Round 1 has arrived. In similar fashion to last time I'll run through my votes and opinions on each theme:

*One Bullet (-1): * Way too specific. I don't think much more needs to be said. I personally find it pretty dumb.

*One Minute (-1): * Also too specific. I do really like when games use and twist the idea or concept of time but specifically stating how long an arbitary interval has to be really cuts way to many possible ideas for games. There's a better way to do these types of themes.

*Dying Planet (0): * If the theme was "Dying World" I probably would have given it a safe +1. Otherwise, this theme doesn't really give me any ideas other than, zombies, viruses, apocalypse.

*Ancient World (-1): * Totally objective but I find it too similar to Ancient Technology.

*Two Points of View (+1): * I find that Perspective is an objectively better theme than this (less specific) but this works also. I have so many ideas with this theme and I think people can get really creative with this one.

*Fragile (+1): * I'm almost certain this won't make it to the final round but I like this theme too much. I know it's too vague and doesn't really convey much... but... but. SILENCE - MY OPINION.

*It's Spreading (+1): * This theme is really good at forcing you to answer questions, What, is spreading. Where, is it spreading in/ to. Why, is it spreading? Could someone or something be, spreading it? This creates variation in ideas. Very good theme.

*Inconvenient Superpowers (-1): * I gave this a 0 last time. I changed my mind. Inconvenient makes it slightly too specific and Superpowers on its own reeks of dull.

*Start with nothing (-1): * Just like 90% of every game ever made.

*Running out of Space (0): * Possibly interesting, possibly terrible. I can't make up my mind.

*Nothing is explained (-1): * No.

*If you don't see it, it doesn't exist (-1): * This is the first theme that really struck me as a non-theme. How do you expect thousands of people to make varied games based of this theme? You can't. This idea in itself sounds like a mechanic for one game.

*Colour as a Gameplay feature (-1): * Hey look it's colour sugar coated under a different name! I'm not even sure what this theme means. Colour that is interactive? What?

*One Enemy Only (-1): * I'm probably missing something here but this is way to specific.

*Build a Dungeon (-1): * No.

*Control two things at once: (-1) * Too Gameplay specific.

Happy to be taking part, missed the last one. Likely using Game maker Studio 2, Photoshop, and then spending the last few hours of remaining time considering sound and music.

Previous entry for LD40: https://tetragrammaton.itch.io/placeholder

Good luck everybody and have fun~!

Once again I will be using my base code that I have built up since LD 26. It is written in JavaScript and can be used to create HTML5/canvas games. You can find the base code on github: https://github.com/ZYXer-/base-code-2d

Features: - a simple game loop - mouse/keyboard input processing - image/sound/webfont preloading - dealing with different screen resolutions

Additional classes for: - playing sounds (using SoundManager2) - loading and displaying PNG fonts - particle systems - pathfinding (using A*) - image processing class to generate 8-bit style graphics - utility functions for procedural map generation - simple one-body physics - a text class that is way more powerful than fillText() - scaling to easily display pixelart at various screen resolutions

Since LD 41, I have made a few bug fixes and added the following features: - added utility functions to draw polygons, hearts and stars. - the Text class now supports monospaced text. - added Tooltip class - added Button class, which makes managing interactive UI elements much easier

I’m distributing the code under the GPL2 license, so feel free to use any part of it for your own project. And please – like always – report any bugs ;)

This is, I think, my 12-ish ludum dare in a row. I'm always excited when it's just around the corner, and this time is no exception. Aallllrrighty, let's review some themes.

So, without teasing, my prediction is "Inconvenient super powers." I say prediction, but really I just mean this is likely to make it into the final round. This is only round 1, so any prediction would be super hard to make.

One bullet - I gave this a -1. Why? Because it doesn't give much room for interpretation. Most people will make the same game.

One minute - I gave this a -1 as well. This isn't a theme so much as a restriction that doesn't force creativity. I just think it'd result in a lot of bad games.

Dying planet - +1. I don't have any ideas for this theme yet, but it seems like a pretty good one. It doesn't impose dumb restrictions, but it gives you a solid foundation to build your game on.

Ancient world - I gave this a -1 because it's kind of TOO open. Dying planet is also pretty open, but it at least has a verb, which makes it more of a theme than a setting. Ancient world is too much like a stage setting than a game idea.

Two points of view - I gave it a +1 because I've been wanting to do something with that idea. I know many many games would be the same, but I'm sure there would be some real gems.

Fragile - +1, because it's a great creative restriction without being unreasonable. Many good games could be made from it.

It's spreading - +1, I submitted this one.

Inconvenient super powers - I just don't want this to be the theme. It's an alright theme. It has a good chance of winning. I might change my vote, but for now it's a -1 from me.

That's all I'll review for round 1, since this is already such a long post. Good luck everyone!

When does round 2 starts?

The first round was a bit disappointing: many of the themes seem to try to enforce specific genres instead of being mere themes that allow for broad and multiple interpretations. This time I decided to use a lot of the points I got with my Ludum Dare Gold Account in an attempt to downvote them enough to make a difference. I wish I could spend more than 99 points on a single theme but well, it’s a start.

There isn't a bad/good theme, because this differs from every one of us. However to make a theme fun for most of the people, we should focus on themes that are open to as many possibilities as possible. For example, I really like the theme "Fragile" which is in the Round 1. Because it can be really anything: Fragile planet, soon to be destroyed - Sci-fi RTS Fragile soul - Mysterious adventure game Fragile weapon - An action platformer Fragile Relationship - Love/Relationship game Fragile element - a game about making bombs Fragile Body - Sad story about a dying person... and so on. So you get my point.

On the other hand there are themes that are too restrictive, and mostly good for only one type of a genre or one type of a story. "Build a Dungeon" for example - even though, it would be cool to try making my own Dungeon Keeper-like game, it would be really boring having playing 2000 exactly the same games.

All I wanna say - CHOOSE WISELY.

I also do this for myself to think properly about the themes.

One Bullet (-1): Bit specific. A bullet has a very specific purpose, so I think it limits creativity (which might help some of you). However it would even disallow the excellent Titan Souls which uses a single arrow (LD: You only get one), a game like Samurai Gunn would still work, but both such games follow a similar concept. I might scare away people who want to make something less standard (but it's getting there) like a visual novel, but I can also see it work, I remember a friend of mine owning a bullet that killed his grandpa's friend during WW2, so storytime.

One Minute (0): Specific, yet abstract. One minute could be a single unit of time in which stuff has to be done (like McPixel, LD: 10 seconds). But it could also be something you would say when you need a moment before you can help someone ("a minute, please", or "min" as we use in chat). In general I think time restrictions are about as restricting as last theme, where most of us used 2 genres - a theme I was sceptical about at first - but turned out very interesting.

Dying Planet (-1): This is a specific theme that leaves a lot of options open. A planet is a lifeless object, so you are open to interpret Dying as you see fit. This theme does force you into using planets in some way, as an object flying around a star or the object that provides you with shelter, resources. But visually presenting this spherical object in a way will be pretty much a requirement for high scores. LDs A Small World and Tiny World have some variations on this already.

Ancient World (+1): Ancient things are shrouded in mystery. As a result you can come up with a lot of story and mechanical ideas. It's a bit close to the recent Ancient Technology theme, yet I feel this opens up a lot of new things to explore in comparison.

Two Points of View (+1): A decent theme that opens up a lot of story and mechanical opportunities. I think it could be a bit close to my previous entry (The Imaginary Room, LD: Combine Two Incompatible Genres), which I personally wouldn't like. For the good of LD though, I think it will spawn a lot of interesting concepts with a lot of enjoyable entries.

Fragile (0): What is fragile. A child? Porcelain? A balance? You can do a lot of things with this. However the ones that are most powerful in meaning, have the least amount of freedom. Porcelain has a very powerful meaning, but will force you to use porcelain. A balance opens up a lot of mechanical opportunities, but it harder to relate to the Fragile word. The challenge would be finding something that is powerful in both meaning and mechanics.

It’s Spreading (+1): Spreading can be represented in many ways. This allows for a wide variety of visual representations and mechanics. I'm not a fan of the "It's" part, but I think it will be easily forgotten, so it should be fine.

Inconvenient Superpowers (-1): Inconvenient implies bad and annoying. I don't like bad or annoying games. (Although this seems to be a trend.) Let's (finally) forget about this and move on. That being said, Super Crate Box comes to mind seeing this theme, however I can't really see beyond that idea for something more creative that isn't annoying or bad.

Start with nothing (-1): Nothing? Probably not nothing, because truly nothing gives you nothing. Semantics aside, I don't like seeing a lot of Minecraft of Doodle God clones. I do think there is some potential in this, but I don't think many will realise it (including me).

Running out of Space (0): Space? SPACE?!? SPAAAAAACE!?!? Even portal robots know we need space. Limiting it can be a good creative limitation though. I do fear for people all going with the same concepts, such as building on a 10x10 grid or a growing population not fitting a planet or random variations i.e. using cookies and mouths. But there is definitely some room for really creative ideas. Might be a bit close to Running out of Power.

Nothing is explained (0): Isn't this the basis of any good tutorial? At least that's a basis. Exploration of a unknown world can be exciting. It's a bit open though, and could lead to pretty much any game. But I think when some thought has been put into it a few interesting concepts will spawn.

If you don’t see it, it doesn’t exist (+1): A very versatile theme, yet quite limiting. I mean this in a way that you can interpret it in many ways, and each way would provide a limitation good enough to make something compact. The more obvious one is a mechanical one where you despawn anything not in line of sight of the player. But when we look a tiny bit further we find philosophical concepts that contemplate existence and the ego. Then in a more cute sense we have kids that play hide and seek think they are hidden if they can't see you. This theme should contain something for everyone to explore. I'd give a +2.

Colour as a Gameplay feature (-1): I hate it when people explain what to do with their themes (like last time). In my design philosophy colour is always a gameplay feature, in pretty much every game I make. Just make it a broader "Colour" so we can explore non-gameplay stuff and I'd give you a 0, but like this its a -2.

One Enemy Only (-1): Maybe I don't want enemies in my games. Maybe I cheat and use a big tree with it's roots as enemies. This theme needs more thought to be useful. That being said I'm a sucker for a good boss fight.

Build a Dungeon (-1): I don't see a lot of variety here. Maybe the way you make your dungeon, but Dungeon Keeper has explored a lot of those already. Also a lot of people don't like dungeons as it implies fantasy, which - contrary to popular belief - isn't generally liked.

Control two things at once: (0) I see a lot of options, but mostly mechanic wise. I do think we will see quite some variations on it though, I could list 5 just right now, without pause and real thinking (each button moves 2 objects, multitasking sim, mirrored movement, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, every ability does 2 distinct things simultaneously), so it's not a bad theme, just forces you to think about mechanics (which in my opinion most people should do more often).

So this will be my fourth Ludum Dare, and also the fourth one in a row. Sadly, I am not at my main PC due to being on holiday. As well as this, the start time has been moved 3 hours back, which is a great change, but I have moved 3 hours forward, cancelling out the benefit :/ Anyway, good luck to everyone.

I'm going to be super in this time. This will be my first time streaming my gamedev. I'm both nervous and excited! I'm also determined to have some audio this time around, so I'll be practicing with some generators before the jam. If anyone knows of good midi generators let me know!

Planning on using at least some of these tools: * Unity * Blender * PyxelEdit * Gimp * Krita * Audacity * Autotracker.py * MelodyBrains * LMMS

One bullet (0) - I could see some interesting story based games here, yet as a mechanic it seems cluky. Most of all I don't want to test 200 games later on that have to do with firing and retrieving bullets all the time.
One minute (-1) - much too generic and limiting at the same time. There can be fun games within this theme, but again: testing would be very annoying.
Dying planet (+1) - only a setting, so not really that great, but I like it :P
Ancient world(+1) - same as above.
Two points of view (+1) - This actually gives many possibilities for both narrative and mechanic design.
Fragile(+1) - very non-descriptive. I still gave it a plus because it immediately gave me a bunch of ideas I really like.
It's spreading (0) - there are so many games with this theme already and most of them are just so stressful.
Inconvenient super powers (-1) - Themes like this come up every time. I don't doubt that good games within this theme are possible, but it's jsut to limiting and will result in clunky games.
Start with nothing (-1) - so basically any progression game ever?
Running out of space (0) - don't like it, but technically a decent theme. Not very original thought.
Nothing is explained (+1) - mechanically this is already the case with most jam entries, so I was about to give it a (0), however if people really take to it as a theme, the resulting games might actually have better learning-concepts without overtly stating rules or having a tutorial?
If you don't see it, it doesn't exist (0) - Could result in many similar games. But solid theme.
Color as a gameplay feature (-1) - too many games have done this recently.
One enemy only (0) - sure why not.
Build a dungeon (0) - too specific, but why not.
Control two things at once (-1) - forcing games to be clunky in a gamejam that will already result in many clunky games is just not a good idea.

So yea, quite a few cop-out reasons by me. But no 42 puns made it to round 1, so I'm kinda happy.

I have a bad feeling while I see wich themes are in the first round.
I was convinced that there could not be a worse theme than the one for LD41, but I'm afraid that I may be wrong…
Well, we'll see with the next rounds, but… Please… ç_ç

So, round 1 : I gave +1 to "Ancient world" and "Fragile", and -1 to all others.
A little of them because I don't like, but a very lot because these are NOT themes - as I said for the previous LD : if you like so much restrictive mechanics / kind of game, fell free to do so, but do not make this rule mandatory for everyone, thank you.

Completely missed Theme suggestion, my gf has been over for 2-3 weeks, LD slipped my mind, she's going a day before LD starts, hope the theme will be better this time around.

Good luck my dudes 😬

Going to try and do a solo run this time... going to be using: * Unity * Gimp * bfxr and/or sfxr * bosca ceoil * audacity

Hopefully i can finish something this time around. More than anything though this is a learning experience with unity.

I haven't made a game in a while so it won't be easy but I will do my best!

This will be my first Game Jam, so i hope it goes well. Wish me luck! PS: Is this post enough to participate in the jam? Or is there another way to apply?

Light is key: -1 Evolve: 0 You start with everything and end with nothing: -1 Four elements: 0 Decay: +1 Use the enemies to win: -1 Duplication: -1 Expanding environment: -1 Safe in the dark: 1 Tiny machines: -1 3 Rules: 0 You can't control the player: -1 Alchemy & Magic: 0 Four-colour palette: -1 What you create you must destroy: -1 One of you is a traitor: -1

Overall, the themes were better than in the first round.

Well, for this LD I want to create a more relaxing game than a gameplay heavy game. That's the only goal I impose on myself. And it will be in first person and maybe a bit narrative heavy.

That's enough. It should not be complex. Think simple. (<- that's what I say to myself) xD

Will most likely be using Unity, GIMP and Blender (mostly the former, I'm not much of an artist :P).

I'm in, and I'm going solo as usual. I was disappointed with the theme last time, but I didn't want to ditch the theme as I think it's usually a good source of creativity and practice. Let's hope for an interesting one this time!

I will be using: - Unity - Visual Studio - Photoshop - Paint.net - Audacity + Zoom H1 microphone - Maya (?)

Good luck!