{"author_name":"ChuiGum","cat":"LD #33","comments":[{"author_name":"","time":"August 21, 2015 5:29 pm","epoch":1440196140,"text":"Good post, nice to help out people who are new! I’m going to nitpick though haha. I thought the Theme advice might not necessarily apply to everyone’s personal workflow. I might be in the minority, but sometimes when thinking up concepts (both solo and with a partner) it tends to take anywhere from the first 4-12 hours to settle on something before starting (including sleep, the theme is announced at 9pm for me so sometimes I need to sleep on it).","spam":"N"},{"author_name":"","time":"August 21, 2015 6:36 pm","epoch":1440200160,"text":"Yeah I usually design the entire game off of the theme, mechanics, genre, and all. I’ve never started developing before solidifying the idea, but that’s just how I (strongly) prefer to do it. \ud83d\ude1b","spam":"N"}],"epoch":1440194580,"likes":3,"metadata":{"p_key":"15943","p_author":"ChuiGum","p_authorkey":"22408","p_urlkey":"51227","p_title":"Some Tips For You First Ludum Darers","p_cat":"LD #33","p_event":"LD33","p_time":"1440194580","p_likes":"3","p_comments":"2","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"22408","us_name":"ChuiGum","us_username":"chuigum","event_start":"1440115200","event_key":"29","event_name":"LD33"},"text":"

Got some little tips for you 1st Ludum Darers I want to share. This will be my 7th LD<\/em>, so these tips are just from my experience.<\/p>\n

Making Your Game<\/strong><\/p>\n

*If you don\u2019t finish making a game, DON\u2019T WORRY<\/em> because you\u2019re not alone. Also remember, it\u2019s only your first<\/em> LD<\/em>.<\/p>\n

*GAMEPLAY<\/em> is what\u2019s important! Yes, good Graphics are nice, good Music is even nicer, but you want Gameplay<\/em>. When people are having fun playing a game, they\u2019re having fun because the gameplay itself is fun. Graphics, Music, and other things definitely improve your game, but you only have 48-72 hours to create something. Shoot for the gameplay, the first thing you want to do with your game is to create the core mechanics. Make all the Graphics rectangles, and forget about the Sound for now. You don\u2019t even need to turn in your entry with a title screen, splash screen, whatever. Sure, on the last day you can change the graphics, but earlier on just focus on the Gameplay<\/em>.<\/p>\n

*THEME<\/em> is important, but not as important as you think it is. If you can think of a game idea revolving around the theme in an hour or two, awesome, but if you can\u2019t than just start making a game and then later on you can incorporate the theme. Let\u2019s say the theme sucks (in your opinion), and you can\u2019t think of anything, just start making a top-down shooter (for example) and then when you figure out a way to incorporate the theme, incorporate it.<\/p>\n

Post Compo\/Jam<\/strong><\/p>\n

*If you haven\u2019t completely finished your game (which is probably the case), try to finish\/polish<\/em> it even though your entry is already in. When you’re done with that, add the link to the Post Compo\/Jam version of your game next to the 48\/72 hr version so that people can play both of them. Not only does it make you feel better about yourself, but it can also persuade some people to possibly give you better ratings based on your Post Compo\/Jam version.<\/p>\n

*RATE GAMES!<\/em> Rate as many games as possible, and give everyone a comment. The more games you rate, the more times your game shows up on the front page. Comments help as well because some people will look at their comments and click on your name to see your game. If you can rate more than about 250 games (which is pretty difficult to do), your game may show up on the Most Coolness<\/em> page which would be awesome because lots of people visit that page. If you don\u2019t rate any<\/em> games then just about no one will see your game, so RATE GAMES!<\/em><\/p>\n

Good Luck to Everyone Participating in LD 33!<\/strong>\u00a0I know<\/em> this one will be awesome! c:<\/p>","time":"August 21st, 2015 5:03 pm","title":"Some Tips For You First Ludum Darers"}