This is part II of the post-mortem for my LD38 entry, Terrartisan.

• Read post-mortem part I (development log): https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/terrartisan/terrartisan-post-mortem-part-i-development-log
• Link to the game (pls rate & review!): https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/terrartisan

What went wrong

• My initial idea had an scope that was way too large. Yes, I managed to submit something, but at the beginning I wanted to have cute graphics, some sand worms poppping out from desert blocks, maybe dinosaurs…
• I hadn't fully tested my desired setup for audio, with two Pocket Operators connected to my audio interface. I ended up having to improvise and wasting time.
• Audiotool went down. This was the first time that it happened during a jam, but I definitely don't wish to go through that again. I need to learn a DAW app I can run locally for the next jam.
• I didn't meal prep for the jam, since I had work long hours during the week. While my snacks were healthy (raw nuts, gazpacho, yoghourt) I ordered take out, which is not the best food to keep my energy levels in check.
• I missed an epic Barça victory with a goal in the last minute :_(

What went well

• I managed to cut features and compromise to have something that was playable and fun. I couldn't stop thinking on Ludum Dare #31, for which I also made a simulation game (way overscoped) and ended up with a very rough entry.
• I didn't panic and made bad decisions when I was getting behind of schedule. I think I have gotten very good at this in game jams.
• I had amazing support and encouragement over Twitter. It was very motivating to see the worlds people were creating!
• Although feature-wise this game was over scope, it allowed me to sacrifice a lot in art. This game can work with programmer's art (squares with solid colors) and people can still find it cute. This bought me time to work more on features and bug fixing.

Tools and apps

Here is a list of tools I have used to make this game.

Code:

• JavaScript as a programming language
• Phaser as the game framework
• Git and Github for version control and backup
• Github Pages to publish the game online while it was in progress
• Gulp as a task manager
• My generator-gamejam to create the initial project template

Art and audio:

• Pyxel Edit to make the art
• Garage Band to compose music
• bfxr to generate sound effects

Misc:

• Bear to manage my TODO list
• GIF Brewery to make screen recordings to put them on Twitter
• Pen and paper

Note that since I went for very crude art, I didn't need to use my Wacom tablet to draw.