{"author_name":"Aaranos","cat":"LD #33","comments":[],"epoch":1441144680,"likes":2,"metadata":{"p_key":"13102","p_author":"Aaranos","p_authorkey":"51253","p_urlkey":"48353","p_title":"LD33 After Thoughts","p_cat":"LD #33","p_event":"LD33","p_time":"1441144680","p_likes":"2","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"51253","us_name":"Aaranos","us_username":"\/author\/aaranos\/","event_start":"1440115200","event_key":"29","event_name":"LD33"},"text":"<blockquote class=\"imgur-embed-pub\" lang=\"en\" data-id=\"ZrZELrD\"><p><a href=\"http:\/\/imgur.com\/ZrZELrD\">View post on imgur.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <p><script async src=\"\/\/s.imgur.com\/min\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n <p>Going in &#8211;<\/p>\n <p>Starting my 2nd ludum dare competition was something I didn&#8217;t know if I would do or not. I had spent very little time looking into how to use any tools or if I would be able to make something worth presenting. I made something for the warmup weekend though and it made me more confident in that I knew I could get SOMETHING made that would at least be good experience. I worked on relearning some basic pixel art, audio tools, and Gdevelop. I knew I hadn&#8217;t prepared enough for anything with real coding so I went with that. I spent most of my week learning how to use my tools effectively and read up on some tips and tricks. On the night before the release of the theme I took the final 20 submissions and brain stormed ideas for about 3\/4ths of them. Luckily for me the one that got chose was one I had a decent idea for. I also knew this time around to try and make a game that is short and simple, because there are thousands of others they still have to play.<\/p>\n <p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n <p>Good &#8211;<\/p>\n <blockquote class=\"imgur-embed-pub\" lang=\"en\" data-id=\"bTkVJTC\"><p><a href=\"http:\/\/imgur.com\/bTkVJTC\">View post on imgur.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <p><script async src=\"\/\/s.imgur.com\/min\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n <p>I feel like I learned a lot about the tools I used before hand with the warmup and that gave me the skills I needed to make something simple for LD33. The tool Gdevelop is surprisingly robust for something that requires 0 coding and with it easily exporting to web and being a small file it makes it perfect for a weekend game project. I lucked out with this tool because it was exactly what I needed to counter my early on lack of preparation.<\/p>\n <blockquote class=\"imgur-embed-pub\" lang=\"en\" data-id=\"Vl95SQu\"><p><a href=\"http:\/\/imgur.com\/Vl95SQu\">View post on imgur.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <p><script async src=\"\/\/s.imgur.com\/min\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n <p>The gameplay turned out better than I could of hoped for because I worked out the major glitches early on and even managed to find a quirky physics system in Gdevelop that adds that extra humor value. I know I love games with ridiculous physics and when I was tossing knights around and making them bounce off each other I knew I had to leave it in. Based on the comments I&#8217;ve gotten it has been a crowd pleaser.<\/p>\n <p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n <p>The art and music turned out pretty well too despite what I thought. I am horrible with music so I tried to keep it a simple beat and I think I succeeded in making it tolerable. The art is simple but I think I followed the basic rules of pixel art well enough that it doesn&#8217;t look terrible. I&#8217;ve seen some other games so far that blow me away with how they got such a good look in 48-72 hours though.<\/p>\n <p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n <p>Bad &#8211;<\/p>\n <p>I had intended for this game to be pretty different than how it turned out and some limitations of the tools I used and my own lack of experience were the downfall of me. I feel like I made a decent game for the competition but it could of been much better had I prepared.<\/p>\n <blockquote class=\"imgur-embed-pub\" lang=\"en\" data-id=\"ph6202J\"><p><a href=\"http:\/\/imgur.com\/ph6202J\">View post on imgur.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <p><script async src=\"\/\/s.imgur.com\/min\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n <p>I decided that ceiling traps were a bit too much like LD32 with it being an unconventional weapon, also it would of taken a lot of time from refining what I did have ready.<\/p>\n <blockquote class=\"imgur-embed-pub\" lang=\"en\" data-id=\"Lqw7g3Q\"><p><a href=\"http:\/\/imgur.com\/Lqw7g3Q\">View post on imgur.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <p><script async src=\"\/\/s.imgur.com\/min\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n <p>The ideas I had were great but unfortunately I was unable to do more than a basic attack. I had the assets and code for the throwing axe but it made the knights go a little buggy so I scrapped it because I knew it would be a headache to debug it in just 6 hours.<\/p>\n <blockquote class=\"imgur-embed-pub\" lang=\"en\" data-id=\"mi8ERh0\"><p><a href=\"http:\/\/imgur.com\/mi8ERh0\">View post on imgur.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <p><script async src=\"\/\/s.imgur.com\/min\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n <p>I had a cool idea for an easter egg where if you continue to play and die over and over the sprite degrades until you are a token and it gives you a game over with no replay. I decided to scrap that because wow would that of been awful to do with 1 day left. I did make the last one though where there are two different death screens.<\/p>\n <p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n <p>Next time &#8211;<\/p>\n <p>I really want to learn enough of Unity to make something with it for LD34. I am working on learning C# and I think it should be easy enough with my previous scripting\/programming experience. One of the other things I would love to work on is my pixel art, because I feel gameplay, art, and sound are the key aspects of any game.<\/p>\n <p>This time I went for the compo because I knew I could finish in the time limit and to be honest I still had hours to spare and just submitted early. Next time I might try to find some people to work with and do the Jam instead because teams seem to produce the best quality overall.<\/p>\n <p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n <p>Overall I enjoyed LD33 and playing the games others have made, if you haven&#8217;t seen mine yet please give it a try, it&#8217;s quick and worth a few minutes of your time c:<\/p>\n <p>http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-33\/?action=preview&#038;uid=51253<\/p>","time":"September 1st, 2015 4:58 pm","title":"LD33 After Thoughts"}