[ postmortem #1 | #2 | Play the game ]

The theme for LD22 was “Alone”. I have two strict rules for myself when it comes to the theme:

• some aspect of the core gameplay mechanic (as opposed to just the dialogue/artwork/whatever) must be inspired by the theme
• never modify a game idea for another theme to make it “fit” with the theme that actually gets chosen

I feel like I put a lot of thought into this theme. It wasn’t enough for me to go with a game where you control one character and have very few or no interactions with an NPC. The large majority of games from any given LD are like this, and they could have filled this requirement with some minor rewriting. I rejected my first game idea because it was like this.

So rather than making another game where you just happen to be alone, I decided to change a game where you’re normally not alone into one where you are. The obvious choice for multi-character gameplay is an RPG. I could have just made an RPG where you only control one character, but that’s not very original, especially for Ludum Dare. So I decided to turn the standard formula around: instead of starting alone and building a party, you start with a party that diminishes until you’re alone. I like this idea a lot because:

• it’s original. I can’t think of any game I’ve ever seen with this mechanic.
• it’s inspired directly by the theme, but a creative interpretation rather than an obvious one.
• it adds an interesting challenge to the gameplay (because you don’t control which characters will leave).
• it challenges me, because I still had to make five different characters.

So I’m really happy with how I used the theme. Based on the comments I’ve gotten so far, most people disagree with me. They say the connection to the theme is weak or forced. I guess a game about being alone is more accepted than one about becoming alone. I think I would have gotten a higher Theme score  if I had only one character from the beginning, like most of the games in this competition (and other competitions). Still, I’m glad I didn’t. I’m not disappointed in others’ games, but I would have been disappointed in myself if I had gone the “accessible but obvious” route.

Anyway, I’m surprised some people thought my use of theme seemed tacked on, because I feel like I probably put more thought into the theme than most people did, even if I came to a different conclusion. Still, I think it’s great that people interpret the theme in different ways, so I’m not upset that the judges have a different idea of what’s a good use of theme than I do. I plan to keep trying outside-the-box ideas in the future, I just hope it’ll be clear that’s what I’m doing rather than ignoring the theme!