{"assets":[],"author_link":"author\/unept\/","author_name":"Unept","cat":"LD #33","categories":["LD #33"],"comments":[],"epoch":1441278900,"event":"LD33","likes":8,"metadata":{"p_key":"83153","p_author":"Unept","p_authorkey":"0","p_urlkey":"293884","p_title":"Moon Base Shootout Post-Mortem","p_cat":"LD #33","p_event":"LD33","p_time":"1441278900","p_likes":"8","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":null,"us_name":null,"us_username":null,"event_start":"1440115200","event_key":"29","event_name":"LD33"},"source_url":"2015\/09\/03\/moon-base-shootout-post-mortem\/","text":"<div class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 460px\"><img alt=\"\" class=\"\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/dl.dropboxusercontent.com\/u\/7024703\/stencyl_forums\/moonbase_shootout\/moonbase_shootout_2.gif\" width=\"450\"\/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too many aliens? Break a window.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-33\/?action=preview&amp;uid=25813\" target=\"_blank\">Play Moon Base Shootout<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This was my 3rd LD jam, and it felt\u00a0far more ambitious than my previous entries, <a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-28\/comment-page-6\/?action=preview&amp;uid=25813\" target=\"_blank\">Doomba<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-27\/?action=preview&amp;uid=25813\" target=\"_blank\">VIP<\/a>. I had fun with this one, perhaps because I am more confident as a game developer than in the past.<\/p>\n<p><strong>WHAT WORKED<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>FEELS LIKE A TOP-DOWN SHOOTER \u2013\u00a0I\u2019ve never done one\u00a0before, so I wasn\u2019t sure whether to aim\/shoot with the mouse, or use WASD to move and ARROW keys to shoot. I went the Nuclear Throne route, including strikingly similar crosshairs.<\/li>\n<li>BROKEN WINDOW VACUUM PHYSICS \u2013 Simulating physics without lugging down the game can be a chore. Luckily, my first attempt worked well enough for the game. It\u2019s a hack though, and will need a revamp\u00a0if I make a post-jam version.<\/li>\n<li>FULL\u00a0GAME FROM START TO FINISH \u2013 It\u2019s not a long game, but it has 10 levels with an integrated-ish tutorial, a (rather easy) end Boss, and a conclusion. This is a victory for any jam game. It was tough to do, I had to cut corners on sound, music (none), keep the tileset simple, etc. in order to have time for level design and story conclusion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>WHAT DIDN\u2019T QUITE WORK<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>PUZZLER OR SHOOTER? \u2013 If you play it, you will see it has identity issues. At the start, I wanted a top-down game with aliens, limited ammo, windows, and the need to think your way through the levels. By the end I had a shooter with a couple thinky parts thrown in. Two things happened during the process: FIRST, I tweaked the firing rate to \u201crapid\u201d and had too much fun with it. Big\u00a0mistake, I should have backburnered it for another game. SECOND, I was intimidated by the prospect of smart level design in a short time period, and the easy way out was \u201ccreate more aliens.\u201d Regrettable, as there is a lot of potential with the puzzle aspect. This mistake may be fallout from my Doomba game, in which the level designs ended up feeling\u00a0\u201cmeh.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>POLISH \u2013 Music, sounds, tileset, stronger story, graphics, etc. But it\u2019s a jam game, so I\u2019m not beating myself up.<\/li>\n<li>THEME TIE-IN \u2013 I\u2019m the biggest fan of subtlety. I really wanted the theme tie-in to be more of a reveal at the end, and even then not super duper obvious. I used company memos in each level to hint to\u00a0the player that there\u2019s more going on than \u201ckill the invading aliens.\u201d I don\u2019t think it worked perfectly. Much feedback talked about lack of theme, so either they didn\u2019t finish the game or I could have designed it better. I think both.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 460px\"><img alt=\"\" class=\"\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/dl.dropboxusercontent.com\/u\/7024703\/stencyl_forums\/moonbase_shootout\/moonbase_shootout_3.gif\" width=\"450\"\/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Broke a window? Plug it up.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Overall, I\u2019m happy with the result. I may or may not work on a post-jam version. If you have any questions\/thoughts, hit me up on twitter: I\u2019m @unept.<\/p>","time":"September 3rd, 2015 11:15 am","title":"Moon Base Shootout Post-Mortem","title_was_empty":false}