{"author_name":"Fenmar","cat":"LD #21","comments":[{"author_name":"","time":"August 22, 2011 8:19 am","epoch":1314019140,"text":"I had the same problem with CamStudio : (","spam":"N"}],"epoch":1314012480,"likes":2,"metadata":{"p_key":"63831","p_author":"Fenmar","p_authorkey":"3866","p_urlkey":"99616","p_title":"It\u2019s done \u2013 a short recap","p_cat":"LD #21","p_event":"LD21","p_time":"1314012480","p_likes":"2","p_comments":"1","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"3866","us_name":"Fenmar","us_username":"fenmar","event_start":"1313712000","event_key":"7","event_name":"LD21"},"text":"<p>my entry: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-21\/?action=preview&amp;uid=3866\">Forever Running<\/a><\/p>\n <p>This morning I finished my LD entry. It&#8217;s the second time I participated, so I somehow knew what to expect. Here are my experiences:<\/p>\n <p><strong>What went well<\/strong><\/p>\n <ul>\n <li><strong>personal basecode<\/strong>: At first I wanted to use an existing framework, but then I realized that I would learn more if I write one myself. It has very limited functionality but I know every single line of code. This helped a lot to speed things up.<\/li>\n <li><strong>preparation<\/strong>: Before the competition started I had ideas for the top 4 themes (self replication, dreams, escape, adaption). Even though I prefered self replication, I could start coding early. Beside that I tweaked my sleep schedule, so I was awake soon after the competition started (4am).<\/li>\n <li><strong>visuals<\/strong>: I&#8217;m not a great artist, but I&#8217;m happy with what I produced. It&#8217;s so much better than what I used to do four months ago. (Yes, I&#8217;m a bit proud of it)<\/li>\n <li><strong>goals<\/strong>: I aimed low. It&#8217;s not a very original game idea but I was pretty sure I could do it in the given time. I was right.<\/li>\n <li><strong>release often<\/strong>: I released two indev versions of the game.<\/li>\n <li><strong>code first<\/strong>: At the end of the first day, I finished all core game mechanics so I could spent the entire second day on content.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n <p><strong>What I should do better<\/strong><\/p>\n <ul>\n <li><strong>sound<\/strong>: I was unable to produce music or sound good enough to include in the game. I certainly need a) more practice and\/or b) better tools<\/li>\n <li><strong>got up too early<\/strong>: The competition starts 4am here. I got up at 4am and started coding. Soon I realized that I was too tired to produce quality code. After sleeping 3 more hours, things got better instantly.<\/li>\n <li><strong>focus<\/strong>: After I finished the game mechanics I somehow lost the focus. I thought about other game elements to add, watched some TV, tried to create some music. This way I lost some hours. I went to bed early to clear my mind and was full of energy for the second day.<\/li>\n <li><strong>timelapse<\/strong>: I tried to create a timelapse with CamStudio, but somehow all files are corrupted <img src=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-includes\/images\/smilies\/frownie.png\" alt=\":(\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/> I need to find another tool.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <p>All in all I had a very productive weekend, learned a lot, spent time with an awesome community and had a lot of fun. Now I&#8217;m going to play all the games you made \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n <p>Thanks for this fantastic event!<\/p>\n \n <p>Tags: <a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/tag\/postmortem\/\" rel=\"tag\">postmortem<\/a><\/p>","time":"August 22nd, 2011 6:28 am","title":"It\u2019s done \u2013 a short recap"}