Hello, LD49! It's my first time to participate in this GameJam. Hope our team will have fun in this Jam.

Here at Brinegamers Productions, we strive to create great games. We are ready for whatever Ludum Dare 49 throws at us! It's going to be our third Ludum Dare. Second with a team (First LDJam was solo, CEO participated). We cannot wait!

Saw Lurum Dare was coming up and I saw a good opportunity to learn a bit more Unity with it (main engine is GMS2). It's not really my first game jam though, I tried to participate on another Brazilian game jam in 2019 but due to external reasons I had to drop out of it.

Also looking for a small team to work with me! Mainly a sound designer/musician, but an artist would really help a lot too! If you want to join me, contact me via Discord: arthurgps2#2697

Good luck for everyone!

Looking forward to making my 3rd ludum dare entry. Could anyone tell me when the final round voting starts?

After using LD48 to brush the dust off my own Vulkan OpenXR engine and more recently using Godot for Terry's stop waiting for Godot jam I think I'll be using one of the two likely Godot to jam a quick thing this weekend on YT.

Looking forward to the fun.

Just realized I never posted my Third Round votes, so here you go:

This whole round just seems kind of "meh" to me. There are too many themes that I don't like but would be fine with if they were the theme (because that's the fun of Ludum Dare, we all complain about the themes but make games and enjoy it in the end anyway).

I'm also hoping that "One tool, many uses" isn't the theme, because I just know that I'd be tempted to make a game about a serial killer whose trademark style is always using the same weapon!

After not participating on LD48, im back for another compo.

Previously, i did a compo and a jam entry on 41, compo on 42-43, two jam entries on 44 (one failed), compo again on 45, compo and jam again on 46 and only jam on 47!

Maybe if a team requires something i can do while i do my compo entry, maybe i can do another jam entry as well?

Engine: Unity Code: C#/Visual Studio Graphics: Aseprite Audio: FL Studio

Long time no jam, this will be my 3rd(?) LD. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing but of course that has never dissuaded me before, so why start now?

Probably, this will be a suitably dinky browser game, quite possibly in JS / Phaser- let's see!

This will be my 8th LudumDare (This is a new account)

For the first time, I will use Unity!

[Post obsolete]

Hey, some themes aren't so bad this time around!

Also, wouldn't the final round had already started with two days left to the start in previous Ludum Dares?

I've never done a game jam before, so really throwing myself into the fire to try out the comp, haha. Gonna be using Unity and probably Adobe Illustrator, my standard toolset. Hoping it goes well.

Good luck folks!

Maybe something simple if the theme sparks an idea, very busy weekend unfortunately.

One of the adivce I always give to newcomers is start early

Well, you're limited to how much you can actually do, but here's some things that you can do to be successful:

The final theme voting round is coming up. As soon as it does, vote for your favorite categories, and brainstorm on as many ideas as you can that fit into those. It's extra helpful if you can come up with single ideas that meet multiple themes:

i.e I have an idea for a game that can follow the themes of "On/Off", "Automation", "Switching Perspectives", "You are the power source", "Control the Environment", "Delivery", "Missing Parts", "Making Connections", and "Out of Order", It won't be the exact game no matter what theme is chosen, but so many core mechanics are shared that I at least have a good starting point on my design.

For a previous game of mine, I already had a desire to make a board game with an AI-controlled opponent. When the theme "Keep It Alive" was chosen, my design was tweaked to include an egg you had to protect.

I recommend starting a text file and fill it with as many ideas as you can (and keep this file for future jams, you might want to use some of those ideas later!).

This much at least you can do during both the Jam and Compo, but there's even more you can do with the Jam:

Per the rules, you're allowed to start with any base code you have. You could start working on mechanics (ie if you already know your game will likely be a platformer, put together some movement scripts). I personally don't like to do core mechanics programming ahead of time, but technically it is allowed.

What I do are get started on the basic quaility-of-life stuff. A stand-in title screen, audio manager, playerprefs manager, pause and quit manager, things that I feel any game I make will need, but will likely be lost to time. I even put together some pre-made assets (1,2) for anyone who'll be helped by them.

Even having those type of minor things ready to copy prevent wasted time.

Here we go again!

I'm always looking forward to the next Ludum Dare, I have fun doing the compo every time and I'm sure this time won't be any different.

I'll make use of the FTE Quakeworld engine, Blender, GIMP, Audacity and Sunvox for sure once again, this time I might be able to target web as the primary platform which makes life easier for anyone rating.

With our historic 48th event behind us, so begins the next era of Ludum Dare. Welcome to Ludum Dare 49!

Final Round Theme Voting has begun

Cast your vote here: :ballot_box: /events/ludum-dare/49/theme

For rules and other info, visit the event page here: :trophy: /events/ludum-dare/49

If you don't want to figure out timezones, the theme announcement is when the clock (top-right) reaches zero.

TIP: The ldjam.com website slows down right before the Theme Announcement. We highly recommend you follow the official Twitter account, and sign-up for the E-mail Newsletter, just in case.

Summary of things to know: PLEASE READ

There are a lot of things to share this time around. Here's a bullet points list:

• Ludum Dare 49 is a regular Jam and Compo event
• Ludum Dare 49 starts early! October 1st at 3 PM PDT, 6 PM EDT, 10 PM UTC (22:00)
• Ludum Dare 49 ends early! Thursday October 21st! That's in just over 2 weeks, instead of the usual 3 weeks.
  • We're planning to try something special for the results. Stay tuned!
• Twitch brought back the Game Development category! Now called Software and Game Development. Use it!
  • Be sure to include the Ludum Dare tag.
  • There's a Game Development tag as well.
• Sign up for the email newsletter! We're shutting down the old Google Groups mailing list after LD49.
• We have a privacy policy and terms of service now (see footer). Check them out! Share feedback here.
• We are sponsored! Big thanks to Intel, GameMaker Studio 2, and Core for sponsoring Ludum Dare!
  • If you're commercializing an indie game, definitely check out the Intel Game Dev Boost. program.
  • Check out GameMaker Studio 2! One of the most popular & easiest ways to make 2D games. Get started
  • Update: Yes you are eligible to enter your Ludum Dare 49 games in this contest.
  • Check out Core! One of the fastest & easiest ways to make AAA qualty 3D multiplayer games. Get started
• Ludum Deals are back! Highlights include:
  • Free temporary GameMaker Studio 2 license with Desktop and Web exporting. :confetti_ball:
  • 20% off GMLive add-on (GameMaker Studio 2).
  • Full version of Construct 3 is free to use during Ludum Dare 49.
  • And more
• We're hiring! If you're a developer in Canada with PHP, JavaScript, and other skills—if you like remote work, health benefits, and flexible 30 hour weeks—if working on Ludum Dare and related projects interest you, check it out!

Keynote, hosted by Jupiter Hadley

This time I asked Jupiter Hadley to keynote. Not originally a game developer, but we first discovered her years ago when she started posting YouTube videos of her playing HUNDREDS of Ludum Dare games. Back then it was rare to catch anyone playing jam games on YouTube, and unheard of to see so many. Without a doubt, what she did inspired many people to continue in games, which in turn inspired her to continue as well. Here's Jupiter to tell her story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_IFDFYr3Dc

Thanks Jupiter for doing this, and thanks again for everything you do. :slight_smile:

Thank you to our Sponsors

We're thrilled to have 3 great sponsors for this event. Their support is enabling us to do some truly exciting things over the next few months. I can't wait to tell you all about them. :slight_smile:

Sponsored by: Intel

A big thanks to Intel for sponsoring Ludum Dare 49!

Check out the Intel Game Dev Boost program to do more with your games. More details can be found here.

Sponsored by: GameMaker Studio 2

A big thank you to GameMaker Studio 2 for sponsoring Ludum Dare 49!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JZAAbyUNsQ

We have temporary license keys available that give you full access to exporting for the Desktop and the Web, and we've collected some getting started resources here.

Finally, shout-out to Shaun Spalding (@shaunjs) for sharing his advice on using GameMaker Studio 2 in Ludum Dare.

UPDATE: YoYo Games just announced an additional contest you can enter your GameMaker games in

Sponsored by: Core

This came through at the last minute! Please check them out! A big thank you to Core for sponsoring Ludum Dare 49!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwN5cpsIG2g

Core is a fascinating game creation system that redefines how we make 3D online multiplayer games. It's beginner friendly, fast to iterate, and mature enough that professionals should take it seriously. I feel like this might become the tool of choice for some solo Jammers. Check-out my extended resources breakdown here.

Thank you (yes you) for being a part of this!

Thank you everyone for joining and sticking with us for the past 19 years. Thank you for being a part of this insane experiment started by a bunch of crazy internet friends. Thank you for putting up with me, your host and caretaker for over a decade.

Ludum Dare has been an obsession of mine for half my life. I was 21 when we started, and I'm 41 now. Growing up, I always hoped I'd be known for a game I created. I never expected to have a front row seat to a movement that would go on to change game development forever. Thank you for coming along with me on this journey, and I can't wait to see where it takes us next.

I owe another big thank you to our sponsors. Until a few months ago, I had never worked with sponsors before. I'm immensely grateful these companies had the patience to work with me. I invite you to please check them out to thank them for believing in us. Their support has gone a long way towards enabling us to grow the team and invest into making Ludum Dare even better.

I wish you all the best this weekend. I also invite you come back next year, April 1st-4th, to celebrate Ludum Dare's 20th anniversary with us.

- Mike Kasprzak, the "Ludum Dare guy"

Wrap-up

Thanks for reading! We will see you Friday with the Theme Announcement.

I've been developing games for quite long now but never participated in a game jam, lately i found joy in doing C++ and SFML, does anyone have advices/suggestions for me? Should I just fall back to generic game engines to avoid exporting issues?

It's been many years since the last time I joined a compo.
I'm excited and a bit nervous to try this again, but I swear that I'll give my best, both making and testing/voting games.

Last time I used AS3/Flash, this time it's gonna be JavaScript or Unity (I'm not sure yet).
I'm a programmer, so Programmer Art is the way for me.
For sound effects, SFXR (jsfxr or usfxr), of course!! =D
If I manage to find the time, I'll try using BeepBox for music.