Hey guys! So it’s been a while since I made Light Runner and with the results out I have come back to do a post-mortem.

First off, I managed to get top 500 in innovation and humour, top 1000 in all but graphics. I see this as positive, though certainly room for improvement.

So, here’s what went right:

• Using Java, a language I am fairly familiar with.
• The concept was solid. Without a solid idea this would have been a total flop, glad I was able to come to something decent quickly.
• The sound effects, surprised my audio score was so low. Maybe the music brought it down.
• The lighting also gave a good mood I think.

And wrong:

• The graphics. I really need to take more time to make some quality graphics next time. I’m not an artist, but that doesn’t mean I should spend 10 minutes on the background of the game and never go and fix it! I think I rush due to watching too many timelapses.
• The music, another thing that needed more time.

All in all, this Ludum Dare went decently. I need to not rush so much next time, and I can make something better hopefully. See you in August!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 21st, 2014 at 12:30 am and is filed under LD #29. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Thanks everyone, if you want to check out my game, Reflection, you can HERE

See you next Ludum Dare!

Hey everyone! We are the Button Masher Bros!

We are getting down to the last few Ludum Dare to Believe episodes! Today we present – Ludum Dare to Believe! Ep. 11!

With 2497 submissions, there was no way we could play them all.

Luckily Reddit, twitter, and youtubers all stepped up to give us suggestions – and for that we thank you immensely!

If you like the games you see, be sure to check them out of Ludumdare.com and let the developers know what you think!

Today we will be highlighting:

Title: Warpigs
Category: Compo
Creator: sorceress
Link: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-29/?action=preview&uid=5745

Title: WWE(Worms War Evolution)
Category: Jam
Creator: romandtom
Link: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-29/?action=preview&uid=32169

Title: Mine Cannon
Category: Compo
Creator: lukbebalduke
Link: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-29/?action=preview&uid=26331

Finally, we’d love to hear what you think!

You can comment on the episode linked above, comment in this thread, or tweet your favorite submissions to us at: @ButtonMasherBro – Show, @MathBlasterRitz – Chris, or @jwowBMB – Josh.

I spent the probably lowest time making that game, something around two hours.

Hi, i asked when is minild 51, but does anyone know do minilds even exist anymore, cause i heard that they might not exist anymore (which is terrible, btw)?

Hi there, I’m reeeaally happy and honored that you guys played my first game in Ludum Dare competition! You’ve got no idea, it just feels really good knowing someone actually played your game and rated it relatively positively. So a very big THANKS to everyone. It was such an amazing experience. I’m definitely going to join the next one too! Here are my stats in case you want to see:

 Coolness 56%

#221 Mood 3.46

#332 Graphics 3.52

#381 Overall 3.35

#408 Fun 3.19

#424 Audio 2.96

#473 Theme 3.35

#887 Innovation 2.62

Thanks everybody for your submission, comments and votes. No matter if you finished first or if you finished last in the ratings, submitting a game made in 48 hours is what’s most impressive. This Ludum Dare was a real pleasure for me – to contribute and to play. It was be my first experience with you and now I wait the next. I think you were too cool with me – my game didn’t so good. Thank you for your review. See you later Alligator ++

http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-29/?action=preview&uid=35835

Petite salutation de France 57

Hi, its me again, i would like to know has minild 51 passed and if it did, how can i find out when is the next? If it didnt, when is it?

So I didn’t “won anything”, if we get to the idea of getting some medals (except for a coolness one… maybe?). But anyway, it was a nice experience. So thanks people for your support, and/or making some rad videogaemz. This was pretty cool. As always, you have that little bug stick on your butt, about what could have you done better, and whatnot, and why the hell *this* game is there (jealousy, perhaps?). Ahahaha, but WHATEVER, that’s human nature to you.

Had some trouble at having time for judging other games. I got to 70 coolness, not so bad, but I could had done better on that aspect. The first day I was pretty tired, and had to get a bus next day in the morning, so had to stop there. And the rest of the time, well, college. College every second. If not, then it’s my regular personal project in RPG Maker which I can’t abandon.

I got #72 in graphics. It’s fine, but I know I could have done better. Got a nice place at Theme too. But I don’t care, I just care about graphics because I’m mainly a graphical “artist”, and that’s the spot that hurts, you know! Damn! Heheh. Whatever, I’m being dramatic.

I care about making a good game too, but that’s when places doesn’t mean a thing. At least for myself and my own development (?). That’s why I say that my graphical me is the only one bothered by placing and being competitive. I should care more though, if not, what will be of me in the future, when I have bills to pay? “OTL.

As for Gravedigger 20XX, I have some plans for it, a little expansion on the concept, just to not let it there rotting without love (?). Just some time ago I was talking to a friend about it, and he gave me some nice ideas. And I had some too because I’m THAT awesome, YEAH. You see my face? No? Then picture it like this: It’s awesome.

Where was I? Oh right, so yeah. Nice party dudes and dudettes. So, till August, let’s meet again!

Rating time is finally over. First off, congratulations to all participants! There were a ton of great games and I was honoured to have had the privilege to rate them (the ones I could get to, anyways :P).

Now that all is said and done, I’d like to briefly reflect on the results of my submission, Eat Champ. Like I mentioned in a previous blog post, I’m still a bit disappointed and even a little embarassed of it. I’m happy with the idea I went with, but I know I failed at executing it. And my game’s ratings show how people seemed to agree with that, as…wait, what?

!!

…okay, I know not a ton of people reviewed my game, but hey, I’ll take it! I really didn’t expect to get top 50 in anything, or even top 100 (it scored pretty high in humour too, but maybe not for the reasons I intended XD). Hooray! At the very least, this tells me that the game’s concept was indeed something different, which is what I was aiming for. On the other hand, I scored pretty low in Fun and Overall, which doesn’t come to me as a surprise. So my main goal for next time (and in general) is to work on my execution; I can’t just have an idea I think is interesting and call it a day, I have to put forth enough effort to really make it *work*. I’m glad I had the opportunity to make these mistakes in such a positive environment, as it provided me with much helpful feedback & encouragement for improving my game design skills. Special thanks to everyone who rated & reviewed my game; I wouldn’t be here without you!

This LD has been a very valuable learning experience in so many ways. Hopefully I’ll be able to hone my skills enough by the time LD30 comes around! See you all then!

A long long time ago I ran a MiniLD event we’ve nicknamed the Tool Jam. My lovely minions did some digging, and weren’t able to get ahold of the original MiniLD 51 organizer, and asked that I bring back the Tool Jam. So, lets do another Tool Jam!

Tool Jam

The goal of the Tool Jam is NOT to make a game, but to make something that will make it easier for you or others to make games.

What do you make? Think about the last Ludum Dare(s) you participated in, whether you finished a game or not. What’s one thing that got in your way, and stopped you from finishing faster (or at all)? Build that.

Small libraries, standalone tools, conversion utilities, Unity assets, algorithms, whitepapers, etc. Think about your process, and what can be improved about it. This MiniLD is all about process.

A long time ago (in a galaxy far far away), DrPetter created a wonderful tool for randomly generating sound effects call sfxr. Today, it and its derivatives have become the staple of sound effect creation for Game Jams (and many Indie Games too). The original Tool Jam was inspired by this wonderful contribution DrPetter made to the community.

The Tool Jam will take place this weekend (May 24th-25th), but for the sake of poor timing we’ll run it again next weekend (May 31st-June 1st), and leave submissions open until the end of the week. Typically, MiniLD events should take place entirely in their own months, but we’re announcing this one waaay too last minute.

[ SUBMIT | VIEW ALL ]

So… I stupidly didn’t take a screenshot at the time, so I have no proof of anything, it’s possible I am just having faulty memory… but I’m as certain as I can be without proof that something weird happened here.
On the day of the results, I am sure that I got ranked somewhere in the top #50 in theme, around 44 or something, with a 4.0 star average. I mentioned this to someone, as it was the first time I had got any main LD entry into the top 50.

However now when I check my results, they are:
#59 Theme 3.95
#103 Mood 3.73
#299 Innovation 3.44
#342 Audio 3.10
#508 Overall 3.22
#587 Fun 2.98
#679 Humor 2.27
#706 Graphics 2.93

It’s not a big deal of course, not like I was knocked out of the top 25 or anything, which would have been AGH, but… odd. Are the results kind of unreliable in the first 12 hours of them going live or something? Anyone else experienced this?
Link

edit
Seems this was a fix made on day one of results, so the newer scores are the correct ones. So… that clears that up. yay?!

Hey everyone! We are the Button Masher Bros!

Two episodes remain! Today we present – Ludum Dare to Believe! Ep. 12!

With 2497 submissions, there was no way we could play them all.

Luckily Reddit, twitter, and youtubers all stepped up to give us suggestions – and for that we thank you immensely!

If you like the games you see, be sure to check them out of Ludumdare.com and let the developers know what you think!

Today we will be highlighting:

Title: Gravity
Category: Compo
Creator: jsmars
Link: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-29/?action=preview&uid=3933

Title: Bionic Hotdog
Category: Compo
Creator: Daniel X. Moore
Link: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-29/?action=preview&uid=2816

Title: Berserker
Category: Compo
Creator: SteveSalmond
Link: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-29/?action=preview&uid=24965

Finally, we’d love to hear what you think!

You can comment on the episode linked above, comment in this thread, or tweet your favorite submissions to us at: @ButtonMasherBro – Show, @MathBlasterRitz – Chris, or @jwowBMB – Josh.

Hi, Im new here, just had my first LD and I’m wondering can someone explain me in details whats a tool jam? Please, I love LD48 An I want to be in it sooo much! Thanks! XD

PS Im asking because I heard MiniLD #51 will be a tool jam.

I’m not sure what happened to my game.

But today I found out that the title changed to “Jam entry”.

The original title was “A boat is sinking”.

;( and I can’t find any “edit” button on “view my game” page.

I need some help!

Hey everyone! We are the Button Masher Bros!

WOW! It was been a hell of a ride. We couldn’t have asked for a better response! And the talent here is absolutely staggering!

Today we present the finale in this season of Ludum Dare to Believe!

Based on the response and community involvement we saw this season, we will definitely be coming back in August for Ludum Dare #30!

In the meantime, we are developing a new, weekly series to cover other jams, independent projects and kickstarter campaigns. This show will be starting up in the next couple weeks. Send us your suggestions and/or submissions on Twitter, youtube or other interwebs means.

If you like us, let us know! We are fueled by your encouragement and driven by your talent!

Our regular show “Button Masher Bros.” will be returning to its normal schedule on Monday – If you like hanging out with Chris and Josh and listening to their bullshit, then the Button Masher Bros series is for you!

Finally, thanks once again to Reddit, Twitter, Youtube and (of course) the Ludum Dare community for showing so much love to us! You guys made this possible, and we would be nothing without you!

So here it is! The finale of Season 1 of Ludum Dare to Believe!

If you like the games you see, be sure to check them out of Ludumdare.com and let the developers know what you think!

Today we will be highlighting:

Title: Hot Diggity
Category: Compo
Creator: DragonXVI
Link: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-29/?action=preview&uid=35553

Title: Yojimbrawl
Category: Jam
Creator: Black Ships Fill The Sky
Link: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-29/?action=preview&uid=3041

Title: The Sun and Moon
Category: Compo
Creator: Managore
Link: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-29/?action=preview&uid=3479

We’d love to hear what you think!

You can comment on the episode linked above, comment in this thread, or tweet your favorite submissions to us at: @ButtonMasherBro – Show, @MathBlasterRitz – Chris, or @jwowBMB – Josh.

Previous LDs there appeared a post with everyone’s results in a nice spreadsheet. It was great and I had fun plotting graphs and clustering people’s games. Many seemed to like it.

I don’t remember who posted that data. But I sure would be happy doing new stats from it if it appeared again…

Very happy with it!  I aimed for fun, and expected to do fairly well on graphics and innovation. For me it’s good news to get ratings I more or less expected, as I sometimes get carried away with my own personal gamedev experiments, which can be a little too obnoxious at times.

I got #42 innovation, #109 overall on my previous entry Nom’s Evolvathlon, but there weren’t as many entries back then.

The concept of my game Tsunami Cruiser is based on what came to mind first when I heard the theme.  Actually it’s inspired by the somewhat obscure classic “Wavy Navy”.  It was created in a single day.  After I discovered people liked the animated gif of my unfinished game a lot, I spent the rest of the evening until the deadline (3 am) making the game as nice as possible.

The biggest complaint I got was that the game was too easy in the beginning.  I probably should have made level 1 a little more challenging. And I have to (re)learn how to make a soundtrack!

I soon started work on a WebGL postcompo, which I am still working on.  I chose WebGL, because it should be easy to port to OpenGL ES/Android later on. I’m new to WebGL, but I found it definitely easier to develop in than OpenGL ES Android. And it’s less fragmented than I thought.  I’m probably going to use WebGL for the next LD.

A week later I had this silly idea that I wanted to implement right away.  The result was Nyan Cat vs Flappy Bird clones, another WebGL game, and my second “cooldown game”. I came up with the theme because I was getting a bit peeved with the number of Flappy Bird clones appearing on the Ouya appstore.  LDers seem to like this game too, so I’ll keep working on it. And last but not least, I now got to #3 on the One Game a Month highscores list!

All in all a very satisfying LD this time. Thanks to everyone for your comments and support, for making great and inspiring games, and generally for making this event one of the most fun things to participate in!

Tags: #1GAM

Hey all,

Today I finished and posted my first mobile game “Strike Team” to the google play store. This was a quick build, something I started on last Wednesday and finished up today. It is a homage to one of my favorite high school flash games “Helicopter Game”. I created all of the art using Pickle, finishing things up in photoshop.

Please let me know your thoughts! Any feedback would be great.
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.travislucia.striketeam