Just have some little tips for you 1st Ludum Darers I want to share.

Making Your Game

*If you don’t finish making a game, DON’T WORRY because you’re not alone and it’s only your first.

*GAMEPLAY is what’s important! Yes, good Graphics are nice, good Music is nice as well. When people are having fun playing a game, they’re having fun because the gameplay itself is fun. Graphics, Music, and other things definitely help, but when you have 48-72 hours to create something… Shoot for the gameplay, work on the mechanics for the game first. Make all the Graphics rectangles, and forget about the sound for now. You don’t even need to turn in your entry with a title screen, splash screen, or whatever. On the last day you can change the graphics, but earlier on just focus on the gameplay.

*THEME isn’t as important as you think it is (although it is still important). If you can think of a game idea revolving around the theme in an hour or two, awesome, if you can’t than just start making a game and then later you can incorporate the theme. Let’s say the theme sucks (in your opinion), and you can’t think of anything, just start making an endless runner (for example) and then when you find out how to incorporate the theme incorporate it.

Post Compo/Jam

*If you haven’t finished your game (which is probably the case), try to finish/polish it even though your entry is already in. Add the link to the Post Compo/Jam version of your game along with the 48/72 hr version so people can play both of them. Not only does it make you feel better about yourself, but it can also persuade people to possibly give you better ratings based on your Post Compo/Jam version.

*RATE GAMES! Rate as many games as possible, along with comments. The more games you rate, the more times your game shows up on the front page. Comments help as well because some people will look at their comments and click your name to see your game. If you can rate more than about 250 games your game may show up on the Most Coolness page which would be awesome (but it’s very difficult to do). If you don’t rate any games then just about no one will see your game, so RATE GAMES!

Good Luck to Everyone Participating in LD 31!