Hello Everyone!

I have finally decided to participate in the competition and what better way to start than to write the famous “I’m in” post. I am pretty excited about it and hope to learn a lot from the experience. I don’t know if I’ll be busy during the weekend so my main objective is to finish something that is playable, with some luck it’ll also be fun.

My tools:

• Construct2
• Paint.Net
• GraphicsGale
• SFXR
• Audacity
• Tea, tea, more tea, some snacks and whatever there is in the cafeteria

I’m a bit nervous about the theme but I guess everyone else feels like me, there’s nothing we can do about but wait and hope for the best .

After reading some survival guides and tips I’ve made my own list with some important notes that I believe are easy to forget:

• Don’t panic after the theme is revealed
• Aim low
• Remember to take breaks, specially between finding out the theme and starting the actual work
• It’s all about having fun

I guess that’s all for now, good luck to everyone! Can’t wait to see what people make for #LD26.

Ludipe

My blog (Spanish)

I don’t know if I’ll have time tomorrow to check everything is working for the last time so I prepared my desk today and here is the result:

I hope not to suffer from overheating issues during LD

I’m ready to go, just need the theme ( by the way, vote “death is good”, I really like it :P)

Good luck to everyone!

Tags: deskphoto

I am completely exhausted after day 1. As I don’t have any kind of previous experience I didn’t want to waste time posting every progress but I guess a short update before going to bed won’t hurt. I spent almost the whole day with the basic graphics and game mechanics, I could finish just 5 levels so tomorrow is gonna be all about level designing.

It’s hard to explain the game writing or using a screenshot (besides, I really want to get some sleep :)) so I guess I’ll have to wait another day to get your feedback.

Good night,good luck and happy Ludum Dare!

(some media)

This is the main character

I have no energy left in my body so “Done” is all I can say. Check my entry, hope you like it and I’ll write something else tomorrow.

Good Night!

Game

Ludum Dare entry

This is the postmortem of my first LD entry, “Exit”. I worked a lot on the game and the result wasn’t as bad as I expected so let’s see what went right and what didn’t.

What went right:

• I finished the game
• I had time to do enough stages
• The animated background was a good idea and makes the game nicer
• Plenty of planification before starting
• I took breaks that allowed me to work more focused, not more than the necessary, I didn’t loose much time
• The “thing” that talks to you through the game, it was going to be a different thing and ended up being a jerk that makes the game better
• Level design, I was afraid of not being able to come up with ideas to create the levels but I was inspired
• Friends support, raising my morale and giving me realtime feedback

What went wrong:

• I panicked a bit in the last hours
• No music
• I’m not very happy with the block graphics
• Some collisions and minor bugs
• I forgot a bit about the theme as I had new ideas
• I feel like I should have been more creative
• Maybe a simpler idea could have been better
• Some problems that made me spend time and end up with a messy source

Tags: postmortem

It’s been more than a week since Ludum Dare ended (at least the “making a game” part) and though I made a postmortem I’ve decided to do it again. Quick reminder, English is not my native language and I’m translating and adapting a text I previously wrote in Spanish for my personal blog.

This is an auto-review, I tried to be fair and honest.

First of all, I must say I’m not happy at all with my game, in fact I haven’t opened it since I finished. This is the kind of things you shouldn’t say about your project, you should be encouraging people to play it and give it a high rating instead of saying that you don’t really believe in your own game; the thing is that I care more about having fun and learning that I do about obtaining a better rating.
I’m very proud of participating on my first Ludum Dare and finishing in time, it was quite hard, but I feel like I didn’t accomplish my basic objectives.

I really like to ponder about game designing theory, I keep track of every speech Jonathan Blow and other people like him post on Youtube, I find them very inspiring and interesting, I also think they are a must-watch for developers because they try to make you think out of the box and create things that matter. I wanted to achieve something with my entry and I ended up with a couple of half-baked ideas glued together; I don’t know if I wasn’t ready, it was the pressure or what, it doesn’t really matter, but my idea and planning had many mistakes from the beginning.

When I try to analyze my own game what I do is breaking it into parts. The graphics are just acceptable (taking into account that the theme was minimalism), the music is unexisting and the only sound you hear is when you jump and when you discover a new block (which is kind of irritating after a while). So, what we have left are the gameplay/core mechanics and how you affect the player.

• The core mechanic is pretty simple. The stage is invisible and you have to discover it walking from one corner to the other. Ok, it’s a bit original, but nothing great. It’s a totally unfair system without any type of challenge. You are given two paths, you don’t know which is the right one, the one that looks shorter is probably going to be blocked, sometimes the developer will block the long path so you don’t always skip the short one; but that’s all, choose one randomly and if it doesn’t work go back and choose the other. That mechanic is OK for one level, it gets boring with many levels and it makes no sense to use it on a full game. This is the kind of things I wish I had realized before.
• In the game there is also a “being” who writes messages, in the beginning it was gonna be something that gave the player inspiring messages about life and tried to encourage the player, it turned itself into a jerk who messes with the player, I think that was a good decision. It’s kind of funny, makes a few jokes and hopefully made someone smile while playing the game. But then again it’s a half-baked idea of unclear purpose and glued to the rest of the game.

I’ve failed to communicate with the player and make the experience worthy, maybe because I wasn’t sure about what I wanted to express. My entry is kind of soulless and distanced from the original theme. I spent a lot of time trying to design new levels thinking that it was gonna fix it without realizing that it wasn’t the solution. Some friends told me that they wanted me to keep on developing the game and making new levels because they enjoyed the current version, but I don’t think I could, maybe I’m being a bit tough but I really think I’m just being realistic and honest.

The fact that I kind of hate my entry doesn’t mean I’m giving up, probably it’s the opposite, I’m more motivated to keep making games. I already started a new project, nothing big right now, I just have some basic graphics (I’m keeping the guy I designed for the compo) and some pages full of ideas, I’ll see where it takes me.

This is what I’m working on right now

My friends liked my entry, I’m really glad they had a good time with it because I worked hard but I want to make something I can be proud of. I won’t be participating on the next Ludum Dare ( exams ) but I won’t miss the one after that. I had a lot of fun participating and I think I learnt a few things. Thank everyone for this!

Personal Blog (Spanish)

Twitter

Entry

Tags: postmortem

I really want to participate on this Ludum Dare, the problem is that I’m very busy during the weekend, so my plan is to design a very simple game and then create it in 2-3 hours, it’s gonna be a true challenge.

I’ll be using construct2 and paint net. Click here to see my previous (and first) LD entry.

We’ll see if I’m able to come up with something decent with just a few hours.

Good luck everyone!

I had a previous idea but it was quite boring. After thinking for a while I openned a notebook where I write down ideas. There was one based on Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey”. I dumped it for being too shallow, but combining it with a “10 seconds” mechanic makes sense. And what’s more important, I think it’s a simple idea, I’m busy and my entry is going to be really fast-made.

It’s gonna be a rotary platformer where you must complete the parts of the hero’s journey pretty fast, once you finish you’ll be right where you started so you’ll have to complete it several times (just like in real life). I’ll add some randomization and see what happens.

So my idea is simple and educational,let’s see if I can make it happen.

Let’s be clear, this is how everyone feels when they submit their entry:

I’ve finished my second Ludum Dare and I couldn’t be happier, this time I had less than 8 hours to work on my project but I was able to finish in time; guess I’m finally learning to develop simple ideas (though I still have work to do regarding this).

I’ll write a postmortem tomorrow or in a couple of days, but not today. Now it’s time to relax, check other entries and play some games.

If you’d like to play my game click here.

It’s about time to write my Postmortem. Some users prefer to write only a list of what went right and what went wrong, I also do that but I like to add a reflection about the experience and what it means to me (the kind of thing you had to do for papers in school).

My game is called “The hero’s Journey (or get the treasure and run!)”. It was made to introduce Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth to some people. It’s a rotary platformer where you must repeat the “cycle of the Hero” a few times. It’s a metaphor of how you go through a challenge, come back from it and you keep repeating the process again and again, because that’s what we do everyday.

Let’s start with the traditional right/wrong list.

What went right:

• I had less than 8 hours and managed to finish, I could have used a few more hours to fix the issues but that’s ok.
• Some of the mechanics I used were completely new to me and I was able to implement them easily.
• Added detailed instructions
• 3 game modes

What went wrong:

• Collision system, the thing everyone complains about. It’s easy to die not because it’s hard but because there are many unfair deaths due to crappy collisions, my bad.
• Music and sounds. I really need to improve this field for the next edition. Music is almost random and there are no sounds, I made the assets but in the last moment decided not to include them because I found them too annoying (don’t ask me why). It was a mistake, they gave feedback to the player when performing actions and that’s necessary.

How I felt during Ludum Dare #27

First of all I spent more time on twitter than the first time (always keeping in mind that I couldn’t waste time).  I sent a couple of tweets to the developers I kept in touch with last time; it felt like revisiting some old friends. I also got to know more developers ,and even when everyone is in a different part of the world, and working on a different project, you feel like you’re working together, showing the others what you are doing and giving feedback.

Another good thing of being more social is that you get inspired by other’s people work.  It’s not like going to devianART and searching for random stuff, you are also creating something, being part of the process at your own level and the experience is more valuable.

And finally there’s panic time, it usually comes during the last hours, you feel your work is pointless and think about quitting. You must work really hard and  give the best of you to succeed, once it’s over it feels great; it’s a huge moral/confidence booster.

This has been my second Ludum Dare, I’ve been in some other jams but this is the one that I like the most. I always learn a lot in just 48 hours and it helps me maturing as a game developer. Ludum Dare makes me love game designing and being part of this community of developers.

So that’s all I had to say, I can’t wait to check the entries, there’s too much I want to play. Thanks to the jam creators and to everyone who participated.

click here to check my entry

P.D.: I’m seriously considering organizing a real world gathering in Madrid for the next edition, all I need is a group of interested local developers.

So, I’m here once again to carry on with the sacred tradition of the “I’m in” post. This is going to be my third Ludum Dare but my first Jam, I’ll take care of coding and drawing as usual but this time I’ll be using someone else’s music; I value music a lot but I’m unable to compose anything.

I’m gonna use Construct2 or Gamemaker and Paint.net, I might try to use Qubicle, depending on the game.

Christmas is coming, that means I’ll be spending some time in my hometown with old friends; I still have to see the theme but I’d like to design a local multiplayer game, something we could play together, that’d be nice. If not I might end up doing some kind of abstract puzzle, I like those.

Got some snacks and an insane amount of tea, I guess I’m ready to begin.

Let’s see what kind of awesome stuff we get to do this time, good luck everyone!

Blog

Twitter

P.D.: I’m just going to play “A link to the past” until LD begins 😛

It’s being a busy day…

Brainstorming was hard this time, I’ll admit that my game isn’t very related to the theme right now but we’ll keep working on that. I had an idea that I wanted to do and went for it.

It’s inspired on “Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime”, that’s no secret. I watched the trailer a few months ago and I really liked the concept, I haven’t seen any gameplay yet and I don’t want to, I’m just developing the idea as I would like that game did. Maybe they’ll end up being pretty similar or they’ll take different roads, who knows.

It was going to be just me, but @aquilicoco joined to take care of the graphics and we’ll be using @franklinwebber ‘s music.

Right now we’re still using placeholders but the main mechanics work, even coop!

I like the idea, it’s the kind of concept that I wouldn’t mind expanding, I’m having fun developing it and I think people will have fun playing it, that’s what matters.

We discussed many settings, from space to medieval, pirates and some crazy stuff. In the end it’s going to be about superheroes.

Now it’s time to have a shower, order pizza, meet some friends and disconnect for a while before working a couple of hours more.

Follow us on twitter to stay tune!

Aquilicoco (art)

Franklin Webber (music)

Ludipe (design & code)

Hi!

I’m here to introduce the game we made during the jam. We had a hard time and couln’t add all what we wanted but, hey, it’s playable, it has a tutorial, a singleplayer mode, a coop mode(which is also fun for one player) and you can edit the rules to do crazy stuff!

Check it out

A super villain is trying to take over the world and a sidekick is the only one who can get in his way. But you are trapped in your lair and your nemesis is throwing fireballs at you. The worst part is that you only get one shield to deflect his attacks while you try to save the day. Being a hero(or a sidekick) is never easy.

Code & Design: @Ludipe   |   Art: @aquilicoco   |   Music: @franklinwebber

5 days have passed since we submitted our Ludum Dare #28 entry, better known as “The sidekicks”. Now it’s time to sit back, relax and do some thinking about the jam, what we did and what we learnt.

This time I was going for the jam instead of the compo(first time for me). I find myself completely unable to compose even a basic loop, but at the same time I value this aspect quite a lot and pay a lot of attention to soundtracks in games. So I teamed up with @franklinwebber to use some of his tracks.

Let’s talk about the first day, I got up early, checked the theme, had a hot shower and made some tea, nothing odd for a jam. I began with the brainstorming, but my mind went blank(more than the usual); I came up with a few ways I could use the theme, “You only get one earth/life/bullet/chance/button”, none of them felt right. So I started thinking less about how to use the theme and more about what I felt like doing.

I remembered “lovers in a dangerous spacetime”, an upcoming indie game which looks pretty neat. I haven’t seen any actual gameplay, just the trailer they released some months ago. But just from watching that trailer my mind imagined the gameplay I thought it should have. I went for it, I’d care about the theme later. I pondered about some mechanics for an hour and started prototyping.

I posted my first working stuff on twitter(still using placeholders) and got a message from @aquilicoco, another spanish developer I met during my first Ludum Dare; he happens to be a great pixel artist. We worked together for the GBJAM and that didn’t go out too well. He proposed me to join forces once again and I agreed.

timelapse

We worked very hard for 72 houras, though a great mistake was focusing too hard on coding and art rather than spending more time designing the concept itself. There’s not really that much to say about the development, we worked a lot and we worked hard. We wanted to achieve many things and there wasn’t enough time, so we ended up with just a few hours left, no tutorial and no real gameplay. We had the coop mode with the ship working and everything, but there wasn’t really anything else to do. So I coded the fireballs that appear in the game and made a tutorial, I didn’t have time to balance the difficulty so I thought of a cool feature that would allow people to create their own rules and customize the experience from the settings menu. Unfortunately, a lot of players are missing this two things, which are some of the best stuff our game can offer right now.

Here’s a message to the players: “Every time you skip the setting menu and say that the game is very easy you’re making me sad   You can say that the game isn’t fun and that’s not well-designed, but you can set it to be as hard as you want”

The other great issue was music, the composer had a lot of amazing tracks and composed a few more but I had some tech issues and could only use one.

We submitted the entry and wondered if we should work on a post-jam version. I wanted a lot of feedback from the players so I uploaded another version to Gamejolt and waited for the comments. People are having fun, lots of them are missing the settings menu and the tutorial and some players saw the same design flaws I saw. I wanted more feedback and opinions and we sent the game to some indie websites that chose to feature others games instead of ours.

If we end up making a post-jam version the gameplay will change drastically, we’ll keep the main ideas(the managment of the ship) but we might borrow some ideas from FTL or from some other games. I’d like to make it a fast-paced game keeping the focus on the multiplayer mode. Maybe add some kind of campaign and ship customization or turn it into an arena-based game where you have to defeat the enemy ship.

I’ve got some thinking to do but people seem to enjoy the game and we have amazing graphics and art. I’m likely to make a post jam-version after going trough the design issues. But first I want to see our final Ludum Dare rating and some more feedback. Then I’ll decide if I should upgrade it or go for a new project.

Links:

Entry

Art

Music

Myself

Hi everyone!

I’m really busy during the weekend but I couldn’t miss the Ludum Dare Event. This is going to be my forth time, but I’m as excited as the first time.

Ludum Dare made me take that step from planning big games that I never showed to anybody to actually making stuff and having fun doing it. It motivated me to try out new things, be part of the community and to publish my first games.

These events always lift my spirit, even if you can’t go to a real world gathering, browsing tweets, giving people feedback and showing what you are doing is simply awesome; it’s an experience nobody should miss.

I’ll see you around 😀

Happy jamming to all of you!

@Ludipe

Previous entries:

The Sidekicks

The Hero’s Journey

Exit

I’m currently developing “Missing translation“, on Saturday I have to attend another event to give away flyers and promote it.

Tools: Construct 2, Paint.Net

Nothing fancy but it’s enough. I’m ready for Ludum Dare, but I don’t have much time, so I’ll be using open game art

Tags: deskphoto, ld29, workspace

This time I had little time to make a game so I decided to go for the jam. I used open game art since coordinating with a team would have taken more time.

When the jam started I asked myself:”What do I want to do?” I love making artsy games during jams, developing a fun arcade game was another good choice, but lately I’ve been playing great games like “Towerfall”, “Nidhogg” or “Samurai Gunn” and I wanted to create something I would play with my friends. I tried to do something similar during last jam but it was too ambitious and the multiplayer wasn’t really that fun.

I mixed capture the flag and super mario to make “Doors and Secrets”, I think that even if it’s a fast prototype it can be pretty fun when played with a friend. Without further delay … let’s start with what went right and what went wrong.

What went right:

-Camera: It may need some tweaks for specific situations but it’s great I decided to spend some time working on it instead of using a fixed one.

-Open Game Art: I love making games as part of a team, sadly I always have to work online because I can’t find local devs. Writing emails and explaining what I want takes a lot of time, even with modern technology; as I had little time I used open game art and music from newgrounds, that went pretty good.

-Polished: There may be some bugs, but it’s pretty solid and I spent a good amount of time polishing some little details, they might not seem that important but the game wouldn’t be the same without them.

What went wrong:

-Level Design: I designed the levels in almost no time, it’s a hard process of trial and error that I couldn’t afford. I know that one classic Ludum Dare advice is not to depend on level design, but I wanted to make this type of game so I knew where I was getting in from the beginning.

-Testing: I tested the game to find bugs but it would have been incredibly helpful to have more people around me for the last hours to tweak the gameplay in order to make the game more fun.

-Time and energy: Some personal stuff took a lot of time and energy. I submitted 3 hours early because, even if I could use the time left to re-design the levels, I couldn’t go on and I was starving. I ordered a lot of chinese food, ate it, fell asleep immediately and woke up 10 hours later.

After this “adventure” I think I’ll make an artsy game for my next Jam. You can try “Doors & Secrets” here, grab a friend and have fun!

Tags: postmortem

I thought it could be a cool idea to create a “social network simulator”. I had tons of ideas and possible features, but I only have a few free hours during the weekend, so I had to cut it down to a basic project. I could either make something about chatting with others with serious narrative … or I could do something silly just for fun 😛

So I’m making a game with little interaction and no specific goals, just something quick to have fun. I’m still working on the code, but I made a prototype with a working activity feed. I’d like to add a bunch of real or fictional characters with randomized messages. I’m open to suggestions, who would you like to see on bookface?(name not final).

Twitter

Long story short, I’m making a silly game where a social network is simulated. Previous posts ( 1 | 2 ).

I’m done with adding characters, I’ll try to implement new features before submitting.

Final roster:

-Obama

-Phil Fish

-Grumpy Cat

-Pikachu

-Justin Bieber

-Morgan Freeman

-Spiderman

-Kim Jong Un

-Plato

-Pedobear

That’s all for now, I’m gonna grab something to eat. Twitter account.