{"author_name":"zdanielz","cat":"LD #19 - Discovery - 2010","comments":[],"epoch":1293004080,"likes":0,"metadata":{"p_key":"67625","p_author":"zdanielz","p_authorkey":"1860","p_urlkey":"103428","p_title":"\u201cCaves of Darkness\u201d \u2013 (mini) Postmortem","p_cat":"LD #19 - Discovery - 2010","p_event":"LD19","p_time":"1293004080","p_likes":"0","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"1860","us_name":"zdanielz","us_username":"danielzoran","event_start":"1292544000","event_key":"5","event_name":"LD19"},"text":"<p>Hi everybody,<\/p>\n <p>I thought I&#8217;d share some of my experiences from LD19 creating <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-19\/?action=rate&amp;uid=1860\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Caves of Darkness&#8221;<\/a>, what went wrong, what went right and so on&#8230;<\/p>\n <p><strong>What went right:<\/strong><\/p>\n <p>1. Design &#8211; for the first time ever, I thought of a game idea, and implemented all the necessary game mechanics! Here is an early sketch from the morning of the competition:<\/p>\n <p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-38259\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/2010\/12\/22\/caves-of-darkness-mini-postmortem\/p1050757\/\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-38259\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/P1050757-550x397.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"397\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/P1050757-300x217.jpg 300w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/P1050757-550x397.jpg 550w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/P1050757.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a>Those of you who played the game (And if you didn&#8217;t &#8211; please <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-19\/?action=rate&amp;uid=1860\" target=\"_blank\">do it now!<\/a> <img src=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-includes\/images\/smilies\/simple-smile.png\" alt=\":-)\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/> ) will note that the game and the sketch are pretty close, something I consider a success.<\/p>\n <p>2. Graphics &#8211; I think the graphic style of the game went very well, I worked quite a bit on the lighting effects as they are a major part of the gameplay mechanics, and I think the result is decent!<\/p>\n <p>3. Sound &#8211; although the music is not exactly as I wanted it to be (I wanted it to be a bit darker, and mellower) &#8211; I think it is not bad after all, and suits the game well.<\/p>\n <p>4. Levels &#8211; another first for me &#8211; my code base actually supports adding new levels easily, loading them and the game elements from file. This is a HUGE step forward for me, as I really think this makes this thing a GAME and not just a sketch.<\/p>\n <p><strong>What went wrong:<\/strong><\/p>\n <p>1. Controls &#8211; a common problem I have on all of my LD entries &#8211; controls are a bit twitchy. Fine tuning the parameters is hard, and because it is based on a simple &#8220;physics&#8221; engine, it makes it even harder. I think this should be the main thing to rewrite towards next LD competition (or in general, for that matter).<\/p>\n <p>2. Game Elements &#8211; this is probably because of lack of time, but I really wanted to have more gameplay elements &#8211; moving platforms, collapsing floors and more &#8211; maybe for the next LD I will be able to make those happen, now that the code-base is growing.<\/p>\n <p>Overall, I&#8217;m pretty happy with the result, and I had lots of fun participating.<\/p>\n <p>So thanks, and if you haven&#8217;t played my game already &#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-19\/?action=rate&amp;uid=1860\" target=\"_blank\"> go, now! and vote!<\/a> <img src=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-includes\/images\/smilies\/simple-smile.png\" alt=\":-)\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/><\/p>\n <p>Thanks,<br \/>\n Daniel<\/p>\n \n <p>Tags: <a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/tag\/postmortem\/\" rel=\"tag\">postmortem<\/a><\/p>","time":"December 22nd, 2010 2:48 am","title":"\u201cCaves of Darkness\u201d \u2013 (mini) Postmortem"}