{"assets":[{"original":"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/compo2\/233892\/14991-shot1.png","local":"\/data\/posts\/2013\/05\/d4ac81249cd2885107f651f6a8994405.png"}],"author_link":"author\/jwin\/","author_name":"jwin","cat":"LD #26","categories":["LD #26"],"comments":[],"epoch":1367771040,"event":"LD26","likes":5,"metadata":{"p_key":"78930","p_author":"jwin","p_authorkey":"0","p_urlkey":"287940","p_title":"Pink Haze Post-Mortem","p_cat":"LD #26","p_event":"LD26","p_time":"1367771040","p_likes":"5","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":null,"us_name":null,"us_username":null,"event_start":"1366934400","event_key":"16","event_name":"LD26"},"source_url":"2013\/05\/05\/pink-haze-post-mortem\/","text":"

\"Pink<\/a><\/p>\n

Pink Haze<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span> is the minimalist third-person cover-based shooter I created for LD26. \u00a0This was my second Ludum Dare, and I feel I created a much better game this time around.<\/p>\n

The goal was to do everything required for the genre (shoot things, hide behind cover to not get shot) and nothing more. \u00a0Your interactions are limited to moving around, firing your gun, and most importantly NOT moving or firing your gun. \u00a0When standing still your character automatically ducks, letting you hide behind cover and out of the enemies\u2019 line of fire. \u00a0You\u2019ll also recharge your health and ammo after standing still for a few seconds. \u00a0Aiming is handled automatically as well; you\u2019ll always target the nearest enemy with direct line of sight.<\/p>\n

\"Pink<\/a>

The second room of Pink Haze, complete with navigation graph.<\/p><\/div>\n

What Went Right<\/h2>\n

Being agile:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>The first part of this is to get the bare minimum game up and playing as soon as humanly possible. \u00a0In the case of Pink Haze I had movement, ducking, shooting, and very basic enemies done within a couple hours. \u00a0After actually playing my game, I reassessed what needed to be done and it wasn\u2019t what I predicted it would be.<\/p>\n

For example, my original plan didn\u2019t have auto aiming but instead both you and the enemies shot straight ahead while moving around to aim. \u00a0This wasn\u2019t much fun because it was extremely easy to avoid shots (why duck behind cover when no one can shoot you?) but extremely difficult to shoot anything (If you can hit them, you\u2019re already in the line of fire). \u00a0Being able to play my game very early let me fix many of the troublesome spots I hadn\u2019t thought of. \u00a0The reloading\/healing mechanism, the status indicator on your back, and the character design all came from addressing problems as they came up rather than from initial design decisions.<\/p>\n

Knowing my tools:<\/strong>\u00a0I had a much easier time getting things done this time than I did during LD24. \u00a0This was due in large part to being more familiar with Unity. \u00a0It took me just a few minutes to add particle systems, sound effects, etc instead of spending hours trying to learn how to do it on the fly. \u00a0I also created a quick game for the Warmup Weekend, which made sure all of this was fresh in my mind.<\/p>\n

Designing around my abilities:<\/strong>\u00a0There are some aspects of game development that I\u2019m very good at, and some that I\u2019m just not. \u00a0Personally, I think I\u2019m a very capable programmer, and I can do some simple 3d modelling, but I\u2019m not terribly artistic in general. \u00a0From the very beginning I ruled out texturing\/2d art, making my own musix\/sfx, and having a story-driven game. \u00a0These kinds of guidelines kept me from trying to tackle something I\u2019d have no chance of completing, and probably wouldn\u2019t be happy with if I did.<\/p>\n

Using content generators:<\/strong>\u00a0SFXR and Autotracker are simply amazing! \u00a0As stated above, creating sound effects or music aren\u2019t in my range of talents so these tools are the only reason my game has music and sound effects.<\/p>\n

What Went Wrong<\/h2>\n
\"Pink<\/a>

Creating the player character in Wings3D<\/p><\/div>\n

Working harder instead of reassessing the situation:<\/strong>\u00a0My original plan for the characters was blocky (Minecraft-like) humanoid characters instead of the floating ones that ended up in the game. \u00a0I spent over two hours failing at creating a run animation before giving up and designing something simpler. \u00a0In the end my replacement approach only to 30 minutes, and actually works better with the theme, but I still wasted a few precious hours struggling at a task that could easily be worked around.<\/p>\n

Last minute additions:\u00a0<\/strong>Up until an hour before the competition ended, the game had 6 rooms that randomly repeated until you died. \u00a0This was a bit repetitive, but entirely sufficient. \u00a0Instead of leaving things well enough alone, I decided to add a final room and an \u2018ending\u2019. \u00a0Unfortunately, after creating the final room I had no time to create an ending, and it simply fades back to the title screen. \u00a0The never-ending rooms would have been much better than such a crappy conclusion.<\/p>\n

Not explaining things well enough:\u00a0<\/strong>It was pretty clear from some of the comments I received that players weren\u2019t always sure how to play the game, and the blame rests on how poorly I explained it. \u00a0The mechanics of my game aren\u2019t as self-apparent and easy to understand as they seemed after working on it all weekend. \u00a0Standing still isn\u2019t something you commonly do in shooters, so players were just running around instead of taking cover and not getting very far. \u00a0I added more descriptive instructions to the game\u2019s entry page and haven\u2019t heard complaints about it being confusing since.<\/p>\n

Conculsions<\/h2>\n

Overall I\u2019m extremely pleased with my Ludum Dare entry this year. \u00a0I accomplished almost everything I hoped to while designing it and I feel it was a huge improvement over my entry for LD24.<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t tried Pink Haze yet, you can do so right here<\/a>. \u00a0Enjoy!<\/p>","time":"May 5th, 2013 4:24 pm","title":"Pink Haze Post-Mortem","title_was_empty":false}