Well, it’s been long overdue, but I am finally posting my reaction and conclusions from my first Ludum Dare competition in the Ludum Dare #27. I did recently also complete a submission for the 7DRTS, but it was nothing like this in terms of time restraints, so I consider it child’s play (pun intended; laugh at your leisure) compared to this competition.
To remind everyone, I created a game known as “Hot Dawg Dash” for the competition. The goal of the game is to eat as many hot dogs as you can in 10 seconds time (hence the theme). The game would record your 10 second record during the course of gameplay, which would allow you to know what score to beat in the next 10 seconds. Some strategy was involved in the course of gameplay, which involved not choking as much by drinking water (eating hot dogs is impossible if you can’t even breathe, which seems logical enough).
(If you want to chance to play it, go to http://www.kongregate.com/games/brgarnet17/hot-dawg-dash)
To the left are my ratings for the competition. I was pleasantly surprised by the humor and theme rating (especially since I did not even expect that high of a ranking in any area), but there is definitely room for improvement in the future.
The only thing that puzzled me about the ratings is my fun score. I thought it might be higher, but it may be a result of my mechanic being so short in duration (since 10 seconds is not a long time for the completion of a game).
Overall, I did some things in my design and process that I was really proud of, and other things that definitely need work. Without further adieu, the pros and cons .
Pros:
- Completed the game. This by far was the top goal of the competition. I had done other design projects before, but most of them I did not finish. I am glad to say that this was one of the exceptions to the rule.
- Fun game mechanic. The mechanic of the game, though simple, was driven by the fun I found in the idea of having a game centered around a hot dog eating contest. Not only that, but I did manage to add a little strategy in the gameplay as well, mainly through the use of the water.
- Small scope. The projects I did not finish in the past in other competitions or assignments was due to the problem of big scope in the design. For the sake of this competition, I decided early to have a small scope in relation to the actual experience I have had in accelerated game programming, while is small but growing at this point. This decision, in the end, made it possible for me to finish the project on time and entertain a few people along the way.
Cons:
- Little digital art experience. Though the gameplay was decently fun to be involved in, the art and animation of the game could have been more engaging and entertaining. This flaw in the design was due to my failure to find artistic direction and experience from either myself or anyone else. For the next jam, I probably need to find someone else to do the artistic side of the design process.
- Needed longer sprints. To pace myself, I would take programming and design sprints in order to remain fresh in those periods of time. Though this was good, the sprints during the design of this game were not long enough and the periods of time between these sprints became too long. Hopefully, this mistake will be avoided next time due to this experience.
- Short duration of mechanic. During the design process, I decided to do a 10 second sprint of eating hot dogs. This mode of play, though fun, is very short and proves to bore the player after a long period of time with only 10 seconds to create a record. I hope to create another mode of play that will prove to engage the player for longer periods of time.
Future Plans for the Game:
This game, though not the best in the competition, does have potential with a little bit of polish and added game elements. I will continue to develop on this game for two reasons: the game’s potential and my learning process (second reason is the main one). For the time being, I will polish up the Kongregate version of this game. In the future, I may use this game to create an Arduino arcade cabinet for the sake of learning more computer systems and gaming technology.
Thanks for all of your support, and congratulations to all who finished!
