Tools

• Engine: Löve2D
• Programming: VS Code, Lua language server, some popular libraries in Lua, and some tiny base code made by myself
  • Collision library: bump.lua
  • Tweening library: tween.lua
• Graphics: Krita, Aseprite
• Audio: Reaper, Vitalium, sfxr

Work Approach

Decide the gameplay quickly

• This time I should pick the basic rules, obstacles and goals during the first hour of the run.
• Keep the idea achievable: I should have proper experience and tools for the content and the scale of the game project I wish for.
• Brainstorming for more ideas might be cool, but having too many ideas doesn't help make actual progress, and a mediocre starter can evolve during the development and grow to a robust idea.
• As long as the programming is made enough modular (but not too fragmented), altering a gameplay design by recombining elements can be done without too much extra effort.

Sketch down some sample scenarios before continuing

• An obstacle level that the player is going to face, or a flow graph of resources that the player is going to keep balance... I suppose I will need examples of gameplay scenerios by the first or second hour of the run.
• The concept will get more logical only when it is made into more expressions on paper or digital canvas. Edge cases can be discovered early.

Effort

• Coding:
  • Split down the design from top to bottom by writing use case scripts ready to be directly used in-game. Keep the use cases simplistic and extensible.
  • Implement the methods from bottom to top. Don't implement all the methods at once, instead implement the functionalities being used immediately.
• Visual:
  • Color, shape and layout languages are more effecient to deliver visual information on the first glance, so make them done before making details. If unsure, keep a palette and use fewest colors as possible, so that each color can correspond to one kind of gameplay element.

Eleventh hour

• I should discard as early as possible the features that are not likely to be finished; if a core feature is going to be discarded (what an emergency), downscale and redesign the whole game using existing materials as early as possible.
• I should reserve 8 hours for polishing and uploading the game, and I should know I might end up using part of it for finishing the last few features. Guidance elements are prior to fancy effects; but in the end, after the gameplay itself is built complete, players will agree fancy games look nicer than non fancy ones.

Let me know whether my thoughts are helpful or not from your point of view!