{"assets":[],"author_link":"author\/seconddimension\/","author_name":"SecondDimension","cat":"LD #27","categories":["LD #27"],"comments":[],"epoch":1379334300,"event":"LD27","likes":4,"metadata":{"p_key":"79354","p_author":"SecondDimension","p_authorkey":"0","p_urlkey":"288364","p_title":"Poppy vs the Night: A Post-Mortem","p_cat":"LD #27","p_event":"LD27","p_time":"1379334300","p_likes":"4","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":null,"us_name":null,"us_username":null,"event_start":"1377216000","event_key":"18","event_name":"LD27"},"source_url":"2013\/09\/16\/poppy-vs-the-night-a-post-mortem\/","text":"

A Post-Mortem for our game, Poppy vs the Night<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Screenshot<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Play it here:\n<\/strong>http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-27\/?action=preview&uid=14838<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\nTEAM<\/strong>\n\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n

Adam D:<\/em> Programming, Design, Art Support\nAdam S:<\/em> Music, Sound, Writing, Programming Support\nJames C:<\/em> Lead Artist, Design<\/p>\n

Being a team, we entered the Jam, but we treat it like the Compo wherever possibly \u2013 All gameplay, art and music was created in 72hrs over the weekend<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\nWHAT WENT RIGHT<\/strong>\n\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\n\"Most<\/a>\nBETTER PLANNING<\/strong>\nWe all learnt a lot from the mistakes we made during the last Ludum Dare competition, so we spent more time planning things out up-front; we had asset lists and responsibilities all laid out from the start.\u00a0 We also planned out a lot of the gameplay up front, and had a simple and focused goal from the first morning.<\/p>\n

Despite a lot of crashes, Construct 2 is great for creating the bare bones of a game efficiently. \u00a0Plus we were more prepared for some of the quirks that C2 might throw at us this time, so it was probably the right choice to use it during this Jam.<\/p>\n

Adam D: \u201cIn spite of everything critical that I\u2019ve said about Construct 2 in this post-mortem and the last, it is still bloody quick at getting a game up and running\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

ARTWORK & CHARACTER<\/strong>\nWe were all bit annoyed last LD that our main character was Mario and none of us had noticed, so this time everyone was pleased with the main character and the design overall.\u00a0 James did a great job and is definitely growing in confidence with each competition.\u00a0 James also felt that more of his own hand-drawn style is coming through in his digital work, which can only be a good thing.<\/p>\n

A reduced colour palette was something was all wanted for this game, and again James did a good job of selecting the colours and giving the game a consistent visual atmosphere.<\/p>\n

James C: \u201cOverall I was very happy with what we produced for Ludum Dare 27. I feel our entry was more polished and looked a lot better than our first attempt.\u00a0 Picking a colour scheme from the start helped to create a more uniform style\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

DIVISION OF WORK<\/strong>\nAt times this was actually a real problem, but on day two, Adam S. took over doing much of the programming leaving Adam D to help James with the art.\u00a0 Adam D was able to create the main game background, pick-ups, particles, splash screens, and other small graphics tasks. This allowed James to focus on the more time-consuming graphical elements such as the characters, the boss and the menu screen. Adam D thoroughly enjoyed helping with the artwork, leaving Adam S. to do what he was itching to do and get stuck into the development work. \u00a0\u00a0Some portions of the first day also saw us working to our optimal capacity, with James on the art, Adam D developing the gameplay and Adam S writing music.<\/p>\n

Adam D: \u201cHelping with the Art was just really nice. Dealing with bugs at the end of a LD is stressful. Creating art at the end of a LD was good fun\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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MUSIC & SOUND<\/strong>\nSpeaking of music, we were really pleased with how all the audio turned out.\u00a0 Adam S managed to create 8 different 10 second tracks, as well as a longer piece of music for the menu screens.\u00a0 The music fitted well with the atmosphere, and offered something slightly different depending on the current stage of the game.\u00a0 We feel like it added to the overall polish of the game<\/p>\n

Adam S: \u201cI love that Ludum Dare gives me an excuse to write music, as I don\u2019t really find the time very often.\u00a0 For past LDs I have always written the middle part of the song first, then adapted it from there, so 10 second tracks actually suited my method very well.\u00a0 It was great to get 9 small but coherent pieces of music together in just one weekend, and I\u2019m proud of the overall standard\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-\nWHAT WENT WRONG<\/strong>\n\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-<\/p>\n

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

STYLE SHEETS & CONCEPT ART<\/strong>\nAlthough we had a colour palette in mind, it was always the plan for James to create concept art and a full screen mock-up before he started on the sprites.\u00a0 Out of this would come a visual theme, defined palette and style sheet; helping to create a unique style for the game. Unfortunately this didn\u2019t really happen due to time constraints, and as a result the visual identity of the game didn\u2019t really come together until quite late in the weekend.\u00a0 Next time we want to make time for this as it can only help to improve the feel of the game.\u00a0 James would also like to work on some more varied walk cycles and better animations.<\/p>\n

BEING TOO CONVENTIONAL<\/strong>\nAnother problem we all have with our past games, is that we feel they are a little conventional.\u00a0 Outside of LD we all appreciate the unique, weird and wonderful side of the creative arts, but haven\u2019t managed to translate that to our games together.\u00a0 The mechanics of the games have also been fairly traditional, and we all discussed leaving guns out of our next game.<\/p>\n

James C: \u201cI want to continue to develop a more original style and improve my character design; I shouldn\u2019t be afraid to make things a little weird\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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PROBLEMS WITH SOFTWARE\n<\/strong>Construct 2 crashed a lot for us and caused some infuriating slowdown problems.\u00a0 Add to that the fact that we still have no source control, and it amounted to some major frustration at times.\u00a0 It again became clear that using 2 programmers with C2 was just not viable without source control; we really need to look into that next time.\u00a0 We thought we had it figured out this time; the idea was that Adam D would produce the basic engine, and then pass it over to Adam S. so that he could playtest, design level and tweak values. Unfortunately it took too long to get something up that was sophisticated enough for it to be worthwhile playtesting extensively, which meant that Adam S. did some fantastic audio on the first day but was not able to contribute as much towards design as we had hoped. This made Adam D a little uncomfortable, as although he has a lot of programming experience, he is not nearly as familiar with Construct 2 as Adam S.\u00a0 C2 also caused a bit of a division between the styles of the 2 Adams (the age-old battle of Text vs GUI).<\/p>\n

Adam D:\u00a0 \u201cI have also become increasing frustrated with point-and-click coding. What has been particularly notable for me is that I have really enjoyed coming back to JavaScript since LD and I don\u2019t really like JavaScript that much\u2026 it\u2019s a bit rubbish but it\u2019s better than pointing and clicking\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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GAMEPLAY ISSUES<\/strong>\nWe always try to stick to the theme during\u00a0 a Ludum Dare, although this time we feel it has a detrimental effect on the game.\u00a0 Much of the feedback we received was positive, but basically all the negative feedback was about the same thing; this game is too frantic.\u00a0 We agree with this, it felt like just as you were getting into a stage it was over.\u00a0 It was probably a bit hectic for players giving it a go for the first time.\u00a0 This quick-fire gameplay also meant the game lacked depth, as there wasn\u2019t enough time to develop the idea before the 10 seconds was up.\u00a0 We\u2019re considering working on a post-compo version to address some of these issues.<\/p>\n

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\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\nCONCLUSION<\/strong>\n\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\n\"Main<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

We are really happy with our game this time round, the idea was a bit simpler than last time, but that allowed us to focus on making it a more polished experience and removing the bugs. \u00a0We definitely feel like it\u2019s an improvement over the last effort, especially the overall atmosphere. \u00a0A consistent art style and varied music added to the sense of being in poppy\u2019s dream, and it felt like all the elements of the game belonged there as a whole, rather than being a collection of disparate pieces. \u00a0So in conclusion: Hooray!\nThanks to everyone who played and rated our game, we\u2019re looking forward to seeing you all in December.<\/p>\n