{"author_name":"Homletmoo","cat":"LD #30","comments":[],"epoch":1410814440,"likes":3,"metadata":{"p_key":"26189","p_author":"Homletmoo","p_authorkey":"8408","p_urlkey":"61614","p_title":"Marble Run \u2013 A Last Minute Post-Mortem","p_cat":"LD #30","p_event":"LD30","p_time":"1410814440","p_likes":"3","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"8408","us_name":"Homletmoo","us_username":"homletmoo","event_start":"1408665600","event_key":"24","event_name":"LD30"},"text":"

I’ve been doing Ludum Dare for a couple of years now, but this is my first post mortem, so bear with me. Oh, and why not play<\/a><\/strong> the game while you’re at it \":)\"<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

The Good:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • The marble sounds!<\/strong> They were almost an afterthought, but are now definitely my favourite feature of the game. I recorded the sounds using glass marbles on a wooden table, with an iPad mic. After some touching-up in Ableton Live, I was really pleased with how good they sounded, considering they were captured with such an awful mic.<\/li>\n
  • The difficulty.<\/strong> I tried quite hard to make a gradual progression, and introduce more marbles and holes over time, and it seems to have paid off. A lot of commenters have expressed how the game is challenging in a good way, which I’m very pleased with – especially since it’s not something I’ve been great at getting right in the past!<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n

    The Bad:<\/h3>\n
      \n
    • Lack of music.<\/strong> I originally wanted some kind of background music, at least for the title screen. In the end I decided it would have been too difficult to compose something that didn’t ruin the aesthetic, so I just left the marble sounds by themselves.<\/li>\n
    • Marble physics.<\/strong>\u00a0Thanks to a lack of Flashpunk support for collision circles and a lack of time to implement it, the physics were a very accurate representation of a axis-aligned hitbox sliding around on a block of ice. Unfortunately, marbles are not square; they are round.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n

      The Ugly:<\/h3>\n
        \n
      • The graphics.<\/strong> The aesthetic turned out quite nice in the end, but it’s still no where near as flashy as some of my previous games.<\/li>\n
      • Developing a game without internet access.<\/strong> I wouldn’t recommend it.<\/li>\n <\/ul>","time":"September 15th, 2014 3:54 pm","title":"Marble Run \u2013 A Last Minute Post-Mortem"}