{"author_name":"Phen","cat":"LD #22","comments":[],"epoch":1324332360,"likes":3,"metadata":{"p_key":"60266","p_author":"Phen","p_authorkey":"4351","p_urlkey":"96019","p_title":"Mac Ported and Post Mortem","p_cat":"LD #22","p_event":"LD22","p_time":"1324332360","p_likes":"3","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"4351","us_name":"Phen","us_username":"stephenm3","event_start":"1323993600","event_key":"8","event_name":"LD22"},"text":"

Alright, I managed to beat GM4Mac into submission and actually port my game, so now Comfort Zone can be played by my fellow Mac users.\u00a0 Hurrah!\u00a0 This means all of my Ludum Dare work is done.\u00a0 Now, to play as many of the other 774 entries as possible!<\/p>\n

Comfort Zone Postmortem:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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The bad:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I spent most of my first night messing with movement variables, trying to bring the central gimmick of my game to life in a way that both felt “true to the idea” and fun.\u00a0 I ended up with an overcomplicated mess of code that didn’t communicate anything when you played it.\u00a0 Then I overslept into Saturday, and woke up feeling disheartened.\u00a0 I wasted
\n most of the day searching for renewed inspiration.<\/p>\n

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The good:<\/strong><\/p>\n

During that search, I created a short song that really helped nail down the feel of the game for me.\u00a0 I simplified the movement code and the gimmick, so that the idea was communicated consisely and powerfully. During the last 12 hours (I didn’t sleep at all during night 2 \ud83d\ude1b )\u00a0 the game design finally started to click. When I was done, my head was a mess and the game felt like a jumble, but I’m pretty certain I managed to piece everything together.\u00a0 It’s short, it’s weird, but there’s something fun in there, and something interesting<\/em> in there — and I consider that a success.<\/p>\n

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Sound effects:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking of clicking, I did sound effects differently this time.\u00a0 Originally I planned to use Bfxr<\/a> (Stephen “increpare” Lavelle’s upgraded version of Sfxr), in standard LD fashion.\u00a0 But then, when planning what sort of sounds were needed to communicate, I had the idea to use my laptop’s built-in microphone, instead.\u00a0 Like I did when I first created Game Maker games as a kid, I would record a short, low-quality clip of something hitting something else, or scraping, or my voice.\u00a0 Then I would use Sound Recorder’s basic tools to modify the clips into what I needed.\u00a0 I think the results were perfect, especially for this game!<\/p>\n

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Theme:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The theme is the most important part of Ludum Dare, to me. The time-management challenge is fun, but the game-design challenge of an unusual theme is fascinating to me.\u00a0 I always try to have my game mechanics inspired BY the theme, instead of creating a game and then “working the theme into it.”\u00a0 Ironically, I think this can result in a game where the theme is less obvious.\u00a0 This time, my thought process went thusly (minor spoilers): “Alone –> your character is alone –> aren’t game characters usually alone? –> your character ISN’T alone, but wants to be –> gameplay involves avoiding people so you can accomplish tasks”.<\/p>\n

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Graphics:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, I never found time to change my placeholder art into something more elaborate.\u00a0 So instead, I just ran with it, and tried to turn the style into something communicative.\u00a0 I think it worked out alright in the end.\u00a0 It’s usually pretty effective to use base colors to represent different themes.<\/p>\n

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Music:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Probably the most “polished” part of my game, you can download the 53-second song here if you’d like: http:\/\/www.host-a.net\/u\/Ditocoaf\/alone.mp3<\/a><\/p>\n

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Thanks for reading!<\/p>","time":"December 19th, 2011 5:06 pm","title":"Mac Ported and Post Mortem"}