{"author_name":"OutcastPixel","cat":"LD - Misc","comments":[],"epoch":1377516720,"likes":4,"metadata":{"p_key":"38592","p_author":"OutcastPixel","p_authorkey":"503595","p_urlkey":"74210","p_title":"Outcast Pixel \u2013 10 Second Scramble \u2013 Postmortem","p_cat":"LD - Misc","p_event":"LD27","p_time":"1377516720","p_likes":"4","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"503595","us_name":"outcastpixel","us_username":"outcastpixel","event_start":"1377216000","event_key":"18","event_name":"LD27"},"text":"

I had a great time with LD#27. \u00a0This was my first, but not certainly my last<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I ran out of time and forfeited about 3 hours before the compo was over. \u00a0:-\/<\/p>\n

Here’s some helpful tips that I learned – some of them are real no-brainers:<\/p>\n

Know your language. (DUH!)
\n <\/strong>I chose my language based on the project idea. \u00a0Unfortunately, I chose a language that I wasn’t familiar enough with to be proficient in the given amount of time.<\/p>\n

Have a couple of languages and frameworks under your belt. (DUH!)<\/strong>
\n See previous tip.
\n <\/strong><\/p>\n

Practice before the compo. (DUH!)<\/strong>
\n Take the week (or two weeks) before the compo to practice coding in your best languages. \u00a0I got marred up in things like XML parsing in the language I was using.<\/p>\n

Know your tools. (DUH!)<\/strong>
\n See previous tip. \u00a0If you haven’t used (insert tool here<\/em>) in a while, spend some time to re-familiarize yourself with it.
\n <\/strong><\/p>\n

Be prepared. (DUH!)<\/strong>
\n Don’t spend the first few hours having to install software or setup repositories. \u00a0Set that up before hand. \u00a0This is something else that was a big time suck.
\n <\/strong><\/p>\n

Do all your errands before the compo starts.<\/strong>
\n Again, this goes back to being prepared. \u00a0Run your errands, stock your pantry, do your laundry, etc. \u00a0I had to run buy groceries and household supplies during the compo. \u00a0It ended up being more of a time suck than I thought.
\n <\/strong><\/p>\n

Don’t plan anything else during the compo. (DUH!)<\/strong>
\n I ended up having something pre-planned before entering the compo. \u00a0Again, it was a big time suck. \u00a0Also, I was unmotivated to code afterward. \u00a0So much time lost with this one.<\/p>\n

Go outside.<\/strong>
\n Go outside for a bit to clear your head – or at the very least, step away for a while.<\/p>\n

For those that have a day job, take time off.
\n <\/strong>If you can, take off the day before the compo starts and the day after the compo ends. \u00a0Take the day before to prepare, run errands, etc. \u00a0The compo also got my body out of sync with my normal schedule – late nights and 4 hour sleep schedules. \u00a0Getting up this morning was a real bitch. \u00a0Take the day after to get back into sync with your normal schedule.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hope everyone had a great time! \u00a0See you on #28!<\/strong><\/p>","time":"August 26th, 2013 6:32 am","title":"Outcast Pixel \u2013 10 Second Scramble \u2013 Postmortem"}