{"author_link":"\/users\/schizoid2k","author_name":"schizoid2k","author_uid":"schizoid2k","comments":[],"epoch":1777129375,"event":"LD59","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":432068,"likes":1,"metadata":{"p_key":"96712","p_author":"schizoid2k","p_authorkey":"1000288","p_urlkey":"312358","p_title":"Trippin' Ballz - A Post Mortem","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD59","p_time":"1777129375","p_likes":"1","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1000288","us_name":"schizoid2k","us_username":"schizoid2k","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":8,"author":288,"body":"My 13th Ludum Dare submission is called [Trippin\u2019 Ballz](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/trippin-ballz) and I think it came out much better than expected\u2026 considering I didn\u2019t expect too much!\n\nI think \u201cSignals\u201d was a great theme\u2026 I always have zero ideas for each theme, but audio signals was something that came to me right away and I wanted to explore that. I also like developing shooters and arcade-like games so I naturally moved in that direction.\n\nI actually started putting something together Friday evening (a rare occurrence). I wanted something that can be \u201clistened to\u201d for audio clues and then shoot them. I eventually decided to use colored cannons to shoot \u201csomething\u201d, and decided to use colored balls. Since I previously created a game where balls were bouncing around (The Pongs) I didn\u2019t want to repeat that game mechanic, but reluctantly I decided to go for it.\n\nIt seemed like most of the features were added ad-hoc, and very late into development:\n\nOriginally, you selected which cannon you wanted to use, and I changed it to automatically select the cannon when you hovered over a Ballz to reveal its color, and kept that mechanic going for most of the development weekend. About 2 hours before submittal, I determined that it was better the first way, and changed it back to allow you to select the cannon before listening for audio clues. After all, auto-selection of the cannon defeats the purpose of listening for specific tones the Ballz broadcast.\nIf felt I needed something more, and decided on a Power-up. But what to use? How about a Magic Mushroom? I coded it where the Magic Mushroom only worked when you hit a Ballz with the color of the active cannon, but it works so much better when you can just use it without hitting a Ballz. I am glad I made that change, but unfortunately, it was about 1 hour before it was time to submit. Luckily that change wasn\u2019t hard to implement.\nLate Sunday, I had a working game, but I didn\u2019t know how to end the game. Just blasting Ballz is fun, but how do you win or lose? Let\u2019s add an asteroid to protect. Why not?\nDuring the weekend, I was trying to come up with a name and decided on Trippin\u2019 Ballz (child-like humor, for sure). Well, now that the name has been decided, I got to add some trippy features.\n\nWithout the time to develop shaders (my shader skill is passable at best) I simulated some screen shakes when you pick up the mushroom and use the mushroom power-up. Some on screen text, trippy background effects, chiptune, and Ballz expressions fill out the effects.\n\n### What Went Well\n* The theme was very good. Usually, it\u2019s tough for me to get an idea I am happy with, but this time it was a pretty easy process.\n* Godot made this so easy! I\u2019ve been using Godot for about 2 years now (former Unity developer), and I just love working with this game engine.\n* Playing the game gave me additional ideas to add effects and sounds, albeit at the last minute. Changing the game mechanics at the last minute was stressful, but successful.\n\n### What Didn\u2019t Go So Well\n* Man, changing game mechanics during the last few hours is stressful! Luckily it worked out. I was contemplating just leaving some things as-is. Glad I went for it.\n* Some reviews indicate that you can shoot the Ballz without really listening for tones. This is true (somewhat). I know that many LD players check out a game for a few minutes at max, and then move on, so I decided to have the player jump right in without the length build-up. You do have to listen for tones at some point (to maximize power-ups, for example), but this will be addressed in a future (perhaps full release) version.\n* I guess a Macintosh build isn\u2019t going to be as easy as it used to be. Gatekeeper was choking on it so I had to remove it. Luckily a Web build was much easier.\n\n### What\u2019s Next?\nAs with every LD game I submit, I\u2019m thinking that I want to expand this into a full release. I guess it depends on my final rating to see if it is worth it. I like it, I like shooters, and I have some additional ideas that I want to implement.\n\nI am curious if there is anything you would like to add\/remove\/change.\n\n![I1.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/021\/z\/72b1b.jpg)\n","comments":0,"created":"2026-04-25T15:00:15Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":432068,"love":1,"love-timestamp":"2026-04-26T21:19:11Z","meta":[],"modified":"2026-04-26T21:19:11Z","name":"Trippin' Ballz - A Post Mortem","node-timestamp":"2026-04-25T15:02:55Z","parent":425778,"parents":[1,5,9,424249,425778],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/trippin-ballz\/trippin-ballz-a-post-mortem-1","published":"2026-04-25T15:02:55Z","scope":"public","slug":"trippin-ballz-a-post-mortem-1","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":1372228},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"432068","n_urlkey":"312358","n_parent":"425778","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/trippin-ballz\/trippin-ballz-a-post-mortem-1","n_slug":"trippin-ballz-a-post-mortem-1","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"288","n_created":"1777129215","n_modified":"1777238351","n_version":"1372228","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/trippin-ballz\/trippin-ballz-a-post-mortem-1","text":"My 13th Ludum Dare submission is called [Trippin\u2019 Ballz](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/trippin-ballz) and I think it came out much better than expected\u2026 considering I didn\u2019t expect too much!\n\nI think \u201cSignals\u201d was a great theme\u2026 I always have zero ideas for each theme, but audio signals was something that came to me right away and I wanted to explore that. I also like developing shooters and arcade-like games so I naturally moved in that direction.\n\nI actually started putting something together Friday evening (a rare occurrence). I wanted something that can be \u201clistened to\u201d for audio clues and then shoot them. I eventually decided to use colored cannons to shoot \u201csomething\u201d, and decided to use colored balls. Since I previously created a game where balls were bouncing around (The Pongs) I didn\u2019t want to repeat that game mechanic, but reluctantly I decided to go for it.\n\nIt seemed like most of the features were added ad-hoc, and very late into development:\n\nOriginally, you selected which cannon you wanted to use, and I changed it to automatically select the cannon when you hovered over a Ballz to reveal its color, and kept that mechanic going for most of the development weekend. About 2 hours before submittal, I determined that it was better the first way, and changed it back to allow you to select the cannon before listening for audio clues. After all, auto-selection of the cannon defeats the purpose of listening for specific tones the Ballz broadcast.\nIf felt I needed something more, and decided on a Power-up. But what to use? How about a Magic Mushroom? I coded it where the Magic Mushroom only worked when you hit a Ballz with the color of the active cannon, but it works so much better when you can just use it without hitting a Ballz. I am glad I made that change, but unfortunately, it was about 1 hour before it was time to submit. Luckily that change wasn\u2019t hard to implement.\nLate Sunday, I had a working game, but I didn\u2019t know how to end the game. Just blasting Ballz is fun, but how do you win or lose? Let\u2019s add an asteroid to protect. Why not?\nDuring the weekend, I was trying to come up with a name and decided on Trippin\u2019 Ballz (child-like humor, for sure). Well, now that the name has been decided, I got to add some trippy features.\n\nWithout the time to develop shaders (my shader skill is passable at best) I simulated some screen shakes when you pick up the mushroom and use the mushroom power-up. Some on screen text, trippy background effects, chiptune, and Ballz expressions fill out the effects.\n\n### What Went Well\n* The theme was very good. Usually, it\u2019s tough for me to get an idea I am happy with, but this time it was a pretty easy process.\n* Godot made this so easy! I\u2019ve been using Godot for about 2 years now (former Unity developer), and I just love working with this game engine.\n* Playing the game gave me additional ideas to add effects and sounds, albeit at the last minute. Changing the game mechanics at the last minute was stressful, but successful.\n\n### What Didn\u2019t Go So Well\n* Man, changing game mechanics during the last few hours is stressful! Luckily it worked out. I was contemplating just leaving some things as-is. Glad I went for it.\n* Some reviews indicate that you can shoot the Ballz without really listening for tones. This is true (somewhat). I know that many LD players check out a game for a few minutes at max, and then move on, so I decided to have the player jump right in without the length build-up. You do have to listen for tones at some point (to maximize power-ups, for example), but this will be addressed in a future (perhaps full release) version.\n* I guess a Macintosh build isn\u2019t going to be as easy as it used to be. Gatekeeper was choking on it so I had to remove it. Luckily a Web build was much easier.\n\n### What\u2019s Next?\nAs with every LD game I submit, I\u2019m thinking that I want to expand this into a full release. I guess it depends on my final rating to see if it is worth it. I like it, I like shooters, and I have some additional ideas that I want to implement.\n\nI am curious if there is anything you would like to add\/remove\/change.\n\n![I1.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/021\/z\/72b1b.jpg)\n","title":"Trippin' Ballz - A Post Mortem","wayback_source":[]}