Tools

• Engine: Löve2D
• Programming: VS Code, Lua language server, some popular libraries in Lua, and some tiny base code made by myself
  • Collision library: bump.lua
  • Tweening library: tween.lua
• Graphics: Krita, Aseprite
• Audio: Reaper, Vitalium, sfxr

Work Approach

• This time I should pick the basic rules, obstacles and goals during the first hour of the run.
• Keep the idea achievable: I should have proper experience and tools for the content and the scale of the game project I wish for.
• Brainstorming for more ideas might be cool, but having too many ideas doesn't help make actual progress, and a mediocre starter can evolve during the development and grow to a robust idea.
• As long as the programming is made enough modular (but not too fragmented), altering a gameplay design by recombining elements can be done without too much extra effort.

• An obstacle level that the player is going to face, or a flow graph of resources that the player is going to keep balance... I suppose I will need examples of gameplay scenerios by the first or second hour of the run.
• The concept will get more logical only when it is made into more expressions on paper or digital canvas. Edge cases can be discovered early.

• Coding:
  • Split down the design from top to bottom by writing use case scripts ready to be directly used in-game. Keep the use cases simplistic and extensible.
  • Implement the methods from bottom to top. Don't implement all the methods at once, instead implement the functionalities being used immediately.
• Visual:
  • Color, shape and layout languages are more effecient to deliver visual information on the first glance, so make them done before making details. If unsure, keep a palette and use fewest colors as possible, so that each color can correspond to one kind of gameplay element.

• I should discard as early as possible the features that are not likely to be finished; if a core feature is going to be discarded (what an emergency), downscale and redesign the whole game using existing materials as early as possible.
• I should reserve 8 hours for polishing and uploading the game, and I should know I might end up using part of it for finishing the last few features. Guidance elements are prior to fancy effects; but in the end, after the gameplay itself is built complete, players will agree fancy games look nicer than non fancy ones.

Let me know whether my thoughts are helpful or not from your point of view!

Did this mostly to flex my drawing muscles for the Compo (yes my hair does indeed look like this)

Third game jam, first Ludum Dare. Doing the Jam this time around. I’m making a list of all my ideas from the themes in the Theme Voting final round. I’ll also be looking around the site for some veteran advice.

TOOLS: Godot 4.3 Aseprite LMMS/Beepbox (whichever I find more convenient)

Hello, I'm ready and excited to start this 56th LD!

My “tools”: - Godot 3.6 mono (C#) as a game engine - VS Code as a code editor - Aseprite as sprite/art editor - LMMS (with keyboard) for sound and music - My cats for moral support 😸

All running on a Lubuntu 24.04 machine 😊 (except for the cats 😂 well, most of the time)

Courage to all and good luck! 😗

Good ol' "I'm in!"-Post:

This will be my 8th Ludum Dare and i am totaly hyped for this one! Got a cauldron of chili sitting on the stove, enough coffeein to stay awake a whole month and a few friends eager to alpha test the game and cheer me on during the weekend!

I'll dream of some good ideas for all the possible themes now, and will be freshly awake when Ludum Dare starts.

Hope we all have a great time!

A Theme Poll Discussion

For quite a few LD's now I've conducted a Theme Poll and it's come to my attention that the community has mixed feelings about it. Some like it, some dislike it, some frankly don't give a hoot. So, I thought I'd start a discussion about Theme Polls here -- why they can be fun, how they might affect "groupthink" or change the way people vote, or how they might affect the overall theme selection process in general. Regardless of outcome, I won't be doing a Theme Poll for LD56. But I am curious how people feel about them!

Poll Accuracy

Contrary to popular belief, the poll does have a decent track record of predicting the winner, or at least getting close. This could allow jammers to pre-emptively discard over half of the themes when brainstorming for ideas before the theme is announced. Is this problematic? Possibly.

Over the last 6 events, the Poll predicted the winner 50% of the time, with the other predictions being at least in the top 4. (Shoutout to @gamecreatorc for helping compile these last time)

• LD55: #1 (Summoning)
• LD54: #4 (Limited Space)
• LD53: #4 (Delivery)
• LD52: #3 (Harvest)
• LD51: #1 (Every 10 seconds)
• LD50: #1 (Delay the inevitable)

And so, gentle jammers, I ask you:

Feel free to sound off in the comments below about why you feel the way you do! I'll go first. 👇

VOTE HERE

if this is your team's case, me and @matias-correia are looking to work on sfx and music.

may we all have fun in LD56!

Here is template: https://github.com/YsmanKhamidullin/ld56 Want try create game in one class and finish within 48h

I am in

Want try create game in one class and finish within 48h. Here is template: github.com/YsmanKhamidullin/ld56

• :motor_scooter: : GameMaker
• :musical_score: : FL Studio
• :art: / :runner: : Aseprite
• :loudspeaker: : Reaper

Sticking with my regular tools this time, with the exception of Reaper for sound effects. After playing with it for a bit, it's perfect for my workflow.

Good luck and have fun, folks! :fire:

hey yall I'm in with my team "mischief studio"

9th go and they are still fun to do. Will be using Godot again.

:3

Hello fellow pumpkin spices!

My name is Erik and im a solo-developer from northen Sweden, where the trees slowly getting naked as the leaves are turning red! Last time i joined Ludum Dare and made it through was a jam game for LD 54! As always, I'm always striving to get something done for compo but if i can't make it in time, I'm doing a jam entry as usual.

I always do a list like this telling you the stuff im using, here it is:

🍂 GameMaker Studio 2: Gamemaker is game engine i’ve always used, and love it dearly!

🍂 Aseprite/GMS: When i need to animate something with many frames, i use Asprite! Or GMS built-in sprite editor!

🍂 BeepBox: I make music right inside there, in that little spot right there!

🍂 Bfxr & Audacity: With these, i make sounds effects that go beep and boop, pong and poik and clap and crash!

🍂 Google Drive: Here i write down my game ideas and to do lists, using the PC or phone, documenting my progress!

🍂 itch.io: This is my go-to place when uploading my games, very nice!

Have a wonderful Ludum Dare y’all! I’ll be posting updates here if i have anything exciting to post!

Hello, im join in this jam first time!

Looking forward to jamming out a game this weekend. I am a coder with most of my experience in GameMaker and HTML5/Javascript. I would like to make a game using Blender and Unity this time around. I guess it depends on what the theme inspires!! Let's go!

OUR SQUAD

Still hoping to recruit a writer or another artist for the character design/planning phase and level design.

Just realized this was going on this weekend. Guess my plans have changed.