After a 7-year hiatus from Ludum Dare, I got to test my skills again—and in the Compo category, no less! I learned a lot from the experience and am proud of myself that it all worked out! My game: ld link.

Here are the conclusions I’ve drawn: * Three cans of beer and a pizza—the perfect snacks for the event! A beer before every nap. On the last night, you can have a cup of coffee in the evening for that final push. * I managed to get the sound effects done faster than I thought. * First, I need to build the core gameplay. * Do what you enjoy (I should have made a simulator; I don’t play puzzles myself). * You need a schedule with time allocated for tasks (at least roughly)! * You need breaks in the schedule! I forgot that time keeps ticking even when I’m eating. * After a break, you need to reassess task priorities, because you can end up going in the wrong direction. * If you enjoy working on the “wrong direction” and creating little features that only a handful of people will notice, then you can afford to linger there 🙂 * Need to make posts (this also needs to be added to the schedule) or stream; without them, you don’t feel the overall momentum. * A nap on the second day. Before that nap, I thought I wouldn’t get anything done and was generally thinking of dropping out of the race, but after the nap, I came back with even more energy. * There’s still some fire left in the powder keg. It’s gotten harder to stay up late as I’ve gotten older, but when my body rallies, it’s a relief. * I already knew some of this, but I guess I’m just a slow learner. * If I compare my penultimate attempt at Ludum Dare, it’s clear that I’ve grown technically over these five years, but narratively I’m still pretty banal. I need to absorb more diverse information to broaden my horizons. * I had to use pre-made VFX, and I’ve gotten so used to it that I started thinking I need to learn how to make them myself. * First time using a microphone to record SFXs—cool experience!