Obligatory “I’m in” post.

Language: JavaScript
Framework: Phaser
Technology: HTML5 Canvas
Sound: bfxr
Graphics: Gimp

Here’s what I have so far, still nameless as of yet:

Mechanics are implemented as I think they work best; playing around with them in this test level over the last four hours or so has allowed me to work out any defects and improve the general feel of gameplay.

The remaining, parts I’d like to get done, in order of priority:

1. Create fun, interesting levels (hopefully with some interestingly challenging puzzle elements)
2. Update graphics slightly (that doorway is hideous, I don’t know what I was thinking)
3. Create Music (sound is already taken care of)
4. Create Title Screen
5. Create Ending Screen
6. Create Splash Screen

We’ll see how it goes.

I’ve posted my postmortem for this Dare.

click here to read it.

I’m getting so excited!  Can’t wait to see what the potential themes are going to be.

I’ll be using the nearly the same technology I used last time, with a few choice changes:

• Html 5 Canvas / Javascript using the awesome Phaser framework
• Going to attempt to use the Pickle free trial for art.  If I like it, I’ll buy a license.  If I don’t like it, I’ll fall back to the trusted Gimp.
• Might try Pitzik4’s GoTile for tileset generation
• The incredibly Free Abundant-Music for random music generation
• The equally incredibly free BFXR for random game sound generation
• Sublime Text 2 for code editing.  Perfect lightweight code editor.
• GitHub for source control management
• My own website to host the finished product
• Chronolapse for time lapse capture.  Last LD I tried to stream my work, but I quickly discovered my internet connection just isn’t strong enough to stream at any decent quality.  So, instead, I’m going to capture my process via time lapse.

At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to like the idea I was going along with, but so far so good.  Animation looks a bit wonky yet, but I think it’s half-decent for my lack of animation skills.  For now, time to get some sleep!

next step: collision detection and health systems!

Please don’t shoot me, Mr. Red Guy

Ouch!

Gotta watch the scope creep, but there’s always a few good ideas that hit you near the end of the compo.  For me, the ability to partially cloak when crouched.  And just like in that Monty Python Skit… it only works until you stand up.  Also, death animations!

Welp, back to level design.

Hello everyone,

I’m in for Ludum Dare 30!  I’ve got the weekend free and I’m super pumped!  My technologies of choice will be as follows:

• Html 5 Canvas / Javascript using the awesome Phaser framework as always.
• The trusted Gimp for art.  I tried Pickle editor last time, and though it got the job done, I wasn’t impressed with its features.
• I’m going to try Spriter for animation.  It looks like it will help me create some awesome animations, far greater than I could draw by hand at least.
• Might try Pitzik4’s GoTile for tileset generation
• Going to try to make my own music this time around using Rxi’s Blipseq, but if that doesn’t work out I’ll use the incredibly Free Abundant-Music for random music generation.
• The equally incredibly free BFXR for random game sound generation
• Sublime Text 2 for code editing.  Perfect lightweight code editor.
• GitHub for source control management
• My own website to host the finished product
• Chronolapse for time lapse capture.  I really liked the finished time lapse that came from using this program last time, so I’ll definitely be using it again.

Woohoo!  I spent some time setting up my environment ( which can be found here, for anyone interested).  I spruced up my usual site wrapper a little bit and made the game size a little wider.

I also spent some time in Spriter attempting to animate a sprite.  Boy, I have most definitely been missing out!  In not 15 minutes I had created a very simple running penguin animation:

It’s certainly not perfect but it’s better than anything I could have created for sure!  All in all, it’s 12 frames of animation.  That’s insane!  I’m used to making walking cycles that are 4-6 frames because it’s too expensive to do any more than that during the weekend.  This program should really help me to make something cool!

Good luck to everyone, and here’s to a great weekend!

After a solid 4 hours, I’ve finally got the simplest mechanic of my game working.  It’s mostly my fault, since I tried to do things in a way more complicated manner than I should have, when in reality, the easy solution was right before me.

Anyway, have a GIF.

This weekend has been sneaking up on me for a while and I’ve been unsure whether or not I’d be participating.  The weekend, as I suspected, filled up pretty fast and I decided today I won’t be participating this time.

Even so, best of luck to everyone and I look forward to playing some awesome games next week!

Hello everyone,

Looks like it’s time to tackle the old Ludum Dare beast once again.  I couldn’t participate last time, but I’ve made sure to set aside the weekend this time and I’m really looking forward the 48-hour rush!

My hope for a theme this time is something that would suit a tycoon-type game or a simple turn-based RPG.  I really want to push myself to make one or the other within the constraints of the compo!

• Html 5 Canvas / Javascript, of course using the amazing Phaser framework!
• The trusted Gimp for art.  I haven’t found anything more reliable, and I’ve been learning more about how to use it properly lately!
• Spriter for animation, if required.  I really enjoyed using it during LD30 and I love how it makes it easy to create fluid animations with simple motion tweens.  The only problem with it is it doesn’t help at all for pixel-art animations.
• Again, I really want to try to make some custom music.  This time I’ll be looking into LMMS, but if that doesn’t work out I’ll use the incredibly free Abundant-Music for random music generation.
• The equally incredibly free BFXR for random game sound generation, if required!
• Sublime Text 3 for code editing.  Perfect lightweight code editor.
• GitHub for source control management.
• My own website to host the finished product.
• Chronolapse for time lapse capture. It’s always awesome to look back at that time lapse and see just where my time went through the weekend.

Best of luck to everyone participating in this exciting new Ludum Dare, and I look forward to playing all of your games after it’s complete!

~Cudabear

Just spent the last three hours implementing Boid’s algorithm into my game.  The penguin soldiers try to avoid the enemies and simultaneously try to get closer together.

Enemies will have very similar pathfinding.

Have a gif!

Hello everyone,

As always, I’m really looking forward to the next Ludum Dare!  Nothing to get the good ol’ inspiration flowing than a hectic weekend of hacking to throw together some awesome games.

That said, I do have some focuses this weekend.  Ideally, I’d like to focus more on polish and less on complex gameplay.  It seems I always bite off more than I can chew!  I want to make something simple, stylized, and strong this time around.  These will be my tools of the trade:

• Html 5 Canvas / Javascript, using the Phaser framework.  It’s my go-to for any game development, now.
• As always, Gimp for art.  I keep wanting to get away from this beast but then I keep becoming more dependent on it.  Maybe one day I’ll branch out, but for now, if it’s not broken, why fix it?
• Spriter may be used if I decide to do something that’s not pixel art.  I like how it makes fluid animation easy, but the trade off is it’s not all that useful for pixel art styles where sprites change greatly between frames.
• One of the only things that went well for me last time was making my own custom song to fit the game!  I’ll be using LMMS again, but Abundant-Music will be my random music generation backup.
• BFXR for random game sound generation.  Can’t go wrong with some bleeps and bloops!
• Sublime Text 3 for code editing.  I’m lost without it.
• GitHub for source control management.  This time around, I’ll be using a Ludum Dare template I created for use with Phaser.  To be in line with the rules, I’ve hosted it here.  Feel free to use it, if you wish!  It contains a rudimentary state management system and a preloader.  Just change the images around to whatever suits you.
• My own website to host the finished product.
• Chronolapse for time lapse capture. Nothing more satisfying than analyzing how the weekend went by watching a condensed video of it all happening over again.

Thanks for reading!  I’m really looking forward to seeing what everyone creates this time around.  Hopefully, unlike last time, I’ll put more effort towards playing and rating everyone’s games.  Until then!

~Cudabear

Hi all, I’ve posted the postmortem for my game, Patient Zer0.

Click to read!

Hello everyone,

I’m in for my 6th time!  I’ve got a couple new fancy tools I’d like to try out this time around, so we’ll see how it goes.  For the most part, my toolset hasn’t changed, but here’s a rundown:

• Html 5 Canvas / Javascript, using the Phaser framework.  I’ve also made a custom plugin for it since the last dare, PhaserIlluminated.  It’s a 2D lighting engine for Phaser as it lacks the support for it.  Hopefully I can put it to good use!
• As always, Gimp for art.  Tried and true.
• Spriter may be used if I decide to do something that’s not pixel art.  I like how it makes fluid animation easy, but the trade off is it’s not all that useful for pixel art styles where sprites change greatly between frames.
• I’ve really been enjoying learning about music creation and making a few of my own songs.  So to continue growing in this area, I will be making another custom soundtrack this time around, using Bosca Ceoil, a simple music creation app created by Terry Cavanagh.
• BFXR for random game sound generation.  Bleep bloop, bleep bloop!
• Sublime Text 3 for code editing.  The text editor is mightier than the IDE.
• GitHub for source control management, using a Ludum Dare template I created for use with Phaser.  To be in line with the rules, I’ve hosted it here.  Feel free to use it, if you wish!  It contains a rudimentary state management system and a preloader.  Just change the images around to whatever suits you.  I’ve also added support for logging Google events!  I hope to get some useful information about how people are playing my game in the weeks following the dare.
• My own website to host the finished product.  Now completely redesigned!
• Chronolapse for time lapse capture. Nothing more satisfying than analyzing how the weekend went by watching a condensed video of it all happening over again.

Thanks for reading!  Good luck to everyone and I hope everyone has a great time during the dare!

~Cudabear

Perhaps a bit late for the actual 12 hour mark, but hey, I’ve got most of a game in place now, so that’s cool:

A cat who can’t jump and loves butterflies.  Sad story, isn’t it?  That’s okay, there’s plenty of plants in the forest that will help you chase ’em down.

Click to play!

Hey, everyone!

One thing I tried this Dare was to log information about how people were playing our game, Flutter, and where people were dropping off.  Now that we’ve had time to collect a good amount of data, I’ve written an article about it.  Check it out by clicking here.

Click! You know you love Graphs!