{"assets":[{"original":"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/compo2\/375043\/35110-shot0.png","local":"\/data\/posts\/2014\/08\/dab8746c6de79ab995f23fb65e022344.png"}],"author_link":"author\/43iscoding\/","author_name":"43iscoding","cat":"LD #30","categories":["LD #30"],"comments":[],"epoch":1409034300,"event":"LD30","likes":5,"metadata":{"p_key":"81877","p_author":"43iscoding","p_authorkey":"0","p_urlkey":"290994","p_title":"Salvation","p_cat":"LD #30","p_event":"LD30","p_time":"1409034300","p_likes":"5","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":null,"us_name":null,"us_username":null,"event_start":"1408665600","event_key":"24","event_name":"LD30"},"source_url":"2014\/08\/26\/salvation-2\/","text":"

Hello, everyone! I would like to share my thoughts and impressions on Ludum Dare 30!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This was the\u00a0first Ludum Dare I participated in and I\u2019m extremely happy that so many people got to play my game, and eventually enjoyed it :3<\/p>\n

You can view my entry and play it here:\u00a0http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-30\/?action=preview&uid=35110<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Firstly, I wanted to write a simple blog post as a story of my development, but then I decided it would be pretty boring to read.<\/p>\n

So I invented a simple questionnaire to do that! I hope it will be appropriate and convenient form \":)\"<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Developer\u2019s questionnaire<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\n

1. \u00a0How many Ludum Dares you participated in so far?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zero! This is my first one, yay! ^^<\/p>\n

2. How did you choose the name for your game?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve actually came up both with idea and name right away. Salvation<\/strong> is straight away, one word, and sounds pleasant.<\/p>\n

3. What was the inspiration?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Solarmax, Nano War<\/p>\n

4. What was the hardest to make?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Art. I really struggled with making anything somewhat visually pleasing.<\/p>\n

Although, I\u2019ve made void\/planet SFX and background procedurally generated, I still wasted too much time for minor visual changes and choosing colors.<\/p>\n

5. What was the easiest to make?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Game mechanics. I generally try to write all of my games from scratch without using any frameworks\/engines at all, so now I\u2019m pretty familiar with setting up basic physics & game mechanics fast.<\/p>\n

6. What was the greatest decision you made?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Firstly, you could channel population through the planet chain (1 -> 2 -> 3), resulting in first planet transferring population straight to third. And that pretty much negated\u00a0the meaning of max population.<\/p>\n

So 3 hours (!!!) before submission end, I decided to forbid planets to receive and send population simultaneously. That tweak improved gameplay drastically, however I needed to redesign all the levels!<\/p>\n

7. What was the dumbest decision you made?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve tried to make some art the first day, without actually having working prototype. That resulted in a huge lack of time. I had only one\u00a0hour to make sound effects, and got no time to make music.<\/p>\n

8. What was the craziest decision you made?<\/strong><\/p>\n

See 6. <\/strong>above\u00a0\ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n

9. What is\u00a0your impression?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I extremely enjoyed participating in Ludum Dare, and looking forward to next one \":)\"<\/p>\n

I am also happy with my result and totally overwhelmed with the warm reception of my game and the fact hundreds of people\u00a0get to play my game!<\/p>\n

10. Lessons to learn?<\/strong><\/p>\n