{"author_name":"Nebulaic Toaster","cat":"LD #35","comments":[],"epoch":1461445800,"likes":2,"metadata":{"p_key":"5860","p_author":"Nebulaic Toaster","p_authorkey":"49589","p_urlkey":"41306","p_title":"HEXCORP Post Mortem, or how I stopped worrying and learned to love the bomb","p_cat":"LD #35","p_event":"LD35","p_time":"1461445800","p_likes":"2","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"49589","us_name":"Nebulaic Toaster","us_username":"chromebookbob","event_start":"1460678400","event_key":"33","event_name":"LD35"},"text":"

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\"cover\"<\/p>\n

Before I start, PLAY IT HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

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TOOLS USED:<\/span><\/p>\n

ENGINE: GAMEMAKER<\/strong><\/p>\n

ART: ASEPRITE\/PHOTOSHOP<\/strong><\/p>\n

SOUND: \u00a0Zoom H3 and a printer<\/strong><\/p>\n

MUSIC: Korg Volca Sample, AUDACITY<\/strong><\/p>\n

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I started this Ludum Dare late, with only 30 hours to complete a compo game I had to think quickly. Shape-shifter. Shifting shapes. I came up with the idea of a game where you work an office job coming up with shapes for clients. This seemed like a fun idea and I gauged that the most difficult part would be coming up with this:<\/p>\n

\"DRAWTEST2\"<\/p>\n

The drawing mechanic.<\/h6>\n

The drawing-shapes mechanic. How wrong I was, I had this done in 4 hours and of course had prematurely patted myself on the back. The tough part was coming up with a way to gamify this mechanic. I wanted the client to be able to specify the number of sides, whether you could cross lines, provide an image for you to copy,<\/p>\n

\"spiderman\"<\/p>\n

(like one of spider-man, CREDIT<\/a>)<\/h6>\n

Unfortunately, my basic knowledge of geometry and trigonometry soon told me that the equations for working out whether 15 lines are crossing each-other were too complicated for my simple mind and computer-vision is particularly difficult to implement in gamemaker in 48-hours. So I settled for two checks, right number of sides for a shape, and distance of the first and last points to check that the shape is joined up. After a brief crisis of realisation, I had to come up with a way to make my mechanic work as a game without having the complicated checking algorithm so I introduced the manager:<\/p>\n

\"spiderman\"<\/p>\n

He’s a very demanding manager.<\/h6>\n

He was inspired by JJJ from the spider-man series. I was rather proud of his speaking animation with the moving cigar. He was supposed to give pithy comments on your artwork but once again, I was running out of time with that one so I decided to go a bit left-field after another existential crisis:<\/p>\n

I'm in a buggy mess of code, my game isn't fun, it doesn't work. Welcome to #LDJAM<\/a><\/p>\n

— Jim Bruges (@nebulaictoaster) April 17, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n