Last Ludum Dare, right before I started, I wrote a list of things I’ve learned in the past 4 months, and I feel I should do it this time as well.

• People like catchy and atmospheric music. There is a fine line between atmospheric and droning.
• If you’re making puzzles, find a middle ground between too hard and too easy.
• Because you’ve created the game, and know how to beat it, there will be many things you overlook. Try not to overlook those.
• BETA
• TESTERS
• ARE
• SUPER
• IMPORTANT
• Try and use as little memory as possible, so it plays roughly the same on everyone’s computer, no matter how old.
• Mood in video games is super important. You want to leave people feeling an emotion, and what emotion that is is super important.
• Along those lines, there’s a difference between Super Meat Boy mad (where the player blames themselves) and regular mad (where the game is at fault).
• Never punish a player for something out of their control.
• Take pride in your work. Not many people can make a whole game in 48 hours!