{"author_name":"scorched","cat":"LD #33","comments":[{"author_name":"6DownStudios","time":"September 6, 2015 4:47 pm","epoch":1441576020,"text":"Congrats on the entry, and good onya for the post-mortem!
\n I think trying HaxeFlixel is a great idea for next time! With the tutorials it’s pretty easy to pick up, and there are many well-documented demos for game-related features.","spam":"N"}],"epoch":1441569420,"likes":1,"metadata":{"p_key":"13039","p_author":"scorched","p_authorkey":"48268","p_urlkey":"48291","p_title":"\u201cCave Sweet Cave\u201d post-mortem: the monster died, the game designer was born!","p_cat":"LD #33","p_event":"LD33","p_time":"1441569420","p_likes":"1","p_comments":"1","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"48268","us_name":"scorched","us_username":"scorched","event_start":"1440115200","event_key":"29","event_name":"LD33"},"text":"
\n Hello, everyone! Two weeks had passed, it’s time to make a retrospect of my success and failure (…in hunting and eating you! kidding! (-: ).<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

What went right<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Playtesting.<\/h3>\n

I had the time to do two playtests. For the first one I recorded a nice animated GIF, and collected some useful about player experience, for example, my enemy sprite was seen as a child (but was not meant this way), so I replaced it with a neat soldier sprite.<\/p>\n

Social media.<\/h3>\n

I started using Twitter, posted some warmup things. I had a good time there in development breaks, still not bothering too much. I also wrote some funny texts for my posts (“I hunger for playtesters!”).<\/p>\n

Bosca Ceoil.<\/h3>\n

This easy to learn tool (with integrated tutorial!) made my first game music possible! I exercised with it for a couple months, so the music was good.<\/p>\n

Unity.<\/h3>\n

I was familiar with the engine for quite a long, and for sure knew how to code for it.<\/p>\n

Deadline.<\/h3>\n

I had to cut some corners but I was able to tweet and play others’ games while waiting for playtesters the second time. No one participated in that playtest, and I just submitted it 30 min before submission hour began and went to sleep \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

What went wrong.<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Playtesting (again).<\/h3>\n

In the first playtest some people said that they didn’t get what to do (even if it was shown in the animated GIF!). I didn’t listen to them, and realized it as a problem only post-compo… And the second playtest (some hours before deadline) was left unnoticed, zero comments.<\/p>\n

Unity (again).<\/h3>\n

To be honest, making pixel-art games in the engine is pain! Considering to use Haxe(Flixel?) next time. I also failed to publish WebGL version of game because of the bug in Unity (confirmed by devs) which ruined the music completely.<\/p>\n

No animations, few angles in sprites.<\/h3>\n

I had no experience in animation, and had no time to animate sprites. Also the main hero was exactly the same as I drawn him at the beginning (took about 10 minutes). And the enemy had only two sprites: alive and dead, with no angles.<\/p>\n

Krita.<\/h3>\n

I didn’t update my tools not to break anything, but I regretted it with Krita. The version I used was a buggy one!<\/p>\n

Few levels.<\/h3>\n

I began making levels 2-4 (total 4 in the game) at the second half of the second day. They only provide tutorials to mechanics, and not very much freedom to actually enjoy the game… I’ve returned from a business trip at last, so I think I’ll find the time to add 10+ more levels now.<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

Conclusion.<\/h2>\n

I had a great time participating in LD33, and playing what talented new-comers and old-timers done.<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

Take a risk! Survive!<\/a><\/h2>\n <\/div>","time":"September 6th, 2015 2:57 pm","title":"\u201cCave Sweet Cave\u201d post-mortem: the monster died, the game designer was born!"}