Some Ludum Dare tips for the people who are joining us for the first time.

• Unless you’ve made a few games under jam conditions, try to build a game that you can start balancing and tweaking (and making FUN!) right away. Some games can’t be balanced until they’re nearly done, especially if they need a lot of AI, a number of game systems in place, a number of game mechanics connecting to each other at the same time, etc. With some other games you can start adjusting things early on in the process.
• If your game is the type of game that has levels, don’t create them in the order they are played. Do the important levels first, then filler ones later, so that if you run out of time you still have a complete game, just a shorter one.
• Figure out what the core mechanics of your game are and do them really well early on. Basic actions should feel good (such as jumping in a platformer, shooting in a shoot-em-up).
• Keep the theme in mind. It’s important not to just tack it on at the end.
• Have a title screen, a menu screen, credits, etc. They don’t take long but they make a game feel finished.
• Make sure you’re familiar with most of what you’re doing. You should know your way around the language, libraries, and tools that you’ve chosen to use. Having said that, it’s good to stretch your limits a little by trying new things, but don’t get carried away by setting your goals too high. It’s more important to finish.
• It’s worth putting in little “juicy” things into a game if you have time. Particle effects and easing might not add anything to the game play, but people appreciate the little polished touches more than you might think.
• Don’t be afraid to scrap unimportant features. Also don’t be afraid to change your mind if something isn’t working. We changed our game entirely and started from scratch a full day into LD26 and ended up with a better game to show for it.