Hi all. I've actually done LD a few times now, but I sadly couldn't get my old account's name changed as I needed, so I made a new one instead. I'm excited to get reacquainted with the community and make some games for the event's last hurrah(s), though!
Hey everyone! I'm unsure if my first post got eaten because my account is so new or if something just went wrong, but just in case, I'll say hi here again! I've done this jam a few times, but I'm starting fresh with a new account.
Here's my reasoning for all of my picks, just for fun:
No text in the entire game: Interesting, but more of a restriction than a theme. Will probably not bother making an entry if this one wins.
Protect: I could see some cool gameplay mechanics emerging from this one, but it's a bit generic. It gives me a few ideas, but I'm just uninspired by it.
Voyage: Feels way too vast in scope for such a short jam. I think a lot of the entries would be over-scoped.
Transformation: I'm squinting at this one after hanging around too many furries. Really, though, I just don't feel like it lends itself meaningfully to unique gameplay mechanics. It's not completely boring or unusable, but it's more of an aesthetic theme than anything, which I don't like for super short jams.
Signal: I guess there are multiple ways to interpret this one, (signal from your crush, signal from a beacon) but I just don't really like any of them. It feels vague, but in a way that would somehow be harder to work with than something like "Protect."
Wrong character for this game: I think this could lead to some cool genre mashups. There's a clear gameplay idea without being too restrictive; whatever two genres you want to combine could be combined, or you could choose to interpret it in an entirely different way e.g. in a purely narrative sense. It's a cool idea.
Side effects: I think this would lead to a lot of one type of game I don't want to play much of. (Upgrade system that causes problems for you as you use it.) Still, it is a bit more gameplay-focused, and I can think of ways to subvert it. I just feel it would be an uphill battle for a lot of devs.
Limited Movement: Probably one of my least favorite gameplay mechanics, and a bit overused as a jam theme.
Deja vu: There are a few gameplay ideas I could garner from this, but none of them are really something I want to code for or see 100 times in the jam. Like with "side effects," I feel like there would be a lot of repetition in the game mechanics.
Orbit: Could lead to some cool ideas. It just didn't speak to me, and it feels a little more aesthetic-focused than gameplay-focused.
You are the environment: Gameplay-centric, but a little too restrictive for my taste.
Illusion: Again, very aesthetic-focused and vague. I can't see a lot of interesting gameplay mechanics with this actually baked into them.
Parasite: Yeah, it's got some of the problems I had with other themes on the surface, but I think this one is cool. It lends itself reasonably well to shaping actual gameplay mechanics without feeling too restrictive or like one style of game is being pushed.
You are not supposed to be here: Kind of "Wrong character for this game" with less focus and intrigue.
Vessel: A little too obviously-Deltarune-focused. I just don't see how this would lend itself smoothly to a lot of unique games.
Hidden spaces: I feel like this would produce a lot of games I don't wanna play, and it would lend itself too much to overscoping.
Strange machines: Lends to aesthetic over gameplay.
Dungeon: Would lend itself to overscoping, and is an aesthetic/setting rather than a theme.
Am I too critical??? Maybe!
Haven't made a post about my entry yet, but it's a fairly small experience you can play in browser. I'm only at 11 ratings right now, so I'd love if I could get a little boost before the voting ends.
