{"assets":[],"author_link":"author\/pierrec\/","author_name":"Pierrec","cat":"LD #24","categories":["LD #24"],"comments":[],"epoch":1347446460,"event":"LD24","likes":10,"metadata":{"p_key":"77070","p_author":"Pierrec","p_authorkey":"0","p_urlkey":"285615","p_title":"Coin-Operated Afternoon PM : The bigger the better ?","p_cat":"LD #24","p_event":"LD24","p_time":"1347446460","p_likes":"10","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":null,"us_name":null,"us_username":null,"event_start":"1345766400","event_key":"12","event_name":"LD24"},"source_url":"2012\/09\/12\/coin-operated-afternoon-pm-the-bigger-the-better\/","text":"
\"\"<\/a>

A game made of stop-motion animations ? That was a \u201crisky\u201d bet!<\/p><\/div>\n

So\u2026there are only 5 days left to rate the game, maybe it\u2019s time for us to write a small post-mortem [EDIT: not that small eventually] in order to explain how we made the BIGGEST GAME<\/strong><\/span> in Ludum Dare history! 1,14GigaBytes!<\/strong> Shi*! That\u2019s more than Minecraft!<\/p>\n

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Size does matter<\/p><\/div>\n

By the way, you can play and rate the game here!<\/a><\/p>\n

Post-mortem below! (because it\u2019s big too)<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

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WHAT WENT RIGHT <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Pooling talents (and extra constraint)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before this LD, I was used to make games, but didn\u2019t know anything about stop-motion animation.<\/p>\n

On the other end, Felix was used to make stop-motion animations but didn\u2019t know anything about game making. So, naturally, we thought we should make a stop-motion animated game, whatever the theme, and that\u2019s the main reason we worked together on this LD.<\/p>\n

I think that was a pretty good idea cause we both learned some new things, and because the more constraints you have, the more creative you get.<\/p>\n

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Felix working on the \u201cAgricola\u2019 scene<\/p><\/div>\n

Getting prepared<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since we had no idea how to make a stop-motion game, we took an afternoon before LD to experiment things and sharpen our tools. That way, we discovered some problems like files incompatibility, scaling, cut out and could avoid them during the competition. Unfortunately, one big problem managed to slip through\u2026What was it ? Suspense! Read further.<\/p>\n

Hot Chocolate<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hot Chocolate is part of my own LD ritual. Every Ludum Dare, I wake up at 8, I look at the theme, and then I go out to order a hot chocolate and croissants in my favourite caf\u00e9 (in France, the theme is announced at 3-4am so\u2026it seems wiser to have a good sleep and discover it on the morning). I think going out is a good way to find inspiration, even if I can\u2019t scientifically explain it. It always worked for me, and this LD was no exception. Of course, this time, we ordered two hot chocolates.<\/p>\n

Fan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since it\u2019s pretty hot in Marseille, and since we spent two days together in a small flat with the curtains closed and the lights on (for the shootings), buying a fan was a DAMN GOOD idea.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s getting hot in here\u2026<\/p><\/div>\n

Time management<\/strong><\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t use any time-management technique or whatever, but we managed to be extraordinary synchronized. While Felix was building his studio, I was coding the basics, while he was shooting an animation, I was writhing its dialogs. That way, we always could know precisely what was done, what was left and how much time we needed. Eventually, everything was made in time<\/p>\n

Funny breaks <\/strong><\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t take many breaks (except for eating and sleeping) but kept finding new ways to make the work funnier : drinking real rum for the Red November animation, inviting some friends fo the tarot animation, finding funny way to destroy the Monopoly\u2026In the end, the game making was fun all along, and I can\u2019t think of any better way to make games.<\/p>\n

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Cheers!<\/p><\/div>\n

WHAT WENT WRONG<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The theme <\/strong><\/p>\n

When the theme was announced, we were really happy. This theme was the one we were expecting. It was a big relief, and at this moment, we knew theme won\u2019t be a problem for us! How ironic, here are some comments about Coin-Operated Afternoon :<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t understand how it correlate with evolution theme<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t really get how it involved evolution<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t see the relationship with the theme<\/p>\n

I have to say I don\u2019t see the theme clearly either.<\/p>\n

And so on\u2026<\/p>\n

So, obviously we failed!<\/p>\n

We wanted to make a game about evolution of game mechanics through boardgames and to show boardgames evolving through the animations, but it looks we had so much fun making this game that we forgot a bit our initial idee<\/p>\n

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The flat was a bit messy<\/p><\/div>\n

Sounds and Music<\/strong><\/p>\n

We never planed to have any sounds in our game, but we planed to have some music. Jay, the third man of the team, which is a great musician, was supposed to be in charge of this aspect. Unfortunately, during this week end Jay<\/p>\n

\u2013 wasn\u2019t in the same city<\/p>\n

\u2013 was quite busy<\/p>\n

\u2013 had no internet connection<\/p>\n

\u2013 and didn\u2019t even have a windows computer to play what we were making! ^^\nSo, even if we thought it was still possible to make something with him, it obviously didn\u2019t happen. This is a shame because Coin-Operated Afternoon REALLY NEEDS music, so I hope we\u2019ll make a post-post-compo version to complete the game!<\/p>\n

HUGENESS (no shit ?) <\/strong><\/p>\n

Ok, we were aware that making a game in stop-motion will lead to a big .exe file\u2026but 1,14GB ? Seriously ?! Well\u2026it looks like Adventure Game Studio wasn\u2019t made to build stop-motion animated games. The good news is that it allowed us to break a new record! I really think we\u2019re the first ones to reach the 1GB limit in Ludum Dare History ^^ (but I might be wrong)<\/p>\n