This was my 12th Ludum Dare, and the first one after taking about 3 years off… it’s great to be back. This time I used Godot instead of Unity. I’ve been using Godot off and on for about 6 months and this was the first time I finished a game using this engine... the result is Me Want Donut!

Friday

As always, once the theme is announced, I have difficulty trying to find a game I want to develop. I do look over the possible themes and jot down some ideas, but for Summoning, I had nothing. I decided to see what came to me. After a few hours, nothing did, and since it was late I decided to call it a night.

Saturday

Up early Saturday morning to see if I can put together an idea. I had an idea where someone would get items for the player. I started coding basic movement and after a few hours, I had something working. A few dozen updates later and the game morphed into what it is now… bringing donuts to a monster.

I learned a lot about Godot on Saturday… trial by fire. I had to (quickly) learn how to create and use tile maps, how to animate objects with sprite sheets and individual images, and how to create builds for Mac and PC.

Sunday and Monday

Both days were spent on testing, adding “just one more” idea to improve gameplay, adding sound and visuals, and getting ready for submittal.

What Went Well

I am impressed with Godot and gdScript and how easy it is to put together a game. I am also glad I had a few months to work with Godot and put together some smaller games… the experience really helped during the game jam.

What Can Be Improved

I seem to have a difficult time putting together an idea for a game once the theme is announced. It takes me forever, and I “wing it” as I go along. The end result is what counts though… I do get a game out, but it seems more difficult. I also had a little trouble understanding what all the UI Nodes do, but I got something workable.

Future?

Of course, every LD leaves me thinking that I should expand my game, and this one is no different. I do have some ideas that I think will make this a lot of fun to play with a group. I’m going to spend some time to work that out. Who knows… maybe something will come out of this game in the long run.