still competing with my brother to see who gets the better of it!

The Music:

As many have told me, the music comfortably matches the levels! When a level is going to be hard and fast, you can tell it, just by hearing the music!

The Humor and The Story:

Inserting an idea last minute is bad, but I needed a story to string the gameplay together, and, apparently, it all worked better than I could have imagined! That's rare in the world of game design.

Staying Simple!:

My previous idea was overly complicated. Staying with the basic tools and getting it working on a small scale first helped me finish what could've been a total disaster!

What went wrong?

The First Idea:

As I mentioned, I threw an entire prototype into trash. Could have saved me 3-4 hours, and could've been used to resolve other issues. Never settle on idea too fast.

The Audio Mixing:

The voice acting is too low, compared to the sound effects, which are too high. The music, however, is a perfect between the two.

The Crashes:

The game crashes after you restart a level too much (due to some physics glitch which I haven't figured out yet). However, the Load Game feature that I managed to get working allows you to continue without losing progress!

What's Next?

This game turned out to be a lot of fun, and, I have plans for a possible post jam version! Plus, it's time for me to rate ~50 games!

Level Editor:

This could let you all easily create levels to share with others, and, let me to create levels without using the editor and banging my head around.

Better Audio Mixing and Effects:

As I stated, the audio in the game does make it lose a few points. A post jam version would of course have to address those issues.

Polish:

This game was small and polished. However, such a game on a post jam version would require a lot more of it, including the fixing of the crashes.

What can you readers do to help me out?

You can play the game and rate it! https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/42/collapse-1

You are also welcome to link to your own games and/or timelapses/post mortems!