{"author_link":"\/users\/birdwards","author_name":"Birdwards","author_uid":"birdwards","comments":[],"epoch":1543469433,"event":"LD43","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":125622,"likes":9,"metadata":{"p_key":"122571","p_author":"Birdwards","p_authorkey":"1122983","p_urlkey":"338629","p_title":"Final Theme Votes!","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD43","p_time":"1543469433","p_likes":"9","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1122983","us_name":"Birdwards","us_username":"birdwards","event_start":"1543536000","event_key":"71","event_name":"LD 43"},"node":{"_collation":{"body_sanitizer":"TextUtils::SanitizeHTML via existing importer","event":"LD43","removed_author":false},"_superparent":120415,"_trust":5,"author":122983,"body":"![ld43 final voting.png](\/\/\/raw\/760\/e1\/z\/1afaa.png)\n\nSince everybody's been giving their thoughts on the themes, I thought I'd weigh in for the final round. I'm pretty confident in my ability to come up with something I like no matter what the theme is, so the two main questions I ask myself when voting on themes are:\n\n- Could a complete novice to both programming and game jams make something with this theme?\n- Do I want to spend the three weeks after Ludum Dare playing dozens of the over 3000 games that will result from this jam?\n\nHere's how I think the themes stack up.\n\n**0 - Automation**\n\nThis theme has some versatility, but it does encourage games that are reliant on AI, which is a bit challenging for beginners (and one of my personal weak spots as a developer). It also encourages genres with more passive gameplay styles, such as tower defense and clickers, which aren't my favorite.\n\n**+1 - Break the cycle**\n\nThis is a good theme because it could apply to either the gameplay or the story. There are lots of different types of cycles, both physical and social, so I think this would result in a good amount of variety.\n\n**-1 - Control the environment, not the player**\n\nI suspect that this one would also be a challenge for beginners, but that problem alone would only bring it to a 0. The main reason I really don't want this one to win is because I just spent the last two years working on [a game that (mostly) fits this theme](templescramble.com). I want to do something different!\n\n**0 - Each playthrough builds on the last**\n\nI have a feeling this one is going to lead to a lot of scope creep, especially for more narrative-driven games, but it has some interesting possibilities.\n\n**-1 - Everything grows**\n\nPart of me is voting against this because I already did LD34, where one of the two themes was \"Growing\" (the theme vote was tied, and I incorporated both themes into my entry). The other part of me is voting against this because the addition of \"everything\" makes design and implementation a lot trickier under the constraints of a game jam.\n\n**-1 - It only changes when you aren't looking**\n\nThis is too mechanically specific; I'm skeptical that there would be enough variety in the entries. I'd expect to see a lot of games with Weeping-Angel-like enemies from this theme.\n\n**+1 - Sacrifices must be made**\n\nI almost gave this a 0 because the \"...must be made\" part strikes me as a bit unnecessary, kind of like how a lot of theme suggestions in the slaughter were \"It's all about [X]\" or \"[X] is the key\". I wish they just suggested \"[X]\"! But nonetheless, this is a pretty versatile theme.\n\n**-1 - Absorb your enemies**\n\nAlso too mechanically specific (not all kinds of games have enemies). I'm struggling to come up with an idea that isn't a knockoff of Kirby, Katamari Damacy, or agar.io.\n\n**-1 - Darkness is your friend**\n\nThere are other things that you can do with this theme, but I'd wager that at least half the entries would be stealth games. Not enough variety.\n\n**-1 - Don't trust the game**\n\nOf all the finalists, this is the one that I am most strongly against. A good designer can make a great game that deceives the player, but most of the games would be nearly guaranteed to be frustrating, unintuitive experiences.\n\n**0 - Magic, but at what cost?**\n\nInteresting, but it's a bit restrictive with regards to setting- if there's magic, it pretty much has to be a fantasy setting. I'd vote -1 if it was even more specific about setting, but I suppose there is some versatility even within the fantasy genre. If this one wins, I'd encourage participants to think beyond medievalesque settings with elves and orcs and whatnot.\n\n**+1 - Making connections**\n\nI believe this is the best theme in the finals. There are so many possible interpretations of \"connections\"! Are you making connections between romantic partners? Electrical components? Clues in a murder mystery? Airline flights? This theme can easily fit into any genre but still gives enough information to provide inspiration.\n\n**0 - One item, many uses**\n\nI really liked this theme at first, but I have since realized that \"many uses\" implies \"many mechanics\"- not the best theme for beginners, and (per [my \"I'm in\" post](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/43\/$123108\/im-finally-in-again)) the exact opposite of what I want to be doing this Ludum Dare. I still think it would encourage a good amount of variety, so I won't -1 it.\n\n**0 - Take one, leave one**\n\nI've been going back and forth between 0 and +1 on this one. Is it versatile enough? Maybe... the \"one\" is vague enough, but it does imply a pretty specific mechanic. That mechanic could be applied to a lot of genres, though... It's certainly not a bad theme.\n\n**-1 - Two connected worlds**\n\nLike many others have mentioned, this is strikingly close to the LD30 theme (which was simply \"Connected Worlds\"). I didn't participate in that one, but I'd like to give its 2,538 participants and teams a chance to do something different.\n\n**-1 - Evolve**\n\nThe theme for LD24 was \"Evolution\". Maybe the statute of limitations has passed for this theme; it *was* six years ago and had less than half the participants of modern Ludum Dare. However, I participated in LD24, and not only do I not want to repeat a theme I've personally done, but I also remember it being a particularly difficult theme to brainstorm for and to execute. If this one wins, maybe I can at least take solace in the fact that I get a second chance to do this theme after my first attempt turned out so poorly.\n\n...so, what do you all think? If you can make a strong case for any of the ones I've downvoted, or against any of the ones I've upvoted, I'm open to changing my mind.","comments":2,"comments-timestamp":"2018-11-29T11:49:13Z","created":"2018-11-29T03:21:06Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":125622,"love":9,"love-timestamp":"2018-11-29T18:23:32Z","meta":[],"modified":"2018-11-29T18:23:32Z","name":"Final Theme Votes!","node-timestamp":"2018-11-29T05:30:33Z","parent":123108,"parents":[1,5,9,120415,123108],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/43\/goo-glow\/final-theme-votes","published":"2018-11-29T05:30:33Z","scope":"public","slug":"final-theme-votes","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":367105},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"125622","n_urlkey":"338629","n_parent":"123108","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/43\/goo-glow\/final-theme-votes","n_slug":"final-theme-votes","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"122983","n_created":"1543461666","n_modified":"1543515812","n_version":"367105","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/43\/goo-glow\/final-theme-votes","text":"![ld43 final voting.png](\/\/\/raw\/760\/e1\/z\/1afaa.png)\n\nSince everybody's been giving their thoughts on the themes, I thought I'd weigh in for the final round. I'm pretty confident in my ability to come up with something I like no matter what the theme is, so the two main questions I ask myself when voting on themes are:\n\n- Could a complete novice to both programming and game jams make something with this theme?\n- Do I want to spend the three weeks after Ludum Dare playing dozens of the over 3000 games that will result from this jam?\n\nHere's how I think the themes stack up.\n\n**0 - Automation**\n\nThis theme has some versatility, but it does encourage games that are reliant on AI, which is a bit challenging for beginners (and one of my personal weak spots as a developer). It also encourages genres with more passive gameplay styles, such as tower defense and clickers, which aren't my favorite.\n\n**+1 - Break the cycle**\n\nThis is a good theme because it could apply to either the gameplay or the story. There are lots of different types of cycles, both physical and social, so I think this would result in a good amount of variety.\n\n**-1 - Control the environment, not the player**\n\nI suspect that this one would also be a challenge for beginners, but that problem alone would only bring it to a 0. The main reason I really don't want this one to win is because I just spent the last two years working on [a game that (mostly) fits this theme](templescramble.com). I want to do something different!\n\n**0 - Each playthrough builds on the last**\n\nI have a feeling this one is going to lead to a lot of scope creep, especially for more narrative-driven games, but it has some interesting possibilities.\n\n**-1 - Everything grows**\n\nPart of me is voting against this because I already did LD34, where one of the two themes was \"Growing\" (the theme vote was tied, and I incorporated both themes into my entry). The other part of me is voting against this because the addition of \"everything\" makes design and implementation a lot trickier under the constraints of a game jam.\n\n**-1 - It only changes when you aren't looking**\n\nThis is too mechanically specific; I'm skeptical that there would be enough variety in the entries. I'd expect to see a lot of games with Weeping-Angel-like enemies from this theme.\n\n**+1 - Sacrifices must be made**\n\nI almost gave this a 0 because the \"...must be made\" part strikes me as a bit unnecessary, kind of like how a lot of theme suggestions in the slaughter were \"It's all about [X]\" or \"[X] is the key\". I wish they just suggested \"[X]\"! But nonetheless, this is a pretty versatile theme.\n\n**-1 - Absorb your enemies**\n\nAlso too mechanically specific (not all kinds of games have enemies). I'm struggling to come up with an idea that isn't a knockoff of Kirby, Katamari Damacy, or agar.io.\n\n**-1 - Darkness is your friend**\n\nThere are other things that you can do with this theme, but I'd wager that at least half the entries would be stealth games. Not enough variety.\n\n**-1 - Don't trust the game**\n\nOf all the finalists, this is the one that I am most strongly against. A good designer can make a great game that deceives the player, but most of the games would be nearly guaranteed to be frustrating, unintuitive experiences.\n\n**0 - Magic, but at what cost?**\n\nInteresting, but it's a bit restrictive with regards to setting- if there's magic, it pretty much has to be a fantasy setting. I'd vote -1 if it was even more specific about setting, but I suppose there is some versatility even within the fantasy genre. If this one wins, I'd encourage participants to think beyond medievalesque settings with elves and orcs and whatnot.\n\n**+1 - Making connections**\n\nI believe this is the best theme in the finals. There are so many possible interpretations of \"connections\"! Are you making connections between romantic partners? Electrical components? Clues in a murder mystery? Airline flights? This theme can easily fit into any genre but still gives enough information to provide inspiration.\n\n**0 - One item, many uses**\n\nI really liked this theme at first, but I have since realized that \"many uses\" implies \"many mechanics\"- not the best theme for beginners, and (per [my \"I'm in\" post](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/43\/$123108\/im-finally-in-again)) the exact opposite of what I want to be doing this Ludum Dare. I still think it would encourage a good amount of variety, so I won't -1 it.\n\n**0 - Take one, leave one**\n\nI've been going back and forth between 0 and +1 on this one. Is it versatile enough? Maybe... the \"one\" is vague enough, but it does imply a pretty specific mechanic. That mechanic could be applied to a lot of genres, though... It's certainly not a bad theme.\n\n**-1 - Two connected worlds**\n\nLike many others have mentioned, this is strikingly close to the LD30 theme (which was simply \"Connected Worlds\"). I didn't participate in that one, but I'd like to give its 2,538 participants and teams a chance to do something different.\n\n**-1 - Evolve**\n\nThe theme for LD24 was \"Evolution\". Maybe the statute of limitations has passed for this theme; it *was* six years ago and had less than half the participants of modern Ludum Dare. However, I participated in LD24, and not only do I not want to repeat a theme I've personally done, but I also remember it being a particularly difficult theme to brainstorm for and to execute. If this one wins, maybe I can at least take solace in the fact that I get a second chance to do this theme after my first attempt turned out so poorly.\n\n...so, what do you all think? If you can make a strong case for any of the ones I've downvoted, or against any of the ones I've upvoted, I'm open to changing my mind.","title":"Final Theme Votes!","wayback_source":[]}