Play it here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/rashlander

RASHLANDER sort of spewed out of me LD weekend. It is a Downwell Mario Galaxy Lunar Lander hybrid that was made with Arcade First principles, which means that it must work in an arcade cabinet. These limits fueled the creative process, making decisions easy in a way that isn't typical for me.

The result is a really outrageously hard lander that is fresh and compelling. It's almost a joke how hard this thing is--but the design point is still made, I think. I'd like to talk about some things that went right, as well as some things that did not.

The Good.

-The visuals came together fast. I embraced a 320x240 resolution, which sounds horrible at first but goes all the way around problems pixelated games usually run into post 2000 ("fake" looking, pixels not lining up, varying pixel sizes, etc.) Sticking to rigid resolution requirements made pixel art a product of math, not hours of poking with a pencil tool. It's 2017 so I can play with shaders that juice up the pixel art, but at 320x240 they still agree with the overall look. I am extra happy with the HSL effect as screenshake rather than an actual shake.

-The movement is the most compelling part about this game. This means that I can have a simple game (get to the goal) which is still a challenge for players. Game Jam time requirements are a monster without a dead simple mechanic, so this was a real life saver for me. After post competition work it became clear that the perceived difficulty goes WAY down when I properly introduce players to the mechanics.

-I love space. SPACE

The Less Good.

-Holy Space Rocks is this game hard. After the LD dust settled I tried to beat it, and found I was unable to. On the one hand I am going for Downwell/Spelunky level difficulty here. So in that way it's not a flaw. However, Downwell and Spelunky have SO MANY reasons for the player to stick around (upgrades, tunnel digger, earned extras, etc.) and this little game jam baby just doesn't have that going for it. Again, post competition I am discovering the perceived difficulty goes down when you have something to work toward.

-Proc Gen is mean sometimes. This version is full of moments where you start a level and die immediately. I'm working on it.

-Not enough space. :(

TLDR

This was an amazing weekend and I made a cool thing that people seem to like. I learned about new ways to limit myself and how it puts genuine rocket fuel in the development process. I learned about new ways to juice up a game when I don't have HD pixels to do all the heavy lifting. I also learned that people are generous and up for a challenge when you state up front "THIS GAME IS HARD."

What a good time. Good luck and happy landing,

Ryan Davis https://twitter.com/ryguygames