Post-mortem : The Wandering Treant
Like many others, this was the first miniLD/game jam I’ve participated in, although I had thought about joining one before. This time though, I didn’t even know there was a miniLD going on : I just jumped in friday at about 3:00 pm when I read about it and started planning out what would be my future game. In a way, I think it was more motivating to simply jump in and do it without thinking about it too much.
The Wandering Treant is a 2D sidescroller in which you, the treant, must find the nutrients you need to survive in a polluted forest. But beware, for you will make a tasty snack for the many beavers lurking around. Rumor also has it that lumberjacks are on the lookout for firewood and that they watch for unusual animal behaviour to find your trail. I might have put a little bit of my canadian heritage in it.
In short, it is a 2D sidescrolling puzzle game. You need to get to the “win zone” and set your roots there (to absorb the nutrients) while avoiding beavers and lumberjacks (or at least prevent them from chopping you down).
If any of you are interested, you can check it out here :
http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/minild-49/?action=preview&uid=33174
If you do try it out, I would like to know what you think about the (few) levels I’ve made !
Dat axe.
The game technically only features three levels (the first one serves only to show you one of the mechanics). I’ve spent hours (basically all of Sunday) designing levels that weren’t too simple, some of which I’ve had to scrap in the end because they never worked the way I wanted them to. Silly physics ! However, I’m still pretty happy about both the result and the competition itself. It was a great learning experience. It was humbling and fun. And I still feel motivated, even after the competition. Too bad I have a weekend of homework to catch up to 😛
Until next time !
