{"author_name":"Filip","cat":"LD #32","comments":[],"epoch":1431367920,"likes":1,"metadata":{"p_key":"17355","p_author":"Filip","p_authorkey":"39872","p_urlkey":"52658","p_title":"missls post mortem","p_cat":"LD #32","p_event":"LD32","p_time":"1431367920","p_likes":"1","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"39872","us_name":"Filip","us_username":"filip","event_start":"1429228800","event_key":"27","event_name":"LD32"},"text":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-32\/?action=preview&amp;uid=39872\"><img class=\"alignright wp-image-467201 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/missls-431-300x300.png\" alt=\"missls-43\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/missls-431-150x150.png 150w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/missls-431-300x300.png 300w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/missls-431-550x550.png 550w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/missls-431.png 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>[Competition entry]<\/a><\/p>\n <p>This is the first time I have entered Ludum Dare competition. The game is a multiplayer missile battle on a small planet.<\/p>\n <h2>What went right<\/h2>\n <ul>\n <li>Brainstorming: I took my time to collect inspiration and meditated a bit to refresh my mind before I came up with the idea to mix Scorched Earth with Missile Command and add planetary physics.<\/li>\n <li>Local LD gathering: I co-organized a <a href=\"http:\/\/gamedev.cuni.cz\/events\/future\/2015-ludum-dare-32-mff\/\">LD gathering at my faculty<\/a>. Having people around working towards a similar goal helped me a lot to keep focused on the task.<\/li>\n <li>Karimba sound effects and music: Among other stuff I could possibly use at the gathering, I brought a karimba. <a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/author\/maral\/\">Marek Lis\u00fd<\/a> (big thanks!) brought a microphone I used to record a short melody and sounds for the game. I think the combination of the sounds with the visuals and the theme is fresh and the sounds reduce the gloominess of the whole game.<\/li>\n <li>Art style: The movie War Games&#8217; iconic symbolic depiction of global nuclear conflict matches my game&#8217;s setting, my personal taste and the constraints of LD compo. The short film Cannon Fodder from the collection Memories helped me decide the looks of the war instruments.<\/li>\n <li>Using the GameMaker tool: I had some prior experience with the tool. I was able to produce a prototype with the basic gameplay and visuals in about five hours, using especially the integrated physics engine (Box2D).<\/li>\n <li>Project management: Most of the time I managed to focus on features that were lacking the most. I think I managed to keep the game simple (perhaps too simple in the end) and to prepare a quite consistent version for the competition deadline.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <h2>What went wrong<\/h2>\n <ul>\n <li>Insufficient playtesting: Working solo on a game in which tight interaction between several player controlled machines is crucial is lacking. I was able to improve the gameplay a lot after the competition in a couple of sessions with a friend.<\/li>\n <li>Game name: The projectiles in the game aren&#8217;t self-propelled but I decided to stick with the placeholder name &#8220;missls&#8221;. If I continue expanding the game (which I&#8217;d love to), I&#8217;ll try to change the name.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n \n <p>Tags: <a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/tag\/postmortem\/\" rel=\"tag\">postmortem<\/a><\/p>","time":"May 11th, 2015 1:12 pm","title":"missls post mortem"}