Gods Play Dice [LD38 Day 1]
Hey all! Hope everyone is having a good time thus far. :] Here's a quick wrap up on my current game at the moment.
When the theme first announced, I wasn't getting too many great ideas at the time. At the same time, I assumed most of the games that would be uploaded would be space- or geography-themed, so any ideas relating to that were absolute cross-outs.
So with that, I was left with a few ideas: (1) exploring a microscopic world since its tiny and all, (2) a sort of game like in Men in Black where aliens play with marble-shaped universes, and (3) a game where, contrary to Einstein's belief, gods play with dice as if people were pieces on a chess board (there was also a fourth but I don't remember it anymore).
I wasn't getting any simple or interesting mechanics from any of those ideas so I felt stuck for a good while, but the third option continued to be thought-provoking. Typically I work on silly cartoonish light-hearted stuff, but with some bottled-up emotions lately, I needed some form of release. And since nothing is better than a game jam for experimentation, I figured I should try something a little more controversial.
After deciding to work on this idea, I went straight to sleep. Because I was very tired. Yep.
The next day, I went to work on some concept art to help clear up some ideas I had. After finishing up that art and coming up with some decent color palettes, I started working on separate sprites for the game. With most of the assets made, all I need to do left is create one more player sprite animation, 5-10 immobile character sprites with varying colors, and a bullet sprite. I probably won't finish all that tonight; but once that's done tomorrow, I can start writing the code and crafting a good dialogue. Luckily the game is simple and I won't have to overwhelm myself with new techniques but a couple, so it should go just fine.
The night prior going to bed after the theme was announced, I thought about having the player decide the fate of innocents and wrongdoers alike with a game of Russian roulette. While its not a mechanic that doesn't give the player much control, I figured the feeling of losing control of a situation could be used as an advantage. However, I was terrified of how people would react if they played a game like this. I kept asking myself "what if", and psyched myself out earlier this morning. But while thinking of a new idea, I urged myself to keep going, because its no use to ask "what if" when, to put it bluntly, no one knows who you are.
But with that, I'd like to add a note about the game. As someone who is agnostic, this game is not meant to bash religion in any way. Its meant to recall those moments in people's lives who may have experienced loss in some form, and in their grief, find themselves asking "why them? why did they have to die?" The game isn't made to make a point, but instead to let people experience something they don't yet understand. If someone finds themselves relating to this game way too much, they're free to opt out. As someone who knows someone who's experienced heavy loss, it's a painful experience.
Life can be cruel and often without reason. Every moment is a gamble, and our lives are small and fragile. You can interpret that as meaninglessness, or as a chance to create a fulfilling life. It's different for everyone.
Aight, enough of that. Thanks for reading and best of luck to everyone. Next post tomorrow!
I hope you guys keep at it :D
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