{"author_name":"SidewalkSleeper","cat":"LD #37","comments":[],"epoch":1482667560,"likes":2,"metadata":{"p_key":"842","p_author":"SidewalkSleeper","p_authorkey":"32416","p_urlkey":"35668","p_title":"DMG CTRL \u2013 post-mortem","p_cat":"LD #37","p_event":"LD37","p_time":"1482667560","p_likes":"2","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"32416","us_name":"SidewalkSleeper","us_username":"sidewalksleeper","event_start":"1481241600","event_key":"81","event_name":"Ludum Dare 37"},"text":"

Merry Christmas, everybody!<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have a gift on me, but I guess a post-mortem will do.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m half of the <\/span>Horse Stache<\/b> creative duo. I\u2019m mainly responsible for the aesthetic aspect of our games, while my friend is busy coding our\u00a0dumb ideas into existence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our latest game <\/span>DMG CTRL<\/a><\/b> is the second game we\u2019ve ever submitted to Ludum Dare, the first being <\/span>It\u2019s Cupid, Stupid<\/a><\/b> (LD 34). Though it\u2019s too early to say for sure, but at least in terms of responses, we\u2019ve surpassed our previous game.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Which is not to say that it\u2019s perfect. Far from it. But let\u2019s not get ahead of ourselves. First things first, we want to talk about…<\/span><\/p>\n

What Went Right<\/b><\/p>\n

Surprisingly, my music got decent feedback. Our previous game did not future any music or sfx, so I made it my mission to add sounds this time \u2013 however bad they were going to be.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having no musical talent whatsoever, I only spent about half an hour fiddling with <\/span>BeepBox<\/span><\/a>, and I guess it turned out okay. Some people have, quite rightfully, pointed out that my music is repetitive, but we really lucked out with the type of game we were doing. Lesson learned \u2013 repetitive music goes along greatly with repetitive gameplay \ud83d\ude00<\/span><\/p>\n

Art was another positive in people\u2019s eyes. I was going for something colorful and cheery, and reviewers responded well to it. I am willing to experiment with my art, but it\u2019s nice knowing that, at my most basic, I can create something people might enjoy looking at.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\"\"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

For instance, Doom-like emperor\u2019s portrait at the bottom was something we wanted to do from the get-go. Really glad that people liked it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, it wasn\u2019t without its issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

What started as a leisurely-paced game making session became a race against the clock by the end, so some of the art you see in our game was actually done by my friend. Bolts of lightning, for example, are all on him.<\/span><\/p>\n

But alright, that\u2019s enough of tooting my own horn, let\u2019s look at…<\/span><\/p>\n

What Went Not-So-Right<\/b><\/p>\n

Once again, we\u2019ve faced the issue of \u201cWe have a vague idea, let\u2019s not try to expand on it at all\u201d. We were so busy building a completed game that we forgot to make it fun.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sure, some people liked it, but the overwhelming verdict is that it lacked the elements of engrossing experience. It was monotone and kind of unengaging.<\/span><\/p>\n

I could put some of the blame on the theme, but it\u2019d sound petty. A lot of people made some really unique games, so we\u2019re the only ones to blame for our downfall. (Still, the theme did not help us :D)<\/span><\/p>\n

We only came up with good-ish ideas for abilities when it was time to put finishing touches. We found out that our time management skill is really our worst enemy.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, with that in mind, let\u2019s focus on…<\/span><\/p>\n

What We\u2019re Going to Do<\/b><\/p>\n

For the next Ludum Dare, we already decided to use our time more wisely. The idea is to produce a playable prototype in 48 hours and then add visual flavor to it in the last 24 hours. It will be more hectic but at least the gameplay will (hopefully) be better.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve addressed some of the more pressing concerns about DMG CTRL, and out post-Jam build features waves, growing difficulty, and some downtime to rebuild the lost buildings. It\u2019s still not ideal, but at least it\u2019s more in line with our original vision.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can play it here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anyway, thank you for reading this wall of text. TL; DR: We\u2019ve still got a lot to learn.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019re really grateful to everybody who left their feedback to our game. You\u2019re awesome, and you help us grow as developers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Have a magical holiday season!<\/span><\/p>","time":"December 25th, 2016 7:06 am","title":"DMG CTRL \u2013 post-mortem"}