{"author_name":"KevinWorkman","cat":"LD #21","comments":[],"epoch":1314056820,"likes":0,"metadata":{"p_key":"63739","p_author":"KevinWorkman","p_authorkey":"5364","p_urlkey":"99524","p_title":"Escape from Monster City: Postmortem\/Timelapse","p_cat":"LD #21","p_event":"LD21","p_time":"1314056820","p_likes":"0","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"5364","us_name":"KevinWorkman","us_username":"\/author\/kevinworkman\/","event_start":"1313712000","event_key":"7","event_name":"LD21"},"text":"

My entry: http:\/\/code.kevinworkman.com\/EscapeFromMonsterCity\/index.html<\/a>
\n Timelapse: http:\/\/code.kevinworkman.com\/EscapeFromMonsterCity\/timelapse.html<\/a><\/p>\n

I only worked for about 12 hours, so instead of making a video, I took screenshots as the program changed. You can check them out if you feel like it!<\/p>\n

\"Escape<\/p>\n

This was my first Ludum Dare, and I\u2019m pretty pleased with how everything turned out, especially considering that I had never used Processing prior to the contest- learning it was half the fun!<\/p>\n

I stuck with the bare minimum considering the time constraints, but I\u2019m surprised to see how many other entries were pretty similar. I guess that\u2019s the nature of working around a theme, but I think next time I\u2019ll work at coming up with something a little more different.<\/p>\n

There is one bug left in the final version that causes the program to freeze occasionally- this is due to logic I attempted to write to prevent monsters from spawning inside buildings, which doesn\u2019t work anyway. Lesson learned, next time I\u2019ll stick with something that definitely works instead of trying to implement algorithms I know might break things.<\/p>\n

Also, I didn\u2019t have time to implement a goal, or score, or an ending, which I think hurts replayability. I did manage to throw in a title and game over screen, which goes a long way to making the game feel more legitimate.<\/p>\n

However, I think I came pretty close to my original goal of capturing a creepy mood, so I\u2019m happy with the outcome. I wanted to create a spooky feeling as the player rounds a building and almost runs into a monster, and I think I came pretty close to that. Yay!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also satisfied that I met the theme, which is extra awesome because I wasn\u2019t really thrilled when it was revealed (I was hoping for evolution or adaptation). The main focus of the game is to escape the city, with the added terrifying mini-games of escaping monsters that wake up. Yay again!<\/p>\n

\"Escape<\/p>\n

All in all, I had a bunch of fun, and I love the Ludum Dare community. Awesome job to everybody who managed to put together something in 48 (or 72) hours! You guys are all rock stars.<\/p>","time":"August 22nd, 2011 6:47 pm","title":"Escape from Monster City: Postmortem\/Timelapse"}