This is my first LD, and it will actually be my first released game. It took me a long time to find an idea to work with, and I had to sleep more than I wanted (I work nights, and I was at work the night the jam started). It also took me quite a long time to learn stuff on the fly, which I should probably have taken before the start.

Anyway as we get closer to the deadline I still think (and hope) I can produce something that more or less looks like a game.

So, almost two days into the jam and my game is beginning to look like something. It is a shmup called “Heart of the Forest”.

Elevator pitch

The Heart of the Forest has been corrupted. You are some kind of druid/shaman and your goal is to cleanse it. You can draw upon the power of spirit animals to complete your mission (and that is where the shapeshifting comes into play).

What I have

• A character that can move, shoot and die
• Two enemies that can attack and die (a corrupted boar that rushes towards the bottom of the screen, and a corrupted snake that shoots venom towards the player)
• A camera set to auto-scroll
• Placeholder art for all that

What I still need

• More enemy variety
• A boss fight
• Proper art and animations
• Sounds
• Shapeshifting attacks

What I’d like to have (but don’t think I’ll have the time to make)

• More levels allowing you to free the spirit animals and gain new powers

Goals

• Have a playable prototype build tonight that is more or less feature-complete so that I can get some playtest data to fine-tune.
• Work on art and sound tomorrow so that I can release to the public on time.

That’s more or less all there is to say! Back to work!