{"author_link":"\/users\/atsh","author_name":"atsh","author_uid":"atsh","comments":[],"epoch":1744802775,"event":"LD57","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":415027,"likes":5,"metadata":{"p_key":"211450","p_author":"atsh","p_authorkey":"1407336","p_urlkey":"451256","p_title":"My First Ludum Dare \u2013 Simulating the Deepest Dive","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD57","p_time":"1744802775","p_likes":"5","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1407336","us_name":"atsh","us_username":"atsh","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":407336,"body":"When I saw the various theme options during the voting rounds, I was inspired to make a game about the Mariana Trench, and I was really happy when a most fitting theme was chosen.\nFor those who don't know, the Mariana Trench contains the deepest known point in the ocean\u2014Challenger Deep\u2014located 11 km underwater. This point was popularized when film director James Cameron completed the first solo dive to it in the Deepsea Challenger submarine.\n\nMany years ago, I saw a [picture](https:\/\/sciencebasedlife.wordpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/rxko0l.jpg) that visualized the trench\u2019s depth. It was more effective back then, since computer resolutions were much lower, so it took some time to scroll down. My goal was to capture some of that feeling in the game.\n\nI wanted the game to be somewhat realistic, so I started by determining the pixel-to-meter ratio. I used 640x360 resolution, and the Deepsea Challenger submarine is 7.3 meters long, so I chose 8 pixels per meter because I liked the resulting length of 58 pixels for the submarine. This also defined the play area, as I knew the ocean would be 11,000 * 8 pixels deep.\n\nThe speed of the submarine was derived from this scale. The Deepsea Challenger took 2 hours and 37 minutes to reach the seafloor, so I adjusted the in-game speed to make the descent take about 2 minutes and 37 seconds. Other things were also determined by this scale\u2014like the pelagic zones (how much light penetrates at different depths) and the oceanic basin (the slope of the ocean floor).\n\nThe [UI](https:\/\/deepseachallenge.com\/the-sub\/systems-and-technology\/) and the color of the submarine were also inspired by the Deepsea Challenger. I did choose to forgo realism for the sake of gameplay. The fauna you encounter appear at the correct depths, and the whales are to scale, but the other fish are much larger so you can actually see them.\n\nI was blown away by the positivity here. I received a lot of feedback\u2014both positive and constructive. I was really concerned when I saw the post about Ludum Dare possibly not happening when I first wanted to join, and I\u2019m happy to support Mike on Patreon because this has been such a great experience for me. I hope it keeps going.\n\nYou're welcome to try [The Trench](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/57\/the-trench)\n\n\n![Screen Recording 2025-04-16 at 14.12.15.gif](\/\/\/raw\/827\/36\/z\/6c3e5.gif)\n*Finding sperm whales (one of the deepest diving mammals) in the midnight zone*","comments":0,"created":"2025-04-16T10:58:42Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":415027,"love":5,"love-timestamp":"2025-04-16T22:31:57Z","meta":[],"modified":"2025-04-16T22:31:57Z","name":"My First Ludum Dare \u2013 Simulating the Deepest Dive","node-timestamp":"2025-04-16T11:26:15Z","parent":407337,"parents":[1,5,9,406845,407337],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/57\/the-trench\/my-first-ludum-dare-simulating-the-deepest-dive","published":"2025-04-16T11:26:15Z","scope":"public","slug":"my-first-ludum-dare-simulating-the-deepest-dive","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":1310881},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"415027","n_urlkey":"451256","n_parent":"407337","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/57\/the-trench\/my-first-ludum-dare-simulating-the-deepest-dive","n_slug":"my-first-ludum-dare-simulating-t","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"407336","n_created":"1744801122","n_modified":"1744842717","n_version":"1310881","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/57\/the-trench\/my-first-ludum-dare-simulating-the-deepest-dive","text":"When I saw the various theme options during the voting rounds, I was inspired to make a game about the Mariana Trench, and I was really happy when a most fitting theme was chosen.\nFor those who don't know, the Mariana Trench contains the deepest known point in the ocean\u2014Challenger Deep\u2014located 11 km underwater. This point was popularized when film director James Cameron completed the first solo dive to it in the Deepsea Challenger submarine.\n\nMany years ago, I saw a [picture](https:\/\/sciencebasedlife.wordpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/rxko0l.jpg) that visualized the trench\u2019s depth. It was more effective back then, since computer resolutions were much lower, so it took some time to scroll down. My goal was to capture some of that feeling in the game.\n\nI wanted the game to be somewhat realistic, so I started by determining the pixel-to-meter ratio. I used 640x360 resolution, and the Deepsea Challenger submarine is 7.3 meters long, so I chose 8 pixels per meter because I liked the resulting length of 58 pixels for the submarine. This also defined the play area, as I knew the ocean would be 11,000 * 8 pixels deep.\n\nThe speed of the submarine was derived from this scale. The Deepsea Challenger took 2 hours and 37 minutes to reach the seafloor, so I adjusted the in-game speed to make the descent take about 2 minutes and 37 seconds. Other things were also determined by this scale\u2014like the pelagic zones (how much light penetrates at different depths) and the oceanic basin (the slope of the ocean floor).\n\nThe [UI](https:\/\/deepseachallenge.com\/the-sub\/systems-and-technology\/) and the color of the submarine were also inspired by the Deepsea Challenger. I did choose to forgo realism for the sake of gameplay. The fauna you encounter appear at the correct depths, and the whales are to scale, but the other fish are much larger so you can actually see them.\n\nI was blown away by the positivity here. I received a lot of feedback\u2014both positive and constructive. I was really concerned when I saw the post about Ludum Dare possibly not happening when I first wanted to join, and I\u2019m happy to support Mike on Patreon because this has been such a great experience for me. I hope it keeps going.\n\nYou're welcome to try [The Trench](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/57\/the-trench)\n\n\n![Screen Recording 2025-04-16 at 14.12.15.gif](\/\/\/raw\/827\/36\/z\/6c3e5.gif)\n*Finding sperm whales (one of the deepest diving mammals) in the midnight zone*","title":"My First Ludum Dare \u2013 Simulating the Deepest Dive","wayback_source":[]}