{"author_name":"CaffeineViking","cat":"LD #29","comments":[],"epoch":1398063480,"likes":3,"metadata":{"p_key":"33482","p_author":"CaffeineViking","p_authorkey":"0","p_urlkey":"69022","p_title":"Count me in!","p_cat":"LD #29","p_event":"LD29","p_time":"1398063480","p_likes":"3","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":null,"us_name":null,"us_username":null,"event_start":"1398384000","event_key":"22","event_name":"LD29"},"text":"<p>I have\u00a0participated in 3\u00a0past Ludum Dares and a bunch of other game jams too, so this is by no means my first game jam. Here are a couple of tips for first timers and pros alike:<\/p>\n <ul>\n <li>If you live in Europe (or anywhere\u00a0else where LD starts late), don&#8217;t\u00a0stay awake until 3AM to wait for the theme. Sleep instead! Thinking up a game\u00a0is a lot easier when you have slept well and eaten a good breakfast!<\/li>\n <li>This has been said many times, and I repeat, &#8220;Use the tools you know best, not something new&#8221;, under the time pressure of LD the\u00a0last thing you want is getting stuck on\u00a0reading docs or tutorials. Learning new engines, languages should be done so a couple of weeks before the start of the game jam.<\/li>\n <li>Don&#8217;t scrap a game you have been working on for half of LD, one of the major things you should learn from a game jam is how to finish things. Instead, try to fix it! Make note of the things you don&#8217;t like and try thinking of solutions. For example, in a previous LD I had problems with getting the collision to work on a special enemy,\u00a0he would clip through buildings. The solution (dumb, but people liked it!) was to add a &#8220;jumping&#8221; sound when he did so, that way you now have a unique and fun enemy and nobody knows it was actually a bug from the start! (You can play the game here: <a href=\"http:\/\/caffeineviking.net\/?p=284\">http:\/\/caffeineviking.net\/?p=284<\/a>)<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <p>Here is my arsenal for this Ludum Dare:<\/p>\n <ul>\n <li>Programming language: Haxe (<a href=\"http:\/\/haxe.org\/\">http:\/\/haxe.org\/<\/a>)<\/li>\n <li>Target platforms: Windows,\u00a0OSX,\u00a0Linux, Android, iOS and Web (Flash and HTML5)<\/li>\n <li>Framework\/Engine: HaxePunk (<a href=\"http:\/\/haxepunk.com\/\">http:\/\/haxepunk.com\/<\/a>)<\/li>\n <li>IDE\/Editor: FlashDevelop (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.flashdevelop.org\/\">http:\/\/www.flashdevelop.org\/<\/a>)<\/li>\n <li>Graphics editor: Paint.NET (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.getpaint.net\/\">http:\/\/www.getpaint.net\/<\/a>)<\/li>\n <li>Sound generator: SFXR (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.drpetter.se\/project_sfxr.html\">http:\/\/www.drpetter.se\/project_sfxr.html<\/a>)<\/li>\n <li>Music player (very important!): Spotify (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotify.com\/se\/\">https:\/\/www.spotify.com\/se\/<\/a>)<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <p>I wish all of you good luck! But above all, make sure you have fun!<\/p>\n <p>&#8211; @CaffeineViking<\/p>\n \n <p>Tags: <a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/tag\/flashdevelop\/\" rel=\"tag\">flashdevelop<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/tag\/haxe\/\" rel=\"tag\">haXe<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/tag\/haxepunk\/\" rel=\"tag\">haxepunk<\/a><\/p>","time":"April 21st, 2014 1:58 am","title":"Count me in!"}