Will be finally using Godot Engine so hopefully instead of reinventing the wheel I get to create something fun!

Good luck all!

because it's raining right now!

I HAZ EXCITEMENT

Good luck everyone!

Excited to participate in my first Ludum Dare

Aww yeah can't wait! Just over an hour left

This is my first ludum dare!

Just preparing ourselves to our first jam!

First Ludum Dare and I'm gonna be using Unity, Krita and some other tools depending on the theme.

It probably would have been smarter for me, to just go to bed early and then wake up at 6 am (3 hours after LD started) and head into the game fully awake. However can't sleep right now (probably slept too long this morning) and now eagerly waiting to see what the Theme will be. I have to say that for most of the themes I still have no Idea what I could come up with for it, however as this is my second LD I hope I can come up with an Idea quite fast to participate propperly.

I will be using

Unity3D Blender/Gimp/MagicaVoxel (matters on what game I'll do)

For the soundeffects I will use Bfxr

For Music in the Background... I will have to see if I find something usefull to use in that time has forgotten what he used last ld for the music

Have fun everyone

I think. Unless my mum phones. That woman can talk for days.

Good luck everyone!

Been waiting for this moment. I am gonna be streaming. Kinda confused about how to do this... or how to stream... but Good luck everyone!

I have lost count of how many Ludum Dare's I have done. Still having fun after six years. Looking forward to this.

Paul

* Tools of the Trade *

• Unity (Engine with C#)
• SuperTilemapEditor (Level Editor)
• SmartPlatformColliders Asset (Platformer Engine)
• ProCamera2D (Camera Effects)
• NodeCanvas (State Machines)
• DOTween (Tweening)
• FLStudio (Music & Sounds)
• PyxelEdit 0.4.4 (Pixels)

Looking forward to the game jam, liking the look of the new website so far!

Hi, we (me and 2 friends) are going to join this jam but we don’t have an artist yet. Some artist willing to join?

Good luck you all!

Going to have a go at writing the whole game in Rust. Also going to go wayyy simpler than last time. Let's make this a relaxing 48 hours :)

First Ludum Dare, going solo, hopefully done in time for compo. I've played a ton of the games that LD has produced over the years and look forward to making one. I'll probably incorporate some of the themes that don't get picked as well as the main theme. Let's see what I come up with.

I'm in!

Using: Unity, Blender, bfxr, Krita, and whatever else might come up depending on theme.

Time to step away from tutorials and udemy lessons. Let's do this!

I'll be using unity and blender, most likely. Not sure on sounds and music.

This is just a post to let people know that I will be participating in Ludum Dare38. I have never competed before so it will be quite the journey but I am looking forward to it. I will be attempting to do a javascript game.

I have never really programmed in js before except for a couple lines here and there while prototyping so it will be interesting to see what I will be able to make.

The combination of never having done LD before and having no real experience in js means that I will probably make something very simple. Probably aong the lines of a pong/breakout/bejeweled type easy. Or perhaps some simple incremental type game.

Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing what the theme will be and what I will be able to do with it. :smiley:

About an hour to go, about 1 in the morning, and I'm pumped about another Ludum Dare Compo.

It's going to be all the usual suspects when it comes to tools; sfxr, SoundHelix, GXSCC, GIMP, a pound of crack and IntelliJ, so nothing new there.

I'll also be donning my web hipster hat and using Electron w/ React for rendering (something I've used before for games - it actually works quite well). You may proceed to throw up now.

My first time at Ludum Dare, I hope I reach the end with something :)

Well I think I'm in.. Been trying to get more people involved for the last few years and haven't actually finished.. Anything. Oh well. My tools are probably Java, Gimp, Sonar and this cool audio recording app on my phone. If there was an idea for it, I might use an alexa too.

Don't mind the theme so much.. Just need a good idea and some free time for once!

I rewrote my engine over the course of the last 24 hours and it has not been tested at all!

This is my first Ludum Dare, I've created my project and all that crud, waiting and watching the countdown timer realising how little I know. Nervousness

I am going to be building something, no idea what will come out.

Welp, I'll be participating this go round! Will likely use Eclipse and Java, but may spring for Unity if need be. Good luck to everyone on their projects!

I love the new page, the new look is great. I wish you guys have fun. :D

I will be doing art and helping brainstorm with

https://ldjam.com/users/josh6680/

again.

Hopefully that goes better this time… lol!

(posted here since the invite feature doesn’t work yet)

hey there it's dan here you all probably don't know me as the creator of Astro Cows and Aphelion. Going to be doing my first solo game jam in a year or so and I am excited!!

Happy birthday ludum dare! I'm in again for the 7th time. I will be using Unity 5.6 the new shiny with gimp as usual. Hopefully I can add some sound this time even though I said it everytime but never be able to :p

Enjoy the jam everyone and hope we have a great time! good luck!

Can't wait to participate in our first LD!

I'm using MonoGame and Gimp.

Aiming for Compo but my engine is super bare bones, guess this is where it gets fleshed out!

Existing code is here: https://github.com/koreus7/GameMagic

(I've already seen people unhappy about themes, so here's me guide on working with themes you don't like from December.)

It’s inevitable. When the theme is announced, more than a handful of people don’t know what to do with it. The theme might be too esoteric or vague. The theme might be too restrictive. It could suggest a particular kind of game, and that’s not the kind of game they want to make. Maybe they just simply don’t like the theme. We're a diverse community, and so the theme doesn't work right away with every one of us. This was me when “An Unconventional Weapon” was announced for LD 32. If this is you, this post is here to help you work through the theme so you can get to working on your game. Don’t give up at the start because you don’t like the theme! Remember, Ludum Dare is about making a game. The theme is there to help. This post is meant to be encouraging and helpful.

What is a Theme?

First things first, let’s explore what a theme is and how it helps you. A theme is a starting point. It’s there to combat the blank page problem. Many writers will tell you that the hardest part of writing is staring at a blank page and writing down the first words. With a theme, the first words are already written, so it’s easier. You don’t have to think about literally everything that could go into a game. You’d be paralyzed with thinking if you did. So a theme is there to get you started. It’s there to narrow down the possibilities, so that you can get to making your game quicker. After all, you don’t have that much time to be dwelling on the concept. You need to start making your game as soon as you can!

What the Theme is Not

The theme is not a prescription. The Ludum Dare theme is not there to say that you absolutely must make the same game that everyone else is going to make. It’s just a starting point. Your game concept might morph to have very little to do with the theme, and that’s ok. Not every part of your game needs to drip theme. In fact, too much theme can be overwhelming. The theme can be a challenge. The theme can be a crutch. The theme can be whatever you need it to be. You’re the one making the game, after all. The theme isn’t there to hinder you. It’s there to help you and make things easier.

Working With the Theme

So, the theme has just been announced, and you don’t know what to do with it. The theme doesn’t make sense, or it sounds silly, or it seems completely unhelpful. It might just sound bad to you, and you don’t understand how it could have won the vote. It’s there, and you want to make a game with it, but you don’t know how. Don’t quit! There are options for you! Here are some things you can do to make it work.

Just Go With It

Many themes suggest a very obvious way to be built. Sometimes, we overthink it and want to try to do something really different, but if this is giving you problems, just go with what the theme suggests. Sure, it may not be glamorous or spectacular, but what’s even less is not making a game at all. During LD 34, there were a bunch of laments from people about how the “Growing” theme just suggested to them that they should make a snake game. People didn’t want to make something that everyone else was going to make. Don’t worry about if other people will be doing your idea. That’s ok! What’s important is that you make a game. This is the most straightforward approach to using a theme. It doesn’t appeal to everyone. I personally don’t like to do this, but in LD 34, we also got the theme of “Two-Button Controls” and I just took that at face value. I didn’t have time to worry about how it fit in with my game, so I just went with the most obvious decision: left and right mouse buttons. If this isn’t the method for you, read on! If it is, then go make your game!

Play With the Theme

Themes are just words. Words are language, and we have years upon years of experience playing around with words. Languages develop over time by morphing and changing to suit situations and cultures. As themes are just words, we can play around with them. You can take the words of the theme and consider what they actually mean. You can take the words and make a pun out of them. You can take how the words sound and make them sound a little different. You can add spaces, make punctuation, smash words together, or obliterate letters. Type it into a search engine and see what comes up. Check it out on an image search. Run it through a translator a few times. It’s ok. They’re just words. You’re the one with ideas.

LD 32 “An Unconventional Weapon” was particularly annoying to me because I don’t like making games about combat or fighting. To arrive at my concept, I asked myself, “What is a weapon, really?” A weapon is a tool. It’s a means to an end. It doesn’t have to be a physical object, it just has to be something that is used. So, an unconventional weapon is something that is used to achieve an end, but which isn’t used in the way we expect it to be. A person can be used as a tool if they are manipulated and their expectations are played to. The result was a game where the player was used to cause an end through the expectation that they should be following the on-screen mission prompts. It was a far stretch from the words of the original theme, but it was a game I could feel excited to make. By playing with the words of the theme, I was able to make a theme I didn’t like, into a theme I did.

Looking at the theme of “An Unconventional Weapon”, there are other things you could do to manipulate it. Unconventional contains the word “convention”, so maybe you can make a game that is set at a convention. Weapon could become “weap-on”, and even though it's misspelled, you could have a game where someone weeps on something. Play with the theme. It’s yours to do with as you please.

Get Help

People, especially veterans of Ludum Dare, like helping others get over that initial hump of the concept phase and onto making a game. Everyone is wrestling with the theme, and so everyone is going through the same process. Some people, especially those with a lot of experience, will have an easier time with it, though, and it won’t hurt to ask for help deciding on a concept for your theme. You can use the Ludum Dare IRC channel to talk it out with people who hang out in there (usually these are people who have been with LD for a while). There’s the reddit page if you’re more open to that format. You can even ask your friends, post on twitter, whatever you want. I would say that the best place for this is probably the IRC channel. You don’t need to know anything about IRC to use it, just use the link on the page (http://ludumdare.com/compo/irc/ for LD 37, not sure for 38), type in any name you want (or leave the default) and hit start, then ask away. Be open and kind with your questions. Understand that people are probably working on the same thing you are. Sometimes, there are people sitting in the IRC that aren’t doing LD because they don’t have time, but they’re happy to help out people who want it. Mention the half ideas you have. Say what you don’t want to do. This will help people give you better advice and it might help other people in the same situation.

See What Others are Doing

People livestream. They post about what they’re doing. They talk about it in the IRC and on reddit. See how other people are interpreting the theme. Ask them how they got there, if it seems unclear. Some people might toss out ideas you think are really cool and get you thinking. Try not to just go to one of these places and copy what someone else is doing. That’s a bit underhanded, but you can use these as a springboard. Plus, it can suggest a way of looking at the theme that you hadn’t thought about. If someone says an idea that you really like and get excited about, ask them if you can do something similar. Add your own personal flair to the idea if you’re doing this. Treat it as a starting point. Also, who knows, the other person may get just as excited as you about the idea, and you end up jamming on it together as a team.

We are kickstarting our Jamming Session with a keynote by Bárbara Barroso and a talk by Isaque Sanches.

Join us: https://www.twitch.tv/nedjd

This is my first time. I'm just going to say good luck every one.

Im in with a bunch of college friends. :) Lets see how it goes.

Tools we'll use: Godot, blender or construct 2 (depends on the theme T.T), photoshop, cgmusic, bfxr and notepad :)

asd

Trying the jam out. This should be fun :grinning:

Gonna try to finish on time with honor.

Count me in for the solo dolo. Got my weekend cleared, got some snacks - let's do this!

This time around I plan on using: - Unity 5.6 - Blender - Photoshop CC - FL Studio 12 - BFXR

I'm really questioning some of the themes - but the good news is you don't have to follow them. Just make a game! Don't fret the small stuff and keeping moving.

LD38 - let's get it. GLHF.

https://legendstudio.com https://www.twitch.tv/lonecoder

Only after I go get some tacos.

Love the new site! Good luck everyone.

First time I'll be able to participate without work/school getting in the way, excited :)

Also, I'll likely stream the whole thing on twitch/OfficialDingbat

Do i just stream or do i need special tags or something?

this new site confuses me.

what up

Hi. My first Ludum Dare! i'm teaming with my brother. we are going to use Unity and hopping to have a great weekend

First time... hopefully I'll finish! :P

This will be my 3rd Ludum Dare and on a special note: Today is my Birthday, so this is the greatest birthday present ever I get to make myself a game and let others play it.

I think.

We'll see if I actually manage to make anything, depends on if I happen to get any workable idea. Likely to use either Unity or Game Maker depending on what kind of idea I'll come up with.

OK I figured it out - this is my 12th. Wow!

first time participating, hopefully not the last!

1. Sleep

Many recommend to sleep during the jam, but why should you listen to them? You only have 48/72 hours to make a game, right!? Not only making, but finishing a game in that amount of time is hard enough without the sweet release of slumber to get in the way. Also, did you know, the longest someone went without sleep was more than 11 days? So why shouldn't you be able to go 3? If you need to sleep, look to Da Vinci for guidance. He'd only sleep 20 minutes every 4 hours. Why not right?

2. Food

Eating healthy? Nah. Eat fast I'd say. Why spend time cooking a stew or cutting up fruit and veggies when you could just run to McDonald's and stock up on cheeseburgers and fries!? Nothing gives you more energy than some greasy reheated meat and buttered buns. Well, maybe greasy meats and buttered buns re-reheated in your kitchen microwave. If McDonald's fries can last years and still be good, shouldn't they give you loads of energy?? Energy drinks you say? Drink a lot of them. Maybe a 16oz Red Bull every hour - give that heart a real boost! Who needs water, am I right? We're humans, not fish.

3. Scope

Okay, okay. You have 3 days to make a game. You may be wondering how much you can do. So ask yourself this, can Online Multiplayer make your game win? No? Do it anyways; MMO's are awesome. Might not have time to polish gameplay? Go ahead and add not only add a Quest system, but also Inventory, just for the hell of it. Oh, and toss Crafting in there too. "But what about feature creep?" Yeah that's a myth. You're the most focused and talented developer making games this weekend, why worry about that?

4. Final Thoughts

Don't listen to me. You'll die.

Wish me luck!

Let's wait for the last 50 mins!!

I'm hoping to have enough time this weekend to make a game, this will be my 14th Dare!

          ready,
:race_car: set,
          go!

Been looking at Ludum Dares for a while now, me and a friend finally decided to try it. Both programmers so you can only expect the best art you've ever seen. We shall most likely be using Unity for the game, and either Blender or GIMP for art assets depending on dimension of the game. Here's hoping. :smile:

First time doing LD but I will try my best at Combo

Stuff: * Unity * C# * Photoshop * 3dsmax * Blender

(It was a failure)

This time I will use my new custom made 3D engine for the game which I barely finished, lets see how it works out.

Tools: Eclipse, Audacity, Blender, Gimp, Bfxr

I have no idea what I'm doing :dog:

2nd Ludum Dare Compo! Super excited, can't wait to contribute to the 15th year LD anniversary. Good Luck all!

First time participating in Ludum Dare! Excited to see what I'll learn and to share whatever I end up with at the end of the weekend.

Never finished one before maybe this time it will work out

This is my first LD, and from what I read so far, people are saying that compo submissions are judged more fairly and more often than jam submissions.

I'm going solo - if my main aim is to get feedback, should I aim for compo?

I guess the 'completely from scratch' idea indeed puts everyone in the same starting position.

Hope this goes well . . .

Second time participating, so I'm really hyped. Going compo with Unity. Hope everybody has fun.

Almost certainly using Unity. Can't say anything about specifics like 2d/3d or tools until I know what the theme is. Really no clue what direction I'm going in this time.

This will be my first LD! Very hyped to do this! I wish all of the other participants the best of luck, and hope you all have a great time!

I'm in! :D

Hopefully I am able to finish something this time.

Try to actually make a game this time for the compo.

I'll be using: - Atom Editor for coding; - Typescript; - Phaser/PIXI.js for graphic library; - Audiotool for making sounds;

First LD. Game Maker or SDL depending on theme. I will be joining the compo.

this will be my second LD and i'm hyped wish me luck :D

First time I've ever joined a game jam of any kind. I hope I'm not making a fool of myself.

Using GameMaker Studio 2 and Aseprite.

This'll be fun.

my third Ludum Dare, first one in about 2 year. using Unity and Pyxel Edit

Skipped a few LD's because of university but now I'm back and I'm ready to dev.

Using Godot :robot:, Gimp :mouse: and Blender :eye: because FOSS is life

This is my second game jam and the first i will do it alone... Energy Drink ! Food ! Hyped as hell.. Lets do this LD38 .. GAME ON!!!!!

Hello everyone, my first game jam, I feel it's gonna be great

happy jamming ;)

Wanted to participate in this for years and finally get the chance, so here goes nothing! Using Unity and anything I can to help my level 0 art skills.

A busy weekend ahead of me, setting up my kit before the jam and already exhausted!

Second time at this, we'll see if I've learned anything since the first time. Either way, good luck, everyone! :smiley_cat:

Got a super great team of five building something great out of my apartment!

We will be using Phaser for our engine and all art will be done from scratch. The music should be original too. Getting hyped for the theme announcement!

or kind of, i think!?

I will make my first LD game!

First game jam! Using GameMaker 2!!!

My son and I are participating in the Jam together. This is the first jam for us, and we're looking forward to it.

The wife and husband duo is back at it again for our 3rd team entry, and my 8th entry overall. The usual toolset will be used, including Phaser, Gimp, Sublime Text, Chronolapse, Github, ect! Looking forward to seeing what everyone can make!

I'll be streaming art and maybe some UE4 dev here: https://www.twitch.tv/sethpaxton - good luck everyone!

Also, are we still declaring base code? Oh well, here it is:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wbm3fe0ihtzxvc0/aurora.zip?dl=0

LES GO

Somewhere in my submission will be a jar of jam. In my game. Because it's a g-

ah forget it.

I'm going to try my first LD. Can't wait to get started.

Alright I'm ready for Ludum Dare now, my tools are assembled. I'll be using Unity, Paint.NET, and BFXR.

Here's a link to my Base Code! http://storage.electricsquirrel.net/Ludum%20Dare%2038/Platformer%20Base%20Code.zip

Well I am in

Been doing LD since 2005 and for the 1st time I'm going to stream it :joy:
Depending on theme I will be trying to make a TwitchPlays style game.

• Twitter: @EvilKimau
• Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/kimau

Tools

• Golang Twitch Bot / Interface talking via UDP to Game Client
• Game Client: Unity or Browser + Plain Javascript

see you all on the other side

I made it too

Maybe!

So I've PROBABLY got enough free time this weekend to participate! As usual, I'll just be using GraphicsGale and Construct 2 for my stuff, perhaps with BFXR and autotracker if I have time. Looking forward to it, and best of luck to everyone else!