{"author_name":"schizoid2k","cat":"LD #37","comments":[],"epoch":1481816220,"likes":0,"metadata":{"p_key":"989","p_author":"schizoid2k","p_authorkey":"60097","p_urlkey":"35836","p_title":"LD37 \u2013 Bat Cave Post Mortem","p_cat":"LD #37","p_event":"LD37","p_time":"1481816220","p_likes":"0","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"60097","us_name":"schizoid2k","us_username":"\/author\/schizoid2k\/","event_start":"1481241600","event_key":"81","event_name":"Ludum Dare 37"},"text":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-37\/?action=preview&amp;uid=60097\">Bat Cave<\/a> is a simple shooter I created for Ludum Dare 37, and this article attempts to document what went right, what went wrong, and some general thoughts on the entire weekend.<\/p>\n <h4>Development<\/h4>\n <p>Looking through the list of potential themes Friday evening, I put together some ideas. Bat Cave was hashed out and was my choice for a few themes, including \u201cOne Room\u201d, which was ultimately picked.<img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-592813\" src=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/schizoid2k-LD37-Update-3-300x188.png\" alt=\"schizoid2k LD37 Update 3\" width=\"300\" height=\"188\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/schizoid2k-LD37-Update-3-300x188.png 300w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/schizoid2k-LD37-Update-3-768x482.png 768w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/schizoid2k-LD37-Update-3-550x345.png 550w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n <p>Once the theme was decided, it was time to get to work. I spent a lot of time the first day working on designing the room\u00a0and testing collision detection. Not sure why this took so long, but around 3:30am Saturday I had working collisions, and decided that was it for the evening. Saturday morning rolls around, and it\u2019s time to work on some art, and get to coding. Sunday was spent finishing up the game, tweaking options, and adding sound and title screen.<\/p>\n <p>I used Unity for this compo, and the actual coding went rather well. I like to use my simple <a href=\"http:\/\/gamesbycandlelight.com\/object-pooling-in-unity\/\">object pooler script<\/a> to handle the management of game objects, and I created some controller scripts to handle the audio, game management, and enemy management.<\/p>\n <h4>What Went Right<\/h4>\n <ul>\n <li>I released a playable game!<\/li>\n <li>\u201cKeep it simple\u201d is definitely the way to go. \u00a0Since you have only 48 hours, don\u2019t bite off more than you can chew\u2026 if time permits, you can add some features. For me, I had a couple hours left and added the scrolling background, looping bats, and audio manager. I also wanted to add a \u201cboss\u201d character, but time ran out.<\/li>\n <li>I now know the difference between stalactites and stalagmites!<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <h4>What Could Have Gone\u00a0Better<\/h4>\n <ul>\n <li>My art skills are \u201cmeh\u201d at best. I did manage to animate a bat though. I wanted to draw and animate a person instead of the gun turret I used, but I was spending too much time on it and it was not anywhere near what I would consider good enough. While I think the art is good for this game (other may disagree!), I need to keep this limitation of my skills in mind for future compos.<\/li>\n <li>I did\u2019t think the entire game through, and I realized some issues while developing:\n <ul>\n <li>I wanted the power-ups to be lowered down a mine shaft and have the player pick it up to use. I don\u2019t think I would of finished that, so they just randomly drop at some interval. \u00a0If you look at my <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/PtExHlc841Y\">time lapse video<\/a>, you might see a mine shaft in the game for quite a bit of time before I decided to remove it.<\/li>\n <li>Once a stalagmite forms, it was impossible to shoot any drips coming down since you had to be under the stalagmite, and that\u00a0would cause instant death. \u00a0I decided to add a bomb to remove stalagmites, and I also allow the player to jump\/shoot over smaller ones.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <h4>Conclusion<\/h4>\n <p>Another successful Ludum Dare for me\u2026 I had a great time developing and releasing Bat Cave, and even though there were moments of doubt, I continued on. I hope that this game rates higher than my previous two entries\u2026 time will tell.<\/p>\n <p><iframe width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/50L_YbHOyKU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n \n <p>Tags: <a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/tag\/postmortem\/\" rel=\"tag\">postmortem<\/a><\/p>","time":"December 15th, 2016 10:37 am","title":"LD37 \u2013 Bat Cave Post Mortem"}