{"author_name":"Milo","cat":"LD #24","comments":[],"epoch":1346457060,"likes":0,"metadata":{"p_key":"51566","p_author":"Milo","p_authorkey":"2934","p_urlkey":"87260","p_title":"Postmortem: Planetary Overseer","p_cat":"LD #24","p_event":"LD24","p_time":"1346457060","p_likes":"0","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"2934","us_name":"Milo","us_username":"milo","event_start":"1345766400","event_key":"12","event_name":"LD24"},"text":"

Well, it seems like a good time for a postmortem, having gotten a little feedback.<\/p>\n

What Went Well<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Originality, theme-connection.<\/strong>\u00a0The product I made this time is fairly unique from ones I’ve made previously: this game is fully based on the theme and is very original. I’m proud of this and I think it results from a pretty simple rule I try to follow and think that, this time around, I achieved:\u00a0The game must relate to the theme even before any assets are made.<\/li>\n
  2. Respect for Evolution’s Elegance.\u00a0<\/strong>This is a bit of an odd thing to have come out of a game jam, but I have a new respect for how awesome evolution is. My code has nothing in it that says a whole species should be able to gain new, positive traits if they are introduced via mutation, but that happens. It was really rewarding to, after a few hours of work, be able to see a beloved theory in action.<\/li>\n
  3. More confidence.\u00a0<\/strong>I had only one day for this dare, but it turned out to be one of my favorite experiences with the Ludum Dare. Also, what I made is genuinely something from my own imagination, not a copy of anything else. Really, that’s why I love this competition: I get to have an idea then realize it.<\/li>\n <\/ol>\n

    What Didn’t<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Graphics.\u00a0<\/strong>I cannot draw fish. At least, in this amount of time, I can’t. I probably should learn something more about making graphics some day, but it’s not really what I’m passionate about. In general, at the end, I felt I’d done something cool, but didn’t really want to polish, therefore, I didn’t polish.<\/li>\n
    2. Goal of Gameplay.<\/strong> I think that what I have is a neat toy. You can play around with it and try things out, but the goal isn’t very strong – making the most mutations doesn’t really give the depth of gameplay I wanted and was really just a thing of “I don’t know what to do. I don’t have time to figure it out.” I still don’t know an appropriate goal.<\/li>\n
    3. Focus.\u00a0<\/strong>I wasn’t at all focused this time around. I think this was really mostly a thing of circumstance though; I wasn’t able to start until about the midpoint of the competition, and even then, I’d been away from home for a while, so there were other things I wanted to do (and then I did them). I felt sort of like I couldn’t do more at the end, even though I could see areas for improvement that I could accomplish before time was up.<\/li>\n <\/ol>","time":"August 31st, 2012 6:51 pm","title":"Postmortem: Planetary Overseer"}