Dev log. Day 2.
Core loop complete. Theoretically, the game is ready, but releasing it in this state would be a disaster. Everything is far too simple—it would be a waste of the concept. Before I dive into the art, I think I’ll try my hand at level design. Maybe make the challenge a bit more interesting? I need to finish this quickly because I still have to head out today to defend Brazilian democracy. L.
I need coffee!
I still have sooo much programming to do but hey, all sounds recorded! :D
Heyo! So, the first day I was on a trip and bruh also a bit sick.
So, this and the main ideation is all the progress I have as yet.
I am going with pixel art style and a platformer, since that's actually how I started game dev (just like 2 weeks ago 😅).
So, anyways, I'll be having a big chunk of a focused session right now, and I'll meet again after like 6 hours?
By the way, I've been reading a few of all your posts and it feels really good to be a small part of all this. Hee hee.
Let's do this! 👾👾
Some progress
The game will still need a lot of work before it’s finished, but the core mechanics are nearly ready!
Meet Mochi! Your new BEST FRIEND!!
the answer is nothing.......
I am making a game where you have to construct forgotten magic.
No sound or music, or win screen.. aaa
1
The game is actually complete-able! The death screens, and title screen are the last missing pieces and then it's time for polish!
Time zones and real-life schedules have made it a bit challenging to coordinate everything and get as much done as we’d hoped. But we’ve pretty much finished the game! Tomorrow will be all about the final touches and getting the build uploaded.
The deadline is getting really close, and I’ll have to upload the build during my lunch break, so fingers crossed everything goes smoothly lol.
P.S. The GIF looks pretty crunchy, but I haven’t figured out a better way to share our progress yet 😅
A game about pinball before eletronic era. Nothing is too hard to fix with a good hammer :laughing:
I'm happy with the result. The pinball machine is pretty realistic.
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/pinball-repair-simulator
Let's gooo! Don't give up! Good luck to everyone! :fingers_crossed:
Demo with placeholder assets.
Developing a cozy vintage revolver repair and cleaning simulator.
Day 1: Brainstorming, concept development, art direction, and engine development (.NET 10 on WebAssembly + WebGL2).
Day 2: Tech demo and game logic.
Currently working on sprites and sound effects. Trying to make it into the Compo!
committing to the bit
phrase
When even your coffee break is fitting with your game's theming
Missing: audio, level design, UI polish.
I went way overboard with game design this time. Luckily my engine supported me greatly but sprite work and audio are suffering a lot.
Still, confident I'll have a playable game on time for the Compo.
A tower defense about toads vs. old technology.
Almost there!
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/fire-wheels-and-cathode-rays
Dust off your oscilloscopes! We have a new game! (emulator included, in case you do not have 3 scopes in your basement)
Panic starting to slowly set in as I realize that once again, I've bitten WAY MORE than I can chew. I need to get this game playable ASAP. 😱
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/the-island
Hello everyone! My entry, The Island, is a minesweeper-style game in which you use old-tech-fashioned equipment to detect landmines. I could use your help testing it. As you may know, figuring out which libraries to include with a game built using a custom engine can be a nightmare. I've bundled the dependencies needed to run it on Windows, but it's always possible I've missed something. Could you try launching the game and let me know whether it works? You don't need to play through it—just checking that it starts would be a big help. If you get an error message, please send it my way so I can add any missing dependencies to the package. The engine and the game require a graphics card with OpenGL 4.6 support. Thank you for your help! Wishing you all the best. See you soon ++
Hi, I’m joining the jam a little late, but I’m giving a prototype a shot and we’ll see where it goes. I’m using AI to help me with the coding this time. I’m using Godot 4.7.2 stable. I’ve never worked this way before, but it’s a good opportunity to give it a try.
I was wondering what kind of concept I could come up with, and I settled on something simple in principle: sealing letters with wax.
For now, I have something basic working: I can pick up a stick of wax, heat it, pour the melted wax, and stamp it with a seal. I initially had a spoon, but I’ve left it out of the gameplay for now.
Working double time so that SFX doesn't take me more than 30 minutes. Then maybe a 20 minute deadline for a simple song for battles.
I'm too tired to complete the game before the Compo deadline... My computer broke down on the first day, that means I actually have only one day to do my coding. And trying new style that I've never made before ("Analog style" I think?) takes too much energy than what I've expected. However I'm satisfied with the story of my game, and I think I need more time to polish the art. AI coding wouldn't be used even if in the extra day, as I've promised; I found that handcrafting my code is still enjoyable and cool.
So, I want to turn to Jam this time! I'm goint to sleep now, hope me to have a good rest and make my best tomorrow.
I've just realized that if I want to enter the Compo, I can't use sound effects from public libraries. But my game needs horse and pigeon sounds. Ahhh...
Testing, tweaking and bug fixing. Must be the home stretch.
I still don't know what in god's name it is!
But it... ...works?
I still need to build the outer casing but otherwise I think I'm done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E79Aqvs6YOM
added a title screen wich is in ms-dos style
game is finished
tommorow i will add finishing touches and upload the game on here!
Our first time doing Ludum Dare and first time doing a game jam in general. It's been fun.
Always wanted to try something like this! I took pictures of my hand in different poses and made pixel art with them for the game's cursor.
I'm not sure if it's the sleep deprivation, or because I forgot something critical, but I was done with around 5 hours to spare. It's only nine o'clock, but I'm ready for bed at this point. :smile:
If you're done with your game as well, link it below and I'll give it a try tomorrow. You can go check out my game over at https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/full-steam-ahead
I realized I needed coffee or I’d fall asleep, so I went to a café. I left my laptop to place an order, but when I returned, she was standing in my spot.
Question: How can I find her username on the Ludum Dare website so I can add her as a co-creator of the game?
Our game is about old trains, inspired by Big Boy’s amazing cross-country journey a few months ago. Unfortunately, Big Boy never pulled passenger carriages, but there are many beautiful locomotives, such as LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman or Stephenson’s Rocket or Pioneer Zephyr or...
So thanks to the Big Boy's journey the old trains were the first thing that came to mind for the “Old Tech” theme!
Our three-person team, a programmer, an artist, and a trains fan/game designer, agreed that now when it looks like everyone are running around fighting madness of the AI FOMO, it’s important for all of us to take time to focus and enjoy what we love doing. For us, one of the best ways to concentrate on anything is to take a train journey, sitting by the window and listening to the wheels. Can you relate?
Here is some NOT FINAL art our artist Alex made since yesterday:
No Time to Lose
This is my first Ludum Dare and my first game jam. I think it's going to be an unforgettable journey. Regarding the theme, I made a game about punched cards.
HOLLERITH — You're a rookie at the 1890 census sorting machine, and you have seven days to complete your training, followed by an assessment on the eighth day.
It might feel more like a math problem, but the short time limit in later levels might make you misjudge things.
If you're interested, you can play it here:
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/hollerith
Feedback is very welcome, especially about the difficulty curve — some of my friends said it started getting challenging on day 4, but honestly, I still can't tell if that's too early or just right.
I can't believe I'm writing this: my first ever Ludum Dare game is ready! I made it together with @alexhonor, who's a Ludum Dare veteran and kindly showed me the ropes.
Skyrail Postmaster is a cozy steampunk game where you deliver mail on a tiny steam train through a sky full of floating islands. It's your first day on the job, and the islanders are counting on you.
Sort parcels by clues, ride the rails, read gossip, and get to know the local folks: a grumpy inventor whose toaster launches bread across the sky, a grandma who knits scarves for her pigeons, and a kid who just really wants his telescope to arrive on time.
And then there's the unsigned, lavender-scented letter in the dead-letter drawer…
What's inside: - About 30 deliveries across one cozy day (25–30 minutes gameplay). - Clue-based addresses and two small mysteries to solve. - A feud, a gossip newspaper and a secret. - No timers, no fail states, just a tea-paced mail delivery.
This is the very first game I've made for Ludum dare, and I'm super excited to share it. @alexhonor and I started with a simple idea about a tiny mail train, and two days later it has characters, a soundtrack and a comet. Huge thanks to @alexhonor for building this with me and for making my first jam such a great experience. I learned an enormous amount along the way.
We'd genuinely love to hear what you think, whether that's what made you smile, which islander stole your heart, or whether the ride helped you slow down and unwind for a bit. Every comment helps a first-timer to grow💛
Thanks for playing, and happy jamming!
@sovakavi & @alexhonor
Hard to tell, but game should be here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/$434269
Phew, have an event I'm late for now, so this was it. Got a lot done! Have fun!
How are your games going?
https://youtu.be/4X16Nz0wzZU
Just kidding! But hey look! It's actually a game! Like stuff happens and stuff! I need to actually work on art and make it less ugly, but there's like actually stuff and the AI doesn't roomba itself to death every time you play anymore!
How are your games going?
I'm going for the jam so got another day yet, but the game is fun to play already!
https://youtu.be/IaLpkHl3sFw
I had this idea long time to make game with only particles as visuals. Finaly did it to learn how Godot particles work. Trying to make character talk made was fun.
Go try it if you want to see it in action
Hey everyone, Nazavtra here!
A few updates on the Ludum Dare Database project (ldj.am)
Over the past few months, I've gone through thousands of pages on the Wayback Machine - not just the LD website itself, but also individual developers' websites - fixing errors, tracking down missing games, screenshots, and pretty much anything else that has survived. (This was no easy task, since LD not only moved several times, losing its entire database along the way, but was also originally run by different people on various third-party platforms. On top of that, people renamed their accounts, created multiple accounts, entered the same jam twice, and of course, many participated under team accounts - all of which made the detective work quite a bit harder!)
So, what's new?
If you spot any bugs, feel free to DM me on Discord (or message me here)!
just starting https://www.twitch.tv/increpare yolo
Hope everyone is doing great in the last 2+ hours of compo (crunch) and meant to do this earlier but I made a LD60 logo with bonus theme added wink (feel free to use it if you want) and to say to add your Elephant ingame (if you haven't already, can totally be an Easter Egg of course too) Just a friendly reminder b/c an elephant NEVER forgets ;)
I was not really motivated to make my game yesterday but now I'm going to work on my game as quick as I could. Today I made this, I plan on making a calculator inspired game about a calculator watch, remember that calculator watches used to be popular but then fell off due to smartphones? I'll try my best to finish it if I'm motivated enough.
I have no idea how all this sounds work together, but the process was fun)
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/claude-castle
Our game is about old trains, inspired by Big Boy’s amazing cross-country journey a few months ago. Unfortunately, Big Boy never pulled passenger carriages, but there are many beautiful locomotives, such as LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman or Stephenson’s Rocket or Pioneer Zephyr or…
So thanks to the Big Boy’s journey the old trains were the first thing that came to mind for the “Old Tech” theme!
Our three-person team, a programmer, an artist, and a trains fan/game designer, agreed that now when it looks like everyone are running around fighting madness of the AI FOMO, it’s important for all of us to take time to focus and enjoy what we love doing. For us, one of the best ways to concentrate on anything is to take a train journey, sitting by the window and listening to the wheels. Can you relate?
https://youtu.be/IMB0-B8KujA
Calls are coming in, you can pick up the receiver, connect the phone lines, and supply the current.. But there's still quite a few tasks left for tomorrow
Also small part of art is made and the cute Kotyusha is animated!:smiley_cat:
Here's a quick WIP of my progression on Day 2 of building a little deductive horror adventure game for Playstation 1 hardware.
Day 1 was all about building the systems while Day 2 was getting proper content in place. I've still got a bit more left to do tomorrow as I didn't get all the writing for the clues to puzzle done yet. So tomorrow will be the writing for the clues and the final polish.
Do you like all your games?
I’ve done the bulk of the visuals and gameplay. But it’s still unpolished and doesn’t provide the value I need. For now, I’m “putting up" with my game.
Too exhausted to capture new footage for now.
The need for rest is real and urgent. :bed:
Good night, ya'll !
I’ve added a few animations, and I’ve got the basic functionality working! If I have a bit of time tomorrow, I’d like to add a challenge, letters appearing on screen, etc. I’m not sure if I’ll have time to do all that, though. But I’ve got a cool concept that I could keep building on!
There is a on video Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcrRBRTMVPY
So after not doing much on Saturday until the evening, where I trialed out Claude for the first time, outside of work. I had directed it at an old project of mine a python notebook that solved shunting puzzles. Over Saturday I worked through improving the decision tree and the heuristic, at the end of it got a visualizer mocked up. Anyway quite aside from that assistance since it was building from a existing prototype I think it's only fair it goes in the Jam and not the Compo.
Come Sunday I was filled with determination to keep going and convert the mockup into a game. Steam engines are old tech for sure. And wow what a Sunday it has been, it's quite odd being hands off code, not pleasant I'd say and I would like it even less if I had less experience with software.
Levels were made pretty quickly, from discussion around how to ensure every puzzle is solvable the solution was to start from the end state and work backwards shuffling the board. The solver (weighted A* gives a good prediction of moves required which means it's easy to tweak the difficulty). Aside from the campaign, added a free-play option with level codes that can be shared. There is also a demo mode for the lazy who just want to watch the loco do it's work.
I added localization because railway/railroad terms vary a lot between the UK and US.
I also added a newspaper storyline of the whole rail-mania background, some things do not change eh! I wrote the articles, however I can't say I wrote all the text for the UI. I was hoping to do more but Claude had a habit of doing a little extra here and there, so I cannot say there is a clean line between code and text.
Sound effects were interesting, I grabbed open licensed samples from online. Claude despite being blind and deaf seems quite capable of slicing up audio. Another example was the early track was not parallel. It needed a fair bit of hand holding. So for the newspapers I asked for a dev mode where I could preview all the pages and likewise a dev soundbank where I could play all the sounds and variations (Ctrl+Shift+D).
For game feel, I had asked for steam effects, a little spring effect as the wagons are jolted (that needed a few iterations to get right) and even managed to swap straight lines for some curved rails at the junctions.
My overall thoughts are a bit mixed, unlike previous entries this game doesn't quite feel mine in the same way, I'm sure any director or designer must have similar thoughts? The polish is better and it is more scoped out. At the same time the constant chats and discussion meant I didn't have to time to go off and make the art or the music I wanted to, in theory I've another 24 hours for the Jam but I personally don't.
a newspaper clip from the storyline:
My entry is here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/$435631
Everything started just as an idea of using punch cards as a reflection of the oldest IT tech I've ever witnessed. My parents did some engineering when computers were the size of a fridge and didn't have interfaces at all. Sometimes they bring cards home and I used to draw on them when I was a kido. At some point, I've gotten carried away and ended up with a weird (but lovely) setting where Miyazaki meets Dune.
I have to admit: the gameplay is not super strong, but I hope someone gives the game a try!
Well, here it is, a game about building and repairing a phone. Compo is super hard !
Cozy Polaroid Action
Want to lay back and take some photos? Then this game is for you.
It's Pokemon Snap but I never played Pokemon Snap :D
I'm incredibly happy to say that I managed to finish my project for this Ludum Dare! 🎉
It was definitely a challenging experience, especially since I worked on everything entirely on my own and had only around 30 hours to work on the game, as I was busy until late at night on the first day.
Despite the time constraints and all the challenges along the way, I managed to put something together, and I'm really happy to be able to show it!
I hope you enjoy playing it as much as I enjoyed making it! I also hope you'll appreciate the effort that goes into creating an entire game as a solo developer in such a short amount of time.
Thank you for taking the time to check out my game, and good luck to everyone participating in the jam!
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/snakesketch
Just finished my 24th Ludum Dare game. It's pretty crazy how long I've been doing this now. And even crazier that there's still a lot of people who made even more LD games than me :D.
Enjoyed making this one. Spent a lot of time messing around with some unnecessary details. I am also kind of expecting that this game will have zero people who will actually complete it, and that's with me even including difficulty settings for I think the first time ever :D. Hope people will appreciate some of the details at least.
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/codebreakers-of-the-dark-forest
Over the past 48 hours @hoptoad and I have gotten a lot done! We're continuing to work on the game and hope we'll get everything done in time.
Welp I promised myself I will not procrastinate and hand in at least 2 hours before the ddl Ended up submitting only 20 minutes early... (and waiting anxiously for the game to be published since I don't see it among the others)
Anyways glad to have successfully participated in LD60!! First time participating in Compo Gaming, very excited
3D game but with fixed sideview, also a newbie for 3D games but hurray!! Submitted
(and no one will know that I only made a half face for the game character, cause why not~)
Already looking at a bunch of attractive games, really look forward to give all of them a try!! :smile:
Congratulations to all those who finished a game for the Ludum Dare. A shame it ends in 2028 :( If you want to check out my game, here it is :) https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/tiny-technician
It was a touch and go at one point, and I had to change up some of my planned features to get it done, but hey that's what jams are all about. My 'old tech' was good old pencil and paper, remember those. Well it's all done now, and with 10 minutes to spare. Anyway, sleep for me and then onto the voting. Good luck to all the jammers still plugging away at it. :8ball:
Done and dusted and another LD completed. Well done to everyone that did it another round.
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/hotline-bbs
Someday I will strive to make a good compo game, but for now I'm happy to have something that at least starts!
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/$434923
Congrats to everyone who submitted Compo games!! GameOver.png
I finished the game but I don't see the way to upload my file? With the game... Only a way to add links. Why did it disappear? Have I went insane from the crunch?
We're getting there. The game is playable now end to end.
@HeyItsBeetle has made the outlines for all the environments and most of the characters. Loving the aesthetic of the characters they made.
The mystery is now solvable and it is possible to get all the endings.
@theoconfidor has finished almost all the music now and every track just oozes that early 2000s charm. The credits especially might just be his best track yet.
Tomorrow is polish and getting everything finalised. The end is in sight.
Good luck to all the jammers and congratulations to all the compo entries!
Application form: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/granny-tech-support
Well I can barely believe it, my 21st Ludum Dare entry (my 19th Compo entry) ended up being fully playable start-to-finish only an hour before the submission deadline, which is the closest I've ever cut it. I really went ambitious with this one in ways that I won't go too far into because they're spoilers - needless to say, my long-running focus on extensive audio has continued here, and was joined by a real effort to push myself graphically.
I'm extremely proud of this one, whether it translates into good ratings or not down the line. I'm probably not going to do another LD for at least a couple of years as my second child is arriving in a few months... if this is the last one I am able to participate in, I'm happy to have done it like this.
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/terminal-stasis
Yeah, things aren't looking good. I struggled yet again with energy and focus, especially since trying to get the game to actually work properly still feels like I'm slamming my head against a brick wall. I did manage to add plenty of polish and it seemed like I'd gotten everything working, but just as I was about to post a GIF celebrating my progress, I realized it's now finding matches where there aren't any:
So that's fun!
I'm going to go to bed and come back to this tomorrow, as I've completely run out of physical and mental energy. At best, I might just manage to get an unpolished version out the door. At worst, this'll be the first time in 17 Ludum Dares that I've flunked out and failed to finish. But we'll see! Wish me luck!
Short game but happy to have something working.
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/dirigible
Congrats to everyone who finished a game.
We’ve poured our hearts into this project, and we hope you won’t miss these little bits of extra fun xd.
Just for you:
Our little owl needs attention and care, so keep an eye on how she’s doing.
Sometimes I feel like it’s watching my every move. Probably just my imagination...
Naturally, we added not just Minesweeper, but DOOM too!
Everything should be ready for release soon, so fingers crossed!
Not quite done yet, I was hoping to submit to the jam but under compo-like rules for creation, guess I'm sacrificing the compo time constraint from that...
Check out the game here directly, pretty please :blush: -> https://lloydlobo.itch.io/the-telegraphist
Vague recollections of how this came about: - Brainstormed on day 1 - Played around with Phaser and tried out different game ideas - Satisfied with the current rhythm based morse code learn+play gameplay - There is too much left to polish and fix
Thanks to everyone that are participating. Your energy rubs off, with each moment spent on the game!
Hope you enjoy it:
https://lloydlobo.itch.io/the-telegraphist
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/the-telegraphist
I MADE IT! I very nearly quit as I couldn't quite fit in everything in that I wanted, and I don't have the time to work on it tomorrow, but I finished it.
As a game it's not great and the gameplay is under a minute, but I've not made a game for ages so I'm fairly happy! It's my first 3D Jam and I'm pretty happy with the AI behaviour I implemented.
Check out My little Robot https://ldj.am/$433583
Gaming has always been about pushing frontiers, not pulling them. I, for one, welcome you not to the past, but to the future.
Ultimate Future: Spaceship Laser Adventure, the new-age shooter just released!
Too bad, Mike ! You won't find any old tech in there. For such are my values.
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/60/ultimate-future-spaceship-laser-adventure-the-new-age-shooter
Day 2 is coming to an end! I didn’t manage to finish all the art as planned, but I’m already happy with how it’s looking!
Congrats to everyone who’s finished — well done!
Tomorrow is going to be a long day. Good night, everyone!
Yeah it's not even close to finished, yikes. This is my first LD with hand drawn art, I massively misjudged how long it takes me to do a pencil sketch. I guess I'll go into overtime...
And for now it's fun enough. WOuld be nice to finally make a jam game with more than the intro level!
WHEW. Barely made it 😅
Made a ton of mistakes and bit off more than I could chew, as usual. Spent way too much time on the mechanics and polishing things before I even had a level. The last few hours were... rough 🥲
But it's done. I have a game! I'm so exhausted, good night.
Go play my game! While the Lantern Burns
If I opt out of Audio judging, can I use a Creative Commons music track in the Compo, or should I remove it?
As usual, I didn't find the time to make any music or sound effects, so this time I added a short CC-licensed track. If that's not allowed in the Compo, I'm happy to remove it.
I’ve added a bit more detail to the wax sealing mechanic! The wax stick now gets shorter as you use it, and eventually disappears when it runs out. There is a video on Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEIQCrRaK_Q
We're getting somewhere! Or rather they are...
Bruv! I forgot how quick the combo finishes! It's already over! I guess I'm entering the Jam!!
Another Ludum Dare, another year participating in Compo because of time constraints.
But this year is a little different for me, since it's the first time I'm making my own music and sound effects! So I'll finally be able to participate in the Audio category too!
The game is getting really close to being finished! There's still some polishing to do and a little more content to add, but things are coming together nicely.
Still plenty to do before the deadline, but I'm excited to see how it turns out!
Good luck with your games, everyone! :)
https://zevwax.itch.io/ld60
Another Ludum Dare under my belt.
