{"author_link":"\/users\/flinge","author_name":"Flinge","author_uid":"flinge","comments":[],"epoch":1744226519,"event":"LD57","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":414419,"likes":5,"metadata":{"p_key":"211106","p_author":"Flinge","p_authorkey":"1407260","p_urlkey":"450907","p_title":"Development process. Cave Escape \u2014 from darkness to light (that never came)","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD57","p_time":"1744226519","p_likes":"5","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1407260","us_name":"Flinge","us_username":"flinge","event_start":"1743811200","event_key":"111","event_name":"Ludum Dare 57"},"node":{"_collation":{"body_sanitizer":"TextUtils::SanitizeHTML via existing importer","event":"LD57","removed_author":false},"_superparent":406845,"_trust":1,"author":407260,"body":"___\n\nLet\u2019s talk a bit about the **development process** behind our game **Cave Escape** \u2014 what worked, what didn\u2019t, and what we wanted to do but didn\u2019t have time for. Ludum Dare is always a race against the clock, and this one was no exception.\n___\n\n### What was supposed to happen (but didn\u2019t)\n\nThe original idea for **Cave Escape** was a journey from darkness to light.\nThe player starts deep underground, climbing higher and higher, with the hope of eventually reaching the surface.\n\nWe planned for a moment where your score would flip from **negative** to **positive** \u2014 and with that, the whole world would shift: sky-blue background, clouds, bright new palette. A visual breath of fresh air.\n\nThat never made it in.\nBut the idea stuck \u2014 and who knows, maybe in a post-jam version?\n\n![sunny.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/cd6\/36\/z\/6bc5e.jpg)\n \n\n*The last remains of a sky that never came.*\n___\n\n### Skins and palettes\n\nWe experimented with a bunch of **color palettes** and character **skins**. The idea was simple: let the player **choose** the one that feels right for them \u2014 nothing too fancy, just a splash of personalization. Or maybe auto-change it during gameplay.\n\nWe ended up shipping with just one look, but the other designs? They\u2019re still in the project folder, glowing softly, waiting.\n\n![99 (2).png](\/\/\/raw\/cd6\/36\/z\/6bc62.png)\n\n*Neon knights that never saw the light \u2014 but maybe one day.*\n___\n\n### Platform generation: 10 hours of debugging\n\nOne of the biggest **time sinks** during the jam was fixing a **bug** that made some platforms literally **unreachable**. We didn\u2019t spot it right away, and it cost us dearly \u2014 over **10 hours** of troubleshooting and tweaking generation logic just to make sure you could actually **keep climbing**. The fix wasn\u2019t glamorous, but it was **necessary**.\n\n![notebook (1).jpg](\/\/\/raw\/cd6\/36\/z\/6bc78.jpg)\n\n*Trusty notebook saved the day.*\n___\n### Calm spots that stayed on paper\n\n**One of the ideas** we were really excited about was to add occasional **rest zones** during the climb \u2014 **small caves** that would break the tension and give the player a moment of calm. No chasing **darkness**, maybe a couple of boost items. Just a quick **breather** before the next intense section.\n\nIt's meant to be randomly inserted rooms that changed **the pace** of the game. Unfortunately, we didn\u2019t have time to implement them during the jam. It\u2019s an idea we\u2019d like to implement if we **keep working** on the game.\n\n![ded.png](\/\/\/raw\/cd6\/36\/z\/6bc6e.png)\n\n*\u0421oncept mockup of what such a zone could\u2019ve looked like.*\n___\n\n### Thanks for reading!\n\n**Cave Escape** is our **first project** \u2014 made with a lot of love, late nights, last-minute fixes, and more color palettes than we **care to admit**.\n\nIt would mean a lot if you checked out the game and **gave it a try**. We\u2019re really curious to hear what **you** think.\n\n**Play here** \ud83d\udc49\ud83c\udffb https:\/\/flingeris.itch.io\/cavescape\n\n**Rate us here** \ud83d\udc49\ud83c\udffb https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/57\/cave-escape\n___\n                                        Let\u2019s see who climbs the highest\n___\n![Name.png](\/\/\/raw\/cd6\/36\/z\/6bc7e.png)\n\n","comments":1,"comments-timestamp":"2025-04-09T19:34:51Z","created":"2025-04-09T18:33:57Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":414419,"love":5,"love-timestamp":"2025-04-09T21:49:07Z","meta":[],"modified":"2025-04-09T21:49:07Z","name":"Development process. Cave Escape \u2014 from darkness to light (that never came)","node-timestamp":"2025-04-09T19:21:59Z","parent":407262,"parents":[1,5,9,406845,407262],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/57\/cave-escape\/development-process-cave-escape-from-darkness-to-light-that-never-came","published":"2025-04-09T19:21:59Z","scope":"public","slug":"development-process-cave-escape-from-darkness-to-light-that-never-came","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":1307403},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"414419","n_urlkey":"450907","n_parent":"407262","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/57\/cave-escape\/development-process-cave-escape-from-darkness-to-light-that-never-came","n_slug":"development-process-cave-escape-","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"407260","n_created":"1744223637","n_modified":"1744235347","n_version":"1307403","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/57\/cave-escape\/development-process-cave-escape-from-darkness-to-light-that-never-came","text":"___\n\nLet\u2019s talk a bit about the **development process** behind our game **Cave Escape** \u2014 what worked, what didn\u2019t, and what we wanted to do but didn\u2019t have time for. Ludum Dare is always a race against the clock, and this one was no exception.\n___\n\n### What was supposed to happen (but didn\u2019t)\n\nThe original idea for **Cave Escape** was a journey from darkness to light.\nThe player starts deep underground, climbing higher and higher, with the hope of eventually reaching the surface.\n\nWe planned for a moment where your score would flip from **negative** to **positive** \u2014 and with that, the whole world would shift: sky-blue background, clouds, bright new palette. A visual breath of fresh air.\n\nThat never made it in.\nBut the idea stuck \u2014 and who knows, maybe in a post-jam version?\n\n![sunny.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/cd6\/36\/z\/6bc5e.jpg)\n \n\n*The last remains of a sky that never came.*\n___\n\n### Skins and palettes\n\nWe experimented with a bunch of **color palettes** and character **skins**. The idea was simple: let the player **choose** the one that feels right for them \u2014 nothing too fancy, just a splash of personalization. Or maybe auto-change it during gameplay.\n\nWe ended up shipping with just one look, but the other designs? They\u2019re still in the project folder, glowing softly, waiting.\n\n![99 (2).png](\/\/\/raw\/cd6\/36\/z\/6bc62.png)\n\n*Neon knights that never saw the light \u2014 but maybe one day.*\n___\n\n### Platform generation: 10 hours of debugging\n\nOne of the biggest **time sinks** during the jam was fixing a **bug** that made some platforms literally **unreachable**. We didn\u2019t spot it right away, and it cost us dearly \u2014 over **10 hours** of troubleshooting and tweaking generation logic just to make sure you could actually **keep climbing**. The fix wasn\u2019t glamorous, but it was **necessary**.\n\n![notebook (1).jpg](\/\/\/raw\/cd6\/36\/z\/6bc78.jpg)\n\n*Trusty notebook saved the day.*\n___\n### Calm spots that stayed on paper\n\n**One of the ideas** we were really excited about was to add occasional **rest zones** during the climb \u2014 **small caves** that would break the tension and give the player a moment of calm. No chasing **darkness**, maybe a couple of boost items. Just a quick **breather** before the next intense section.\n\nIt's meant to be randomly inserted rooms that changed **the pace** of the game. Unfortunately, we didn\u2019t have time to implement them during the jam. It\u2019s an idea we\u2019d like to implement if we **keep working** on the game.\n\n![ded.png](\/\/\/raw\/cd6\/36\/z\/6bc6e.png)\n\n*\u0421oncept mockup of what such a zone could\u2019ve looked like.*\n___\n\n### Thanks for reading!\n\n**Cave Escape** is our **first project** \u2014 made with a lot of love, late nights, last-minute fixes, and more color palettes than we **care to admit**.\n\nIt would mean a lot if you checked out the game and **gave it a try**. We\u2019re really curious to hear what **you** think.\n\n**Play here** \ud83d\udc49\ud83c\udffb https:\/\/flingeris.itch.io\/cavescape\n\n**Rate us here** \ud83d\udc49\ud83c\udffb https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/57\/cave-escape\n___\n                                        Let\u2019s see who climbs the highest\n___\n![Name.png](\/\/\/raw\/cd6\/36\/z\/6bc7e.png)\n\n","title":"Development process. Cave Escape \u2014 from darkness to light (that never came)","wayback_source":[]}