I made a game called The Samurai’s Lonesome Heart, and the relevance to the theme is that You Only Get One Heart aka everything kills you in one hit. I also implemented a new combat system where you have to aim your sword to block and attack enemies.

This game was the first game I have ever “completed”, and it is also my first Ludum dare game.

My worries

When I submitted my game I was  disappointed. Due to Construct 2’s free edition limiting me in the number of events I could use, I had to scrap a tutorial enemy, and the final boss(es) couldn’t even hurt you. I was also really tired because I had stayed up the whole night to finish it, so level design was really rushed. I was very worried that my game was too complicated for players to understand, and I was also worried that the combat was flat out not fun.

You Reap What You Sow

When I woke up from my long nap and checked the comments, I was very pleasantly surprised. I somehow convinced myself that my game was a failure, but it seemed like quite a few people enjoyed it! It was then that I felt that all the work I had put in was worth it. This was such and eye-opening experience, because I had always viewed all my games as not fun, mainly because I had playtested it hundreds of times. But just a few kind words from some lovely people and I felt completely liberated from the self-inflicted stress. Only now then I feel proud of my creation, and I still can’t believe people find it fun.

I thank everyone who played my game, and please comment what can be done to improve it. This experience has made it possible for me to showcase my games to an audience other than myself.

shameless self promotion—> play it here: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-28/?action=preview&uid=31488