{"author_name":"IHateATMFees","cat":"LD #28","comments":[{"author_name":"DanielSnd","time":"December 20, 2013 1:00 am","epoch":1387519200,"text":"Please, post-compo iOS\/Android version <3 I'd buy the heck out of it with more levels and on touch screen.","spam":"N"},{"author_name":"moonmayor","time":"December 20, 2013 1:24 am","epoch":1387520640,"text":"Very cool game! Great work. You should make that “scale” hint accessible in the game! DanielSnd is on to something. I would love to see this on a mobile device!","spam":"N"},{"author_name":"IHateATMFees","time":"December 20, 2013 5:49 am","epoch":1387536540,"text":"@Hegemege: Spinning the patterns was not something I thought of! I struggled trying to think of ways to expand the mechanic. Really enjoyed it!","spam":"N"}],"epoch":1387490340,"likes":3,"metadata":{"p_key":"34194","p_author":"IHateATMFees","p_authorkey":"22624","p_urlkey":"69740","p_title":"Postmorterm: E pluribus unum","p_cat":"LD #28","p_event":"LD28","p_time":"1387490340","p_likes":"3","p_comments":"4","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"22624","us_name":"IHateATMFees","us_username":"ihateatmfees","event_start":"1386892800","event_key":"20","event_name":"LD28"},"text":"

Here are a few postmorterm thoughts on my game, E pluribus unum<\/a>:<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The idea:<\/strong> Including the last two LD’s, this is the third game I’ve ever made. In my first two, the part I failed to accomplish was creating something that was fun to play (more specifically, something that resembled<\/i> a game). So I needed something that was both simple, and had a clear game mechanic that was enjoyable to play. It took about two hours of staring at the screen until I roughed out the concept of the game where you match multiple patterns by clearing a grid.<\/p>\n

The name: <\/strong>The hardest thing, by far, was coming up with a name. I knew that I did not want to use the word “one” in the title. I also wanted the name to communicate how I had integrated the theme. I then thought about the Latin phrase “Ludum Dare”, and then it clicked: I know a Latin phrase with the word one! The translation of E pluribus unum is “Out of many, one”, which fit in perfectly with my game mechanic of creating these patterns out of the one surface. I then immediately started doubting myself thinking that at least 20 other games would use the same name. Ultimately, it was a lot of worrying over nothing, as I’m the only one with that name.<\/p>\n

Development: <\/strong>Unity. Despite Unity crashing on me about 50 times during the Jam, I love the program. There’s simply no way I could have made this game without it. I do c# dev for a living, which helped a ton with the scripting. Also, it’s free. Ridiculous. I used their 2D tooling for the first time, and for me it worked great.<\/p>\n

Gameplay: <\/strong>Even with the stated goal of keeping it simple, I kept worrying that it was way too simple, both in mechanic and scope. One thing I focused a lot of time on was making sure that the act of clearing a tile from the grid felt satisfying. The random tones and the particle effects were tweaked until I felt they were just right. The interactions when matching a pattern or completing the level were important as well, as I wanted it to acknowledge the player accomplishment. I worried about the simplicity so much that I intentionally left out any tutorial or hints, beyond the level design. I knew quickly that a person’s ability to fully “get” the game would be if they could clear level 3. In my playtesting, some people got it immediately, and others took a few minutes.<\/p>\n

The font: <\/strong>It’s not a font. I made every letter by hand in Photoshop. I’m dumb.<\/p>\n

Reaction: <\/strong>I’ve been thrilled with the reaction. Some of the quotes in my comments look like paid endorsements: “a real winner and I’ve never seen anything like it. Bravo!” and “That’s how you design a goddamn game!”<\/p>\n

My sincere thanks to everyone who has played so far, and if you haven’t, please take a moment to check it out!<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-28\/?action=preview&uid=22624<\/a><\/p>","time":"December 19th, 2013 4:59 pm","title":"Postmorterm: E pluribus unum"}