Well, well, well, Ludum Dare. We met again ! I had been waiting for you for the last four months. You did not disappoint me !

So how did it go ? Not bad I would say. I entered the compo and chose to build a 2D – one keyboard – 1v1 multiplayer (kinda) arena called A battle for the Graveyard. The final product is not perfect, but I really enjoy it (more that my previous entry, by far).

What went right ?

• The gameplay : I think I did the right choice by avoiding to build an inverted rogue-like game. A 1v1 game is always fun to play !
• The graphics : It was my first time using a Wacom device, and I think I did a pretty good job. The whole environment looks consistent and, even though it could be better, it felt polished enough to me for a 48 hours game jam.
• The sounds : Despite there’s no music, I think the ambiance sounds are adding a lot to the game.
• Time management : Once again, I did manage my time pretty well. I posted the game 2 hours before the deadline without the feeling of being rushed. I slept a total of 10 hours, had walks, took the time to have proper meals.

What went less right (who said wrong ?) ?

• Controls : Some player felt like the controls for player 2 could have been better. And I must agree with that. I could have use the arrows instead of IJKL.
• That’s a multi player game : In general, this isn’t wrong. But when it comes to Ludum Dare, people have to try a lot of games in a short period of time and usually do it alone. I guess a lot of people wanted to rate the game but couldn’t really appreciate the gameplay.
• Game balance : Even if it isn’t that bad, it still needs some tweeking. Some abilities feel a bit OP sometimes.
• Animation : I did the mistake to not implement animations in my code when I should have and when I realised I should have had, it was too late.

What’s coming next ?

Well, I will work on a full version of the game, implementing more features and fixing issues, such as :

• Different multiplayer modes (same keyboard, LAN, Internet).
• Solo mode (which means I will have to create an AI).
• More abilities, more characters, more environment elements.
• Animations, more polished art.
• Music, more sounds.
• Gamepad controllers.
• A more balanced game.

I hope you’ll enjoy the game as much as I enjoyed creating it ! And do not forget to rate it and to leave a comment ! 😉

Yamzho.