{"author_name":"struffy","cat":"LD #33","comments":[],"epoch":1441267860,"likes":3,"metadata":{"p_key":"13080","p_author":"struffy","p_authorkey":"2600","p_urlkey":"48331","p_title":"Being a Kraken","p_cat":"LD #33","p_event":"LD33","p_time":"1441267860","p_likes":"3","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"2600","us_name":"struffy","us_username":"struffy","event_start":"1440115200","event_key":"29","event_name":"LD33"},"text":"<p><iframe width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AqN-xPkA6nc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n <p>This is my first ever entry to the Ludum Dare\u00a0compo: Being a Kraken. So\u00a0firstly, a\u00a0big thank you to everyone that has reviewed it.<\/p>\n <p>In this game you play as\u00a0the Kraken and battle with Ironclads using the mass and kinetic energy of your body. A quick post mortem follows.<\/p>\n <p><strong>What went right<\/strong><\/p>\n <ul>\n <li>I spent the morning in charity shops looking for ideas and when the game idea came, I stuck with it\u00a0(minus tentacles).<\/li>\n <li>I chose to use my own games engine. Despite some technical hurdles &#8211; it was at least\u00a0familiar, with C++ still cutting it as a workable prototyping language.<\/li>\n <li>The buoyancy was pretty good (almost straight away). It\u00a0offered\u00a0a fun game dynamic but also one that could be easily balanced.<\/li>\n <li>I didn&#8217;t spend too long on the competition &#8211; maybe 16 hours solid at a guess. However, this was enough to get a fully playable game (and a fun\u00a0game dynamic) demonstrable.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <div><strong>What didn&#8217;t go so well<\/strong><\/div>\n <div><\/div>\n <div><a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2600-shot0-1440375600.JPG-eq-900-500.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-499245 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2600-shot0-1440375600.JPG-eq-900-500-300x234.jpg\" alt=\"2600-shot0-1440375600.JPG-eq-900-500\" width=\"300\" height=\"234\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2600-shot0-1440375600.JPG-eq-900-500-300x234.jpg 300w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2600-shot0-1440375600.JPG-eq-900-500-550x429.jpg 550w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2600-shot0-1440375600.JPG-eq-900-500.jpg 641w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n <ul>\n <li>In a word &#8211; water. The water in the comp version is not great. I spent too long on it &#8211; but also not enough time! I had initially thought that CPU was the wrong choice for water (no doubt it is)&#8230;\u00a0I just couldn&#8217;t get the stuff to look right. However, a week later and a couple of hours to spare I fixed normals which were so obviously pointing the wrong way. I just assumed my shader wasn&#8217;t culling, and it actually was, hiding the polys that would have made the water look right. This has led to some fairly deserved criticism such as the player can be left disoriented &#8211; there is no clear up in the early version.<\/li>\n <li>It was difficult to create anything that could be deployed reliably at the end of the comp. I had problems with XInput DLLs (even on a GL build as I support Xbox controllers).<\/li>\n <li>The sound in the comp game is a little\u00a0abrasive.<\/li>\n <li>Dropped features: I had to let the idea of tentacles go. It would have been really fun\u00a0grabbing ships, or searching the decks for sailors.<\/li>\n <li>Some of my tech wasn&#8217;t ready for a compo &#8211; my lighting solution was poor, and I need\u00a0a better way of setting per-shader constants e.g. setting lighting different on different objects as this was very limiting. More preparation needed.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <p>Anyway, please let me know what you think of <a href=\"http:\/\/baawolf.itch.io\/being-a-kraken\">Being A Kraken <\/a>(edited posted competition)\u00a0and have a look at the shared files for more info and its dev log.<\/p>\n <p>Updates coming and looking at a new\u00a0Oculus 0.7 version (0.44 should be supported in DX11 version).<\/p>\n <p>&nbsp;<\/p>","time":"September 3rd, 2015 3:11 am","title":"Being a Kraken"}