Hey everybody! Now that we're a week into rating, I decided to write up a brief retrospective on my project.

Goal and overview

For the past few Compos, I've generally done pretty well in Graphics, Audio, and Fun. This time, my goal was to focus on one of the more niche categories (most likely Humor, Mood, or Innovation) and aim for the top 100 in that category.

After the theme announcement happened, I decided to focus in on Mood. Rather than pouring all my time into animation and mechanics, I got a pretty simple prototype and framework together, then tried to create some characters, dialogue, and the hint of an in-game world.

The good

Here are the things I think went particularly well: - The scope: I did a pretty good job maximizing return on time investment this event. I did enough graphics to create the right feeling, then filled in the gaps with particle effects, modular animation, and some nice scrolling backgrounds. - The onboarding: While the game itself is pretty simple, I think I did a pretty good job introducing the player to its mechanics, and the various enemy types, as the game progressed. I not only had a tutorial, but it was within the story and dialogue! - The twist: No spoilers in this post, but it's pretty twisty.

The bad

Here are some things I could have done better: - The theme: My interpretation of the theme was pretty weak, especially after I got a few revisions in. I eventually settled for the low-hanging fruit of controlling a shield around a vulnerable player. - The visuals: While the visuals fit the mood of the game fairly well and I necessarily had to cut some scope to make room for other work (like four music tracks... oof), I still think my graphics were overall less standout this event than some previous ones. - The player character specifically: You're a green circle. I drew a green circle. That's peak art, right there.

Conclusion

I think, in general, I met my goal for this event. I made something very different than any of my past games and experimented in the aesthetic, audio, and overall tone. I think that top 100 in Mood is within the realm of possibility, but with 1300 Compo entries there's going to be some stiff competition.

If you want to play my game, you can find it on my game page.

Have a great rating season, everybody!