First of all, I’m really glad to have participated in this LD : now I can say that I finished my first game and my first game jam !
This was intense and challenging. Now it’s time for a recap !
>> here’s the entry

What I learned :

•  I discovered Construct2 and learned how to use it.
  I chose this software to avoid struggling with code for my first participation and focus on creating something. It allows to spend more time on the graphics, as it is the part of game development work I enjoy the most. However, as I have some programming knowledge, I might use Löve next time to learn further !

•  I forced myself to make some quick design choices to get to the goal.
  It obviously applies to the visual part of it (you don’t have much time in 48hours to change the “art direction”) but also to the choice of the type of game : as an absolute beginner, I settled for something I could finish, with simple mechanics quick to set. This is why it ended with a scrolling shooter on the river Styx !

•  Working on the sound effects is a lot of fun !
  As I’m no musician, it is something I usually don’t do, and creating some basic effects and background score was reaaally great. It’s really rewarding to see your project gain some atmosphere ! I used Bosca Ceoil and Bfxr to set them, and it demands no particular skill.

•  I should make more prototypes !
  I directly began by creating some visuals, and worked on the mechanics in a rush. I could have done a way better job by prototyping early with simple shapes, and then creating the matching sprites. I created some graphics I finally didn’t use, because the features they correcponded to to didn’t had the time to be implemented !. Same goes sith little sprites I made for features I finally didn’t implemented !

• Next time, I should be more methodic when working on assets
  It went good this time because the project is really simple. But instead of working directly on sprites of the right size, I made them big and then sclaed them down in photoshop, adding some polishing work each time. I could have saved a lot of time and effort by making them right directly.
  I even resized them in Construct sometimes, using unnecessary memory.
  The free version of Construct only allows 4 layers, wich was a really good thing to keep me focused on efficiency. Coming from photoshop and after effects, I tend to multiply layers a lot. If Construct allowed me to do so, I would have had to redo all the layer system at the last minute to not end with a mastodontic file size !

What now ?
I think I’l take sme time to polish it a little bit, and release a second version of it

Tags: compo, entry, post-mortem, styx