{"author_name":"filiph","cat":"LD #33","comments":[],"epoch":1440620640,"likes":2,"metadata":{"p_key":"13356","p_author":"filiph","p_authorkey":"42061","p_urlkey":"48611","p_title":"Loch Ness post mortem","p_cat":"LD #33","p_event":"LD33","p_time":"1440620640","p_likes":"2","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"42061","us_name":"filiph","us_username":"filiph","event_start":"1440115200","event_key":"29","event_name":"LD33"},"text":"<p>This was my first LD and I enjoyed it immensely. Here&#8217;s what the final web-based game (<a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-33\/?action=preview&amp;uid=42061\">LD page here<\/a>) looks on a phone.<\/p>\n <p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n <p><a href=\"http:\/\/egamebook.com\/lochness\/\"><img class=\"wp-image-495759 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/D550314.5.A.0.270filiph08262015214211.mp4_.gif\" alt=\"D550314.5.A.0.270filiph08262015214211.mp4\" width=\"338\" height=\"600\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n <p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n <h2>What went wrong?<\/h2>\n <ul>\n <li>Way,\u00a0<em>way<\/em> too ambitious design (strategy game, fuzzy logic, trying a zillion new things).<\/li>\n <li>Time management.\u00a0Getting lost in playtesting. Procrastination.<\/li>\n <li>Several stupid bugs that stopped my progress for tens of minutes at a time.\n <ul>\n <li>Next time I&#8217;ll try out the technologies beforehand. And I might (might!) use a little bit of Test Driven Development. During Ludum Dare, it feels like wasting time, but I think it&#8217;d save me <em>more<\/em> time later, with the bugs.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/li>\n <li>Result:\n <ul>\n <li>No endgame.<\/li>\n <li>Half the features are missing (most of them have\u00a0code prepared for them, too, I just didn&#8217;t have the time to complete). In case I get to implement those, these are <span style=\"color: #ff0000\">SPOILERS<\/span>:\n <ul>\n <li>The game was supposed to feature other monster factions (the Mothmen, the Bigfoots).<\/li>\n <li>The People faction was also supposed to have monsters (like Chuck Norris, Silvester Stallone, etc.)<\/li>\n <li>Options to eat people (to regain HP) and build a lair didn&#8217;t make it.<\/li>\n <li>Once in a while, a hatchling was supposed to grow up and act independently as a &#8220;captain&#8221; in your realm. You could have (incestious) sex with it to get more fertile.<\/li>\n <li>People&#8217;s reaction to your wrongdoings were supposed to escalate (from SWAT teams to jet fighters).<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/li>\n <li>Map added at last resort and only visible once at the beginning. In a strategy game! (Although, it&#8217;s more complicated. See my comment at the <a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-33\/?action=preview&amp;uid=42061\">game&#8217;s page<\/a>.)<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n <h2>What went well?<\/h2>\n <ul>\n <li>Way, <em>way<\/em> too ambitious design.\n <ul>\n <li>Yes, I think it&#8217;s both good and bad. If I made a more straightforward game, I think it would bother me in retrospect that I didn&#8217;t try something I always wanted to.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/li>\n <li>Skipping visuals and audio altogether.\n <ul>\n <li>I really, really suck at graphics. The result would be horrible anyway, and I&#8217;d spend at least half a day on it.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/li>\n <li>Going procedural.\n <ul>\n <li>Much more replayability and fun (more agency for the player).<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/li>\n <li>Using the fuzzy logic AI for player&#8217;s choices.\n <ul>\n <li>Allowed the game to keep the gamebook\/CYOA feel while still being a sandbox.<\/li>\n <li>If you want to know how I did it, <a href=\"http:\/\/egamebook.com\/blog\/complex-systems-simple-interface\/\">I wrote an article about it<\/a>.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/li>\n <li>Doing it in a web technology (Dart + HTML in my case).\n <ul>\n <li>I would never get as many votes without it.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <p>Thanks for reading this far. Go <a href=\"http:\/\/egamebook.com\/lochness\/\">play it<\/a>.<\/p>","time":"August 26th, 2015 3:24 pm","title":"Loch Ness post mortem"}