I had a class at my college this past semester (new semester starts Tuesday after next) where, after every project we did, we’d present our game and be asked 3 simple question: What when right, what went wrong, and what did you learn? So I figure I’d put together a small post-mortem for my entry in this manner.

• What went right? I chose my strong points, programming/scripting and emphasized them by making the game fairly small. I kept it with the scope of what I was capable of doing in 48 hours. Given I’ve done only a few jam/dare type contests I judged myself perfectly, getting my submission in with time to spare. There were a few moments where I wasn’t sure what the bug I was experiencing was but I managed to push past those tests with flying colors.
• What went wrong? Coffee is not an acceptable substitute for either sleep or food. About the half way mark (6pm local time yesterday) I was of a hazy mind. I hadn’t really eaten anything yet that day, subsiting on the sugar I put in my coffee, of which I was on my 2nd pot of Decapitated (“Strong enough to take your head off”). Game-wise I was also flying blind: I had no design doc, or even design goal. I’d come up with the initial idea (which mutated by the end of day one) within the first few hours of the compo and theme announcement.
• What did I learn? Many, many things. I’ve found out I can make a playable game in a 48 hour time span that isn’t (horribly) broken. I also figured out some of my weaknesses. I am not a 3D modeler, or artist for that matter. I can pull things together in Paint.net to texture but all in all my art assets are more of the “programmer art” type. I’m also not a composer or sound engineer, but Bfxr and iNudge allow me to skirt past that.
• Bonus: How do you feel right now? Happy, relieved, accomplished. This is my first Dare and I think it went well. I amazed at how much I was able to do by myself for this competition.