Just thought that I would share an exporter I wrote for Blender with you all. The script exports your 3D mesh with uv-map to a .pde class-file that you are able to use in your processing software. Here’s an example of a model exported with the script:
(The model is made by Tommy Tallian and can be found here: http://tomtallian.com)
The script can be found here:
http://pastebin.com/GuGqMSNC
And you may use it as you like 
AKA “I’m in.”
Contrary to the contract in the video, I’ll be using HTML5 canvas and Javascript, on top of a little basecode of my own for handling animation, text, and audio. As per them rules, my boilerplate can be seen here: http://vede.galacticgaming.net/LD21/
I probably won’t be using that font, and I definitely won’t be using the robot. It’s just there to demonstrate the animation.
To abide by the rules, I post here a little framework I had just started to create for GameMaker, it’ll help me skip forward pretty basic things like loading player settings and extend some GML functions.
It’s nothing major at the moment, what’ll help me the most is the extension I created to wrap the bass.dll in order to load and play OGG sound, as GameMaker itself cannot play that format.
*snip*
Tags: gamemaker
Hi all, in the run-up to LD, I decided I would share something else with you all.
Today I made an extension and library for interfacing between Inkscape and C++,
so now you can use inkscape as a level editor without having to face the nightmare of parsing the svg.
feel free to make any changes or modifications you like, I’m really hoping someone uses it and makes something truly amazing with it.
It has some minor bugs and I didn’t get time to add support for groups and layers -yet but if you need this it would be really easy to add
example code and readme are included in the zip file.
to install the extension just drop both the inx and the py into the
Inkscape\share\extensions
folder, and you should have a new option on the save as dialogue next time you run inkscape.
Thanks again all, have fun and play nice
Kindest regards -Anthony
After much humming and hawing, I’ve decided that I will participate in my first Ludum Dare! I had intentions of participating in the last one, but I ended up chickening out and sleeping early on Friday. This time I’m caught up on sleep and ready to go.
Tools:
Edit: If I go the C++/OpenGL route, I’ll be using some small base code I’ve written previously to create/manage windows and spawn a console for debugging purposes.
I’m a little afraid that my programmer-tier graphics ability will hinder my entry; I’m excited to find out for certain.
Hey everybody, My name is Seismo and im in for my first ludum dare!
Im going to use Java, Eclipse and the famous LWJGL for development.
Let’s see what i can create in 48 Hours 😀
Good luck everybody!
I’m going to try this out, mostly as a way to motivate myself to make a complete game. I suppose that I will enter the jam instead of the competition.
I’ve been playing with various game construction kits recently like Construct and Stencyl. I do a lot of my art with Blender. Don’t really have any sound and music making skills, so I’ll probably be looking for stuff that’s freely available.
New city, new stuff, yet same old Ludum Dare.
Goals: Finish a game.
Tools: Flashpunk, FlashDevelop, Photoshop, Audacity, the usual suspects.
One more LD is near and the sweet smelly of theme voting is the air.
This year me and jrrt are trying to arrange a gathering in our University of people interested in participating in the LD.
I’ll probably use flixel. I though to give a try with haxe, but I didn’t have a chance to try it before the weekend, and the LD isn’t the best environment to discover haxe for the first time.
Sfxr will be in charge of the sound.
Happy game dev everyone!
I’m springtangent and this is my first Ludum Dare. I’ll be using Javascript and WebGL to code the game and Inkscape, Paint.net, sfxr, and musagi for content.
I have a WIP framework (https://github.com/springtangent/LD21Framework) which I intend to use.
Good luck everyone!
Gday everyone!
I’m in this year, for the first time. Not sure I’ll have enough time to make anything even remotely fun, but I’ll at least have something.
Will be using C++/SFML.
-yumi_cheeseman
So, I’m going to take part this time too. I’m going to use FlashPunk, GraphicsGale, GIMP, MilkyTracker, SFXR and possibly Audacity.
Tags: flashpunk
Been paying attention to Ludum Dare for a few years but when the weekend came alone I almost always had other plans and couldn’t compete. This time I look to be free so I’m going to give it a whirl. I’ve written a bunch of games for Android but never this quickly so we’ll see how it goes.
Tools: Java with libgdx (Done some of my Android work with it and feel comfortable using it), Paint.NET, sfxr
Well, this’ll be my first Ludum Dare, or digital games making jam/hack/competition ever actually. Very much looking forward to it, making sure I’ve stocked up on pizza and beer enough stuff to cook a good few meals inbetween having a breakdown making my game!
Tools: Gamemaker (probably), Photoshop and Word, most likely, I’m a writer at heart so I’ll probably end up making something text-y. Probably. ^^
I don’t think there is a single best method to do the Ludum Dare. I’m no expert and you may agree or disagree with my ideas but I’ve finished an entry for 9 different main LDs since LD #1. I’ve also failed many times and learned from those as well.
Get übermotivated
Making a game in 48 hours is hard. There will be times when you feel discouraged by your lack of progress, skills or inspiration. If you’re going to finish a game this weekend, you need to make that your #1 priority. Don’t start the LD without knowing that no matter what, you’ll make a game this weekend. Maybe a very shitty game if things don’t go your way, maybe an awesome game, but a game no matter what. Don’t have any doubt about it and it won’t be a problem.
The excitement here and on IRC before the compo is a great way to build up that motivation, but be careful that once the compo is started it can work against you when others seem to be advancing their game more quickly.
Be prepared
There won’t be that much time for installing new software and learning how to use it. Do that now and be prepared.
Make sure to test all your tools before the compo. At the very least verify that you can run your software. Do you know where you put that dongle or original CD? Did you make any hardware change that could cause a problem with software activation (that happened to me with ZBrush once, their customer support fixed the problem… the next Monday).
If possible make a mini test game. At the very least, test your pipeline. Can you get those sprites to load? Can you export your 3D character and load it in the engine?
If you’re making a game from scratch without an existing engine, I suggest writing a conversion tool or plugin that will convert files to an extremely simple format that can be loaded directly. No need to waste precious LD time writing an .obj loader or whatever.
Get the ball rolling
So you may expect that once the theme is announced you’ll sit in silent meditation for a while and get the most amazing idea. Well, if that happens good for you. But for me it has never been that easy.
So just get started anyway. What? Without an idea? That’s right. The longer you wait, the harder it is to come up with an idea that you will like.
Have a few generic ideas ready before the compo and get started on one. Or just create a sphere, apply physics to it and literally get the ball rolling 😉 Once you’re working on something it’s a lot easier to have ideas than if you just sit staring at a blank page. And if after a few hours you think of something different and have to restart again, that’s ok. It’s a lot better than doing nothing and still not have an idea. You can probably reuse a lot of the code and assets anyway.
Your final idea can also come much later. For LD #5 I started making a dungeon crawler type of game. 28 hours into the compo, I accidentally used a glRotate instead of a glTranslate. I thought the result looked cool and ended up making a racing game on a ring shaped track. I would never have had that idea without that happy accident.
LD #5 first prototype and final game
Get rid of the placeholder graphics
Nothing kills motivation like a game about rectangles colliding with triangles. Placeholders have their use but for the magic to happen, to feel like you’re really making a game you need graphics sooner than later.
Sometimes I like to start with a bunch of generic graphics that I will be able to use no matter what my game ends up being. You don’t need perfectly polished graphics, avoid that at all cost. You just get diminished returns quickly but you need enough for it to feel like a game. Then if you have extra time at the end (that won’t happen) you can go back and improve them. The main character, if that concept applies to your game, is vital. If you have it, everything else can be placeholders. At least, you’ll have some life on the screen.
Don’t sleep all day
Yes, you need sleep. The competition is 48 hours long so don’t even think about not sleeping. But be careful about turning off the alarm clock. It’s easy to sleep too much which not only wastes productive time that you will regret not having near the end of the 48 hours, but it can also make you sleepy and unproductive. Personally I think sleeping about 6-7 hours a night is best during the LD but you may be fine with less or need more.
Just don’t be lazy. You’re going to regret any time you waste on other things. For the weekend, make your game your absolute priority. You can watch your favorite tv series the next week but you’ll regret a long time not being able to add that one thing that would have made your game so much better.
Have fun!
In the end, win or lose, it’s just a game! The important thing is to enjoy the Ludum Dare and doing something you wouldn’t do normally: create a whole game in a weekend!
Quick update on my miniLD 28 entry, it’s gradually progressing…
You can play the Work In Progress Version on Kongregate
Tags: unity
I will be using Flashdevelop, Flashpunk, SFXr and Photo Impact 10.
Tags: flashdevelop
