Making games is both easy and hard

• Figuring out an idea based on a theme can be easy, but distilling it down to something achievable in two days is hard.
• Getting started with a few clicks for some shapes and a bit of code for a basic concept is easy, but having a plan for a project and follow through is hard.
• Polishing a single thing until it works great is easy, but seeing the bigger picture and make the bits into a whole is hard.

What I learned

The good

• Making something by and for yourself is really fun and satisfying. Even though the weekend was quite stressful I had such a great time.
• When you must do everything on your own lean on your strengths. I have a decent understanding of unity and how it works so I leveraged the basic systems like game loop and physics instead of making a new game engine. Mathematics and computer science come naturally so working with code for systems and shader graph was a great idea.
• Just getting started without a solid plan the first hour and then stopping to make a plan worked great. Setting up the project, box out stuff, while thinking of the greater picture and what you want to do. Since it was quick project I just had a small to-do list in a text file.
• Posting progress during the project was a great way to see what was done and get a good feel for the progress I made. Reading through the short updates after release felt great.

The bad

• Since I’m not an artist I choose to avoid graphics this time around. Overall it was a good idea but it made the game look generic. At least using a more expressive font could have made the game stood out more. Could have made a logo for the game using some online tool.
• Music is fine, but the loop is too short and become repetitive. Should have planed more time to create a longer tune. Happy with the sound since it fits the overall theme well.
• I had two prior commitments during the weekend. That took a lot of time from my project. When I was away I thought about what I would do and fix in my project when I got home. Make sure you plan your weekend in advance so you don’t end up with other stuff to do.

The ugly

• Learning something new during Ludum Dare is maybe not recommended for a beginner. Spent a few hours learning Unity’s new input system. Still, I couldn’t figure out how to get the controller working properly on the main menu in time. The basic input system would have been okay for this prototype.
• Build to WebGL refused to work at the end of the compo. Had to export everything and import into another project to get a build working. A few days later I figured out it was a bug in Unity. If the field company name includes quotation mark the WebGL build won’t start. I’ve reported it to Unity in case 1370946.

Post compo

I’ve been working on my prototype after release. Got some great feedback on my submission page here at Ludum Dare that I learned from. After the play and rate period is over I will update the game. Here is what I’ve been working on so far.

Change log: * Better detection if player is grounded. * Visuals indicate if player can jump. * Player can no longer partily land on an edge. * Player is a bit faster and feels more nimble. * Level is less bright and shiny. * End of level animation improved.

Please play my game Unpredictable Processes and give me more suggestions in the comment section.