Grrr… I’m pumped. It’s too early to do any real work, but I’ve been thinking about my flow of work in the last Ludum Dare and I’m mentally divvying up the weekend.

Four broad phases of development:

• Ideation
• Proof of Concept
• Expansion
• Stabilization

Ideation is about dreaming it up. Given the theme, what do I want to make, how can I make it, is it realistic? Lots of brainstorming, leading to lots of design.

Proof of Concept is implementing the idea to where it’s playable. It’ll be small, coarse, and clunky, but the question is: is it fun? If not, how to get it there?

Expansion is taking the Proof of Concept and making it a (more) polished, 10+ minute experience.

Stabilization is the concluding phase. Testing. Fixing bugs. Polishing. Making sure it’s downloadable and working.

How long should each phase take? Well my schedule is kind of crazy this weekend.

Friday 8–10pm: Ideation

10pm–early: Proof of Concept

Saturday 8am–late (with a break in the middle to attend my daughter’s Christmas piano recital): Expansion

Sunday lunchtime–5pm: Stabilization

Giving me a buffer of three hours. Last time I got done too early—like, by 3pm—and was twiddling my thumbs waiting for 8pm. I’m not sure that’s a problem I want to fix, but I’m not planning to get done that early this year. My new engine needs debugging on Emscripten, so I’ll have my hands full in the final hours.

Pumped.