{"assets":[{"original":"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Design-do-Get-the-Seconds-300x173.png","local":"\/data\/posts\/2013\/09\/539cc0bb1d5466944ca23d0ab527572a.png"},{"original":"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/escher01-300x286.jpg","local":"\/data\/posts\/2013\/09\/b4073596afa86662a900926e807dd20e.jpg"},{"original":"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/gettheseconds-300x241.jpg","local":"\/data\/posts\/2013\/09\/ca110123b9107990e542cf2409d08f78.jpg"}],"author_link":"author\/rodrigo-robles\/","author_name":"Rodrigo Robles","cat":"LD #27","categories":["LD #27"],"comments":[],"epoch":1378489740,"event":"LD27","likes":4,"metadata":{"p_key":"80305","p_author":"Rodrigo Robles","p_authorkey":"0","p_urlkey":"289315","p_title":"Finally! A puzzle game post-mortem!","p_cat":"LD #27","p_event":"LD27","p_time":"1378489740","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\/06\/finally-a-puzzle-game-post-mortem\/","text":"

Yeah! It\u2019s a rare genre. Did you ever seen a puzzle game post-mortem? So let\u2019s do this!<\/p>\n

BEFORE LUDUM DARE \u2013 PREPARATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

You must prepare yourself to the event. Sharp your tools. Prepare a code template. Training in your coding IDE, graphic editor, music and sound editors is also a good idea.\nI did nothing of these things.\nBut I did one important thing: Warn my wife weeks before the event, and repeat the warning time from time. Otherwise she surely would ruin my plans.<\/p>\n

FIRST \u2013 THE DESIGN<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I first saw the theme, I did think that 10 seconds was the countdown approaching to zero. I hit F5, and again, and the 10 second remains. I though \u201cMan, it\u2019s locked in 10 seconds!\u201d Finally I realized that 10 seconds was the theme. Holy crap!\nSo I hated the theme. The first and obvious interpretation should be a 10 seconds time limit. You should never take the obvious interpretation. Later I was shocked that everyone took the obvious interpretation.\nI spend the night thinking about a different take on the theme. After a while I had the idea about the ordinal second. The second one things. Finally I get rid from the damn time limit.\nSo I needed a design. And that night I thought in no one. Then I went to sleep.\nIn the next morning I woke up without an idea. I took a breakfast and start to work. After half an hour I made the design of the game. Probably my subconscious worked during the sleep.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

THE CODING<\/strong><\/p>\n

I had planned to use Construct 2. But after finish the design, I realized that for this kind of puzzle game pure Javascript would be more productive. I didn\u2019t need collision, physics or other things that Construct 2 usually help you.\nThe next step was coding. At the end of the day I had the first prototype, with scratch graphics. At night I started to draw the final graphics.\nTesting was a serious problem. Finish the first stage could spend five to ten minutes. I could run just a few cycles of testing.\nAt sunday morning I continued making graphics and some testing\/debugging. After the lunch I\nhad a problem. I had planned to go to the Escher\u2019s expo at the city museum. That was the final day to the expo.\nThe game was almost finished, so I went to the museum. I expected to spent just a couple of hors but I spent six. It was a huge expo!<\/p>\n

\"escher01\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So I returned to home lasting only some hours to the timeline. I rushed to finish the graphics, add basic sound and make some testing. 15 minutes before the timeline the game was finished.<\/p>\n

\"gettheseconds\"<\/a>\nWHAT WENT WRONG:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n