So now that I’ve had some time to digest my experience with Ludum Dare, I thought I’d do a brief post-mortem.

Check out WORLDS 2D if you haven’t already.

This was my first Ludum Dare, and overall I’m pleased with what I was able to accomplish. Obviously there were a few things that I didn’t get to finish before the deadline, and there are a few things I would do differently next time.

 

What I was able to finish:

Core mechanic

Graphics, including an animated character, transparency effects on worlds, fuel gauge, “return to menu” icon, and end screen animations

Sound effects and music

Collision detection at world edges

Title and ending screens

Tutorial levels

 

What I wanted to do but didn’t have time:

More levels (I was just getting started)

Glyphs at the end of each level instead of the “goal reached” message.

Level selection on the main menu

Option to switch to fullscreen

Make the music quieter

Indicator for when a world is within range

Title music

Endgame music

Vanishing worlds (like ghost worlds except they fade out completely, killing the player. They do fade in again)

Unstable worlds (worlds that shake more and more furiously as they dissolve, have to get out before they dissolve completely, but are only triggered when the player enters them)

Non-numeric timer for unstable worlds

 

What I did right:

Finished key features and debugged them before moving on to the next item.

Spent some time at the beginning planning and making a list of tasks to complete.

Kept my normal sleeping schedule – I am far more productive when I’m not sleep-deprived.

Divided tasks up appropriately – focussed on core mechanics and getting the basics down on Day 1, then spent Day 2 adding sounds, music, levels and polish.

Spent the last couple hours making sure the repository was working right, that I understood the submission procedure and that there would be no complications at submission time.

 

Things I would have done differently:

I spent far too long trying to add obstacles within the worlds. I got bogged down trying to get the collision detection working for them. Thankfully I did eventually abandon in-world obstacles to focus on more important things, but I should have given up on it sooner or just put it on the list as an “if there’s time” feature.

I spent a bit more time than I should have polishing the end-game screen, but I wanted to give the player some reward beyond just a “you won” message.

I should have spent a bit more time designing and adding levels.