I just can't get over how adorable the player is. Also this GIF doesn't totally capture how satisfying it is to kill one of these robots (this GIF recording software sucks I don't know why the player looks like that)

Well, my game Armed Descent is done, and only 2 minutes to spare!

My first Ludum Dare entry ever, Armed Descent, can now be played out of the web browser! Come check it out; we're just 1 vote short of 20! https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/40/armed-descent

I'll check out your game too if you review, so drop your link down below and I'll give it a shot!

I've had a very large amount of people tell me my entry, Armed Descent (found here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/40/armed-descent) is too difficult. I agree I could probably have eased the difficulty a little bit; the gun's initial range is a little short, and the enemies bullets are small, fast, and don't expire until they hit a wall. I didn't get a whole lot of outside feedback while I was developing the game since I didn't really have the resources to do so. Personally, the game feels pretty easy to me, but that's only because I created it!

On the other hand, I've also had a lot of comments stating how the game is a perfect balance of difficulty; hard, but not out of the realm of possibility, which is exactly where I want to be. This is where I'm struggling a little bit. Is Armed Descent too difficult? If so, what changes can I make to it?

I want to be as accommodating to my audience as possible (while still adhering to the rules of Ludum Dare). The way I see it, I have two options:

• Make the entire game a little less difficult. Give the player a couple more bullets in some areas, make enemy projectiles a little slower, put some more ammo pickups in some areas, etc.
• Add a new difficulty mode to the game, making the game a little easier. Make the first difficulty mode "normal", where all enemy stats and such are unchanged, but make the second difficult mode more forgiving.

I don't know if that second option violates any rules. If it does, then obviously that one's out. I'm not really sure what to do; could I get some input? Play my game (available on HTML5 and Windows), or if you already have, I'd really like to know your opinion!

I'm currently working on a little project: a level editor for my game Armed Descent!

Do you ever think to yourself while you play, "Wow, Acr515 really sucks at making these levels. I could do so much better!"? Well, now's your opportunity to build and play your own levels! When this is finished, I want to give players the ability to create strings of levels to play in one (much like the regular levels in the game), and I'd like to make a way to export the levels so people can play each others'!

There are so many games that still need your help to reach twenty ratings! Go lend them a hand!

shoutout to @themonsterfromthedeep and their game which can be found here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/40/defense-2150-bc

Thank you so much everybody for your feedback and criticisms of my game, Armed Descent! Considering this is my first Ludum Dare, I feel like I can't complain about how I did:

Overall: 255th (3.762 average from 44 ratings)

Fun: 74th (3.976 average from 44 ratings)

Innovation: 698th (3.037 average from 43 ratings)

Theme: 664th (3.326 average from 45 ratings)

Graphics: 581st (3.488 average from 44 ratings)

Audio: 273rd (3.538 average from 41 ratings)

Mood: 395th (3.5 average from 42 ratings)

Congratulations everybody on your games! I may continue to develop this if I have time to; I'm already working on a level editor for it. If other people get interested then I may see this through and finish it! Once again, thank you all!

My game, I Am Bird, is complete! Check it out here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/43/i-am-bird

Yo, I will review the first 4 games who comment on this post (as long as you have NOT reached 20+ reviews yet)

I Am Bird is now playable in your browser! Check it out and drop some feedback for it here!

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/43/i-am-bird

I'm gonna make this quick, but this is something I've given a lot of thought to over the past month. This doesn't reflect how I feel about how I did; I think I earned my rankings, considering the amount of work I put into my game.

I feel like many people fall victim to receiving garbage votes, or people who mull through the list of games and give completely random ratings to other games just to increase their standings on the Smart filter without having even played the games or giving them feedback. There was a point during the voting process where I had gotten maybe 5 or 6 ratings during a period of time and no feedback at all. As a developer, this is really demoralizing. How am I supposed to know what to do better next time? Why even participate if I have no clue how a large piece of my audience feels about my game?

I believe this shouldn't be allowed. While karma for feedback given seems to have more weight than sheer ratings themselves (I don't actually know this for sure, so if I'm wrong then feel free to correct me), it's still a lot easier to leave garbage votes on a game than to actually take the time to critique it and give it written feedback.

I think this can be prevented in a couple ways. One way could be to weight each vote left on a game. Ratings given by those who leave high-karma feedback would have more weight than votes cast by people who didn't write anything. There could be a way to not even count votes if the LD website recognizes the voter didn't even click on a download/play link. Another solution could be to require those who vote on games to leave feedback. Even if they just write some gibberish to get their vote to count, votes of this nature could easily be reported and taken down.

Any other thoughts, suggestions, or opinions?

I mean... what do you even make with this genre? This contradicts itself; if you make a violent genre nonviolent... it's not really a violent genre anymore. I really can't think of anything for this, and if it wins out, then I don't know what we'll really see that isn't just reskins of the same idea.

I'd be good with any of the other themes, but I'd have a really difficult time grappling with this one.

The Empty Cone is financially struggling. Serve your customers ice cream as fast as you can... with a dark twist. Can you keep your ice cream parlor alive?