{"author_link":"\/users\/imphenzia","author_name":"Imphenzia","author_uid":"imphenzia","comments":[],"epoch":1545262970,"event":"LD43","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":137675,"likes":6,"metadata":{"p_key":"127266","p_author":"Imphenzia","p_authorkey":"1000525","p_urlkey":"343387","p_title":"Bl\u00f3t World Record beaten twice today","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD43","p_time":"1545262970","p_likes":"6","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1000525","us_name":"Imphenzia","us_username":"imphenzia","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":1,"author":525,"body":"This is turning out to be so much more fun and rewarding than I ever expected.\n\n** Inspiration**\n\nA few weeks ago I watched a video analyzing Super Mario world record run [Super Mario World Record Explained](https:\/\/goo.gl\/WRFVwD) and I was amazed at the level of hardcore frame timing and how important it was to leverage bugs and glitches in the game to achieve fast runs. That video game me an idea. When I created my LD43 platformer Bl\u00f3t, I knew it would contain some bugs - which Ludum Dare game does not? =)\n\nInspired by the Mario World Record runs I made one level in Bl\u00f3t but I broke it up into 6 stages (you could call it 6 mini-levels). Since most play+rate period game playing probably lasts in the region of 2-10 minutes (my own uneducated guess) I aimed towards a playtime of around 5-10 minutes to complete the game. I figured that I can add more levels and content post jam if the game seems to generate some interest.\n\n** Hosting my own Speedrun Competition **\n\nA couple of weeks following the LD weekend when the dust started to settle, I decided to host a speedrun competition for Bl\u00f3t. When I play-tested before release, I completed the game in about 5 minutes. Before posting the official launch of the competition I recorded my own speedrun as a demo and the time I achieved was 3:28:279.\n\nI have implemented a timer in the game so one can get an accurate score and the idea of the competition is that you have to record your screen to prove your run and post it to YouTube.\n\n** What can you win, and why am I doing this? **\n\nMy main driver for this was to just do it for fun and maybe get some more eyes on the game. I thought I would add some motivation by offering some prizes to the winner ($50), runner up ($25), and third place ($10) in the shape of Amazon or Steam gift cards as a token of appreciation for taking the time to participate. I was a bit concerned if this would be considered unethical in terms of LD since it's all about having fun, training, sharing your game and code for free, and so forth - but at the same time, I figured that if people decided to possibly pour hours into playing the game for the competition there should be some type of reward so I made the decision to give it a try at least.\n\n** Let the speedrunning begin **\n\nThe first day, nothing really happened. Then I got a notice that a Twitch streamer, Hagge (check out his stream: https:\/\/www.twitch.tv\/ahagge). I noticed he was really trying to set a fast pace and he was starting to identify glitches in the game to exploit. For example, I had a keystroke in the game to test the ragdoll during the development which I forgot to remove before I released the game. That keystroke can be used when you reach a runestone to kill the character which saves you a couple of seconds for each runestone as the Viking would otherwise do a little celebration gesture. I also noticed that the resource count did not reduce if you quit to the menu and restarted the game, which means that you can save precious time by not chopping down trees as originally intended when designing the game.\n\n** Today, two new world records were set **\n\nOne by Hagge with a time of 1:39:974:\n\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DlH9Jb5-zNg\n\nAnd within the hour, a new one by HexaBit with a time of 1:33:882\n\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=__Hj7unJ2h8\n\nThese are amazing times already. Only 3 days into the competition. And I see in the videos above that there is still plenty of time to shave off which makes me wonder what the final time will be when the competition ends on midnight of New Year's Eve!\n\n** What's fun and what's rewarding? **\n\nSo, I started this post by mentioning that it is turning out to be more fun and rewarding than I expected.\n\nThe *fun* (and rewarding for that matter) part is seeing people playing the game. I do worry a bit that it will become a bit obsessive though. I noticed myself trying to set a score that adrenaline and nerves kick in and frustration sets in when you throw away what started as a good attempt.\n\nThe *rewarding* part is that the game is receiving extremely thorough play testing and I even get detailed glitch reports (such as this one [Bl\u00f3t Glitch Explained](https:\/\/goo.gl\/rQH4rd) how to reproduce bugs. When I make the post-LD version of Bl\u00f3t, I have very valuable information when it comes to reducing and eliminating bugs.\n\n** It's not a bug... **\n\nFinally, I am enjoying the glitches and the bugs. Even though I strive to eliminate them during the development process, it's funny to see them become tactics in the game when trying to set the fastest possible time to get from start to finish. I suppose, in this sense, I can really say \"It's not a bug, it's a feature\" and really mean it =)\n\n** Want to play? **\n\nIf you want to participate, there is still plenty of time. Check out the announcement video with the rules and prizes here:\n\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ShieefdTYqA\n\n** Have a great Christmas! **\n\nFor now, I wish you all a nice Christmas holiday - take care and have fun making games!","comments":1,"comments-timestamp":"2018-12-20T22:36:48Z","created":"2018-12-19T22:40:26Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":137675,"love":6,"love-timestamp":"2018-12-22T05:51:19Z","meta":[],"modified":"2018-12-22T05:51:19Z","name":"Bl\u00f3t World Record beaten twice today","node-timestamp":"2018-12-19T23:42:50Z","parent":122029,"parents":[1,5,9,120415,122029],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/43\/blot-1\/blot-world-record-beaten-twice-today","published":"2018-12-19T23:42:50Z","scope":"public","slug":"blot-world-record-beaten-twice-today","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":414697},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"137675","n_urlkey":"343387","n_parent":"122029","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/43\/blot-1\/blot-world-record-beaten-twice-today","n_slug":"blot-world-record-beaten-twice-t","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"525","n_created":"1545259226","n_modified":"1545457879","n_version":"414697","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/43\/blot-1\/blot-world-record-beaten-twice-today","text":"This is turning out to be so much more fun and rewarding than I ever expected.\n\n** Inspiration**\n\nA few weeks ago I watched a video analyzing Super Mario world record run [Super Mario World Record Explained](https:\/\/goo.gl\/WRFVwD) and I was amazed at the level of hardcore frame timing and how important it was to leverage bugs and glitches in the game to achieve fast runs. That video game me an idea. When I created my LD43 platformer Bl\u00f3t, I knew it would contain some bugs - which Ludum Dare game does not? =)\n\nInspired by the Mario World Record runs I made one level in Bl\u00f3t but I broke it up into 6 stages (you could call it 6 mini-levels). Since most play+rate period game playing probably lasts in the region of 2-10 minutes (my own uneducated guess) I aimed towards a playtime of around 5-10 minutes to complete the game. I figured that I can add more levels and content post jam if the game seems to generate some interest.\n\n** Hosting my own Speedrun Competition **\n\nA couple of weeks following the LD weekend when the dust started to settle, I decided to host a speedrun competition for Bl\u00f3t. When I play-tested before release, I completed the game in about 5 minutes. Before posting the official launch of the competition I recorded my own speedrun as a demo and the time I achieved was 3:28:279.\n\nI have implemented a timer in the game so one can get an accurate score and the idea of the competition is that you have to record your screen to prove your run and post it to YouTube.\n\n** What can you win, and why am I doing this? **\n\nMy main driver for this was to just do it for fun and maybe get some more eyes on the game. I thought I would add some motivation by offering some prizes to the winner ($50), runner up ($25), and third place ($10) in the shape of Amazon or Steam gift cards as a token of appreciation for taking the time to participate. I was a bit concerned if this would be considered unethical in terms of LD since it's all about having fun, training, sharing your game and code for free, and so forth - but at the same time, I figured that if people decided to possibly pour hours into playing the game for the competition there should be some type of reward so I made the decision to give it a try at least.\n\n** Let the speedrunning begin **\n\nThe first day, nothing really happened. Then I got a notice that a Twitch streamer, Hagge (check out his stream: https:\/\/www.twitch.tv\/ahagge). I noticed he was really trying to set a fast pace and he was starting to identify glitches in the game to exploit. For example, I had a keystroke in the game to test the ragdoll during the development which I forgot to remove before I released the game. That keystroke can be used when you reach a runestone to kill the character which saves you a couple of seconds for each runestone as the Viking would otherwise do a little celebration gesture. I also noticed that the resource count did not reduce if you quit to the menu and restarted the game, which means that you can save precious time by not chopping down trees as originally intended when designing the game.\n\n** Today, two new world records were set **\n\nOne by Hagge with a time of 1:39:974:\n\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DlH9Jb5-zNg\n\nAnd within the hour, a new one by HexaBit with a time of 1:33:882\n\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=__Hj7unJ2h8\n\nThese are amazing times already. Only 3 days into the competition. And I see in the videos above that there is still plenty of time to shave off which makes me wonder what the final time will be when the competition ends on midnight of New Year's Eve!\n\n** What's fun and what's rewarding? **\n\nSo, I started this post by mentioning that it is turning out to be more fun and rewarding than I expected.\n\nThe *fun* (and rewarding for that matter) part is seeing people playing the game. I do worry a bit that it will become a bit obsessive though. I noticed myself trying to set a score that adrenaline and nerves kick in and frustration sets in when you throw away what started as a good attempt.\n\nThe *rewarding* part is that the game is receiving extremely thorough play testing and I even get detailed glitch reports (such as this one [Bl\u00f3t Glitch Explained](https:\/\/goo.gl\/rQH4rd) how to reproduce bugs. When I make the post-LD version of Bl\u00f3t, I have very valuable information when it comes to reducing and eliminating bugs.\n\n** It's not a bug... **\n\nFinally, I am enjoying the glitches and the bugs. Even though I strive to eliminate them during the development process, it's funny to see them become tactics in the game when trying to set the fastest possible time to get from start to finish. I suppose, in this sense, I can really say \"It's not a bug, it's a feature\" and really mean it =)\n\n** Want to play? **\n\nIf you want to participate, there is still plenty of time. Check out the announcement video with the rules and prizes here:\n\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ShieefdTYqA\n\n** Have a great Christmas! **\n\nFor now, I wish you all a nice Christmas holiday - take care and have fun making games!","title":"Bl\u00f3t World Record beaten twice today","wayback_source":[]}