{"author_link":"\/users\/a333","author_name":"a333","author_uid":"a333","comments":[],"epoch":1776882025,"event":"LD59","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":431669,"likes":13,"metadata":{"p_key":"96512","p_author":"a333","p_authorkey":"1000448","p_urlkey":"312154","p_title":"Advanced tips for successful Dare","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD59","p_time":"1776882025","p_likes":"13","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1000448","us_name":"a333","us_username":"a333","event_start":"1776470400","event_key":"113","event_name":"Ludum Dare 59"},"node":{"_collation":{"body_sanitizer":"TextUtils::SanitizeHTML via existing importer","event":"LD59","removed_author":false},"_superparent":424249,"_trust":2,"author":448,"body":"![ld59_gif7.gif](\/\/\/raw\/0c1\/z\/7255b.gif)\n\nLD is about making your game from start to finish. Usually people think about engineering and content, code, art, music, sounds. But marketing is important too. As a person who sucks at marketing, here are some tips that I learned (and I'll keep learning more)\n\n## First of all, know your target audience. \nFirst and foremost they are going to be LD gamers. Tired, hypercaffeinated people who need to process 20+ games quite quickly. \n20 new games is a lot. So any precious second spent on understanding how to play your game is a point towards leaving.\n- polish the first 30 seconds of your game. Lay down the controls. Explain concepts. If your game is mechanically challeging, spread out tutorials and introduce new mechanics gradually. I have ADHD so I tend to drop the games a lot when I cannot immediately figure out how to play, but it's safe to assume that this interval should not exceed couple of minutes.\n- Be sure to make the game easier than you feel it should be. Yes, even more easier. And now easier again.\nYou played this game for 30+ hours, LD participants are just tried it for the first time. Even mastering basic controls will add to the challenge\n- Test on other people. This is immensely important, and the only way you can reliably learn about your game accessibility problems.\n\n## After you've done the game, work just only begun.\n- Think about and make some quality posts. Not just \"here's my entry pls play lol\". Tell something interesting, hint at some secrets and original mechanics, tell a development story.\n- Leave a lot of good feedback. Some people look at great commenters and play their games in return.\n- Invent something for community to engage. Yes, you can meta-LD during and after the LD! cross-game references, leaderboards for best commenters, rewards, etc. \nBTW I'll put all of the people who left the comment on my game's page to the titles as precious contributors, should my game be released as a full version.\n\n\n## Measure success\nObviously, check the comments and ratngs amount. But also track the comment quality.\nFor me the best comments are those that tell stories. We all like to write \"Good game well polished\". But really good game makes player want to tell a story from their playthrough. This is a quality feedback, so try to write like that as well, if you can.\n\n\n## Afterthoughts\nYou think that's a lot to add to already monumental task of building the game from scratch? \nYeah, that's a lot. And honestly, you are absolutely free to drop that. If you've just started, it's much more important to make your game work. Focus on one area at a time. Take smaller scope to cover more zones. And when you get the general feel of what you'd need to make and amount of work it would require, then you can introduce advanced stuff. Better sounds. Music. Replayability. Retention. Marketing. The goal of this post is to remind you that there's always more areas to research. \n\nAnd of course, support the community. With onset of AI we are on the verge of collapsing under the sheer volume of a new content. Everybody wants to make a game, much less people want to play other's games. Attention is a finite resource. So, on events like these, it's important to give back. Leave good feedback. Play some games. Comment and like posts. LD is one of the greatest game development communities in the world thanks to you. Yes, you.\n\n\n![player_ship1.png](\/\/\/raw\/0c1\/z\/72559.png)\n\n**DIG_POD Entry btw pls play lol: https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/dig-pod**\n\u2764\ufe0f","comments":1,"comments-timestamp":"2026-04-23T21:59:02Z","created":"2026-04-22T18:13:24Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":431669,"love":13,"love-timestamp":"2026-04-23T21:51:31Z","meta":[],"modified":"2026-04-23T21:59:02Z","name":"Advanced tips for successful Dare","node-timestamp":"2026-04-22T18:20:25Z","parent":426720,"parents":[1,5,9,424249,426720],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/dig-pod\/advanced-tips-for-successful-dare","published":"2026-04-22T18:20:25Z","scope":"public","slug":"advanced-tips-for-successful-dare","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":1369784},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"431669","n_urlkey":"312154","n_parent":"426720","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/dig-pod\/advanced-tips-for-successful-dare","n_slug":"advanced-tips-for-successful-dar","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"448","n_created":"1776881604","n_modified":"1776981542","n_version":"1369784","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/dig-pod\/advanced-tips-for-successful-dare","text":"![ld59_gif7.gif](\/\/\/raw\/0c1\/z\/7255b.gif)\n\nLD is about making your game from start to finish. Usually people think about engineering and content, code, art, music, sounds. But marketing is important too. As a person who sucks at marketing, here are some tips that I learned (and I'll keep learning more)\n\n## First of all, know your target audience. \nFirst and foremost they are going to be LD gamers. Tired, hypercaffeinated people who need to process 20+ games quite quickly. \n20 new games is a lot. So any precious second spent on understanding how to play your game is a point towards leaving.\n- polish the first 30 seconds of your game. Lay down the controls. Explain concepts. If your game is mechanically challeging, spread out tutorials and introduce new mechanics gradually. I have ADHD so I tend to drop the games a lot when I cannot immediately figure out how to play, but it's safe to assume that this interval should not exceed couple of minutes.\n- Be sure to make the game easier than you feel it should be. Yes, even more easier. And now easier again.\nYou played this game for 30+ hours, LD participants are just tried it for the first time. Even mastering basic controls will add to the challenge\n- Test on other people. This is immensely important, and the only way you can reliably learn about your game accessibility problems.\n\n## After you've done the game, work just only begun.\n- Think about and make some quality posts. Not just \"here's my entry pls play lol\". Tell something interesting, hint at some secrets and original mechanics, tell a development story.\n- Leave a lot of good feedback. Some people look at great commenters and play their games in return.\n- Invent something for community to engage. Yes, you can meta-LD during and after the LD! cross-game references, leaderboards for best commenters, rewards, etc. \nBTW I'll put all of the people who left the comment on my game's page to the titles as precious contributors, should my game be released as a full version.\n\n\n## Measure success\nObviously, check the comments and ratngs amount. But also track the comment quality.\nFor me the best comments are those that tell stories. We all like to write \"Good game well polished\". But really good game makes player want to tell a story from their playthrough. This is a quality feedback, so try to write like that as well, if you can.\n\n\n## Afterthoughts\nYou think that's a lot to add to already monumental task of building the game from scratch? \nYeah, that's a lot. And honestly, you are absolutely free to drop that. If you've just started, it's much more important to make your game work. Focus on one area at a time. Take smaller scope to cover more zones. And when you get the general feel of what you'd need to make and amount of work it would require, then you can introduce advanced stuff. Better sounds. Music. Replayability. Retention. Marketing. The goal of this post is to remind you that there's always more areas to research. \n\nAnd of course, support the community. With onset of AI we are on the verge of collapsing under the sheer volume of a new content. Everybody wants to make a game, much less people want to play other's games. Attention is a finite resource. So, on events like these, it's important to give back. Leave good feedback. Play some games. Comment and like posts. LD is one of the greatest game development communities in the world thanks to you. Yes, you.\n\n\n![player_ship1.png](\/\/\/raw\/0c1\/z\/72559.png)\n\n**DIG_POD Entry btw pls play lol: https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/dig-pod**\n\u2764\ufe0f","title":"Advanced tips for successful Dare","wayback_source":[]}