{"author_name":"micdoodle8","cat":"LD #29","comments":[],"epoch":1398651420,"likes":3,"metadata":{"p_key":"30613","p_author":"micdoodle8","p_authorkey":"36649","p_urlkey":"66088","p_title":"Finished My First Ludum Dare!","p_cat":"LD #29","p_event":"LD29","p_time":"1398651420","p_likes":"3","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"36649","us_name":"micdoodle8","us_username":"micdoodle8","event_start":"1398384000","event_key":"22","event_name":"LD29"},"text":"<p>Wow, that weekend flew by. I&#8217;ve learned so much that my brain probably thinks it&#8217;s been a week.<\/p>\n <p>Thank you LD for pushing\u00a0me to finish my first\u00a0game!<\/p>\n <p>Things that I&#8217;ve learned for next time:<\/p>\n <ul>\n <li>Packaging the jar. I&#8217;ve done it before, but had some issues with resources. Lesson: Don&#8217;t leave it to the last 15\u00a0minutes.<\/li>\n <li>Get a functioning UI system <em>before<\/em> polishing (sounds, music, textures). My main menu and in-game interface look like crap because I left them too late<\/li>\n <li>If approaching something new, such as creating music in this case, learn it before starting a game jam&#8230;<\/li>\n <li>Plan and practice before starting. I decided to participate in my first LD only a few hours before it started, which gave me little time to write base code and get warmed up. I&#8217;ll know better next time.<\/li>\n <li>Mechanics first, aesthetics second. I feel like I polished the look a little too much before I even had combat and gameplay.<\/li>\n <li>Try making a game in a pre-build engine, not starting from scratch.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <p><strong>If you have a few minutes (it&#8217;s not very long) check out my game here<\/strong>:<\/p>\n <p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-29\/?action=preview&amp;uid=36649\">http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-29\/?action=preview&amp;uid=36649<\/a><\/p>\n <p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/attach31.gif\"><img class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-354123\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/attach31-550x309.gif\" alt=\"attach3\" width=\"550\" height=\"309\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/attach31-300x168.gif 300w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/attach31-550x309.gif 550w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n <p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n <p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/attach2.gif\"><img class=\"alignnone  wp-image-354056\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/attach2.gif\" alt=\"attach2\" width=\"548\" height=\"301\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n <p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/attach1.gif\"><img class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-354057\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/attach1-550x309.gif\" alt=\"attach1\" width=\"550\" height=\"309\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/attach1-300x168.gif 300w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/attach1-550x309.gif 550w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a><\/p>","time":"April 27th, 2014 9:17 pm","title":"Finished My First Ludum Dare!"}