So for my first Ludum Dare and first game that I'll actually complete, I decided to make a clone of the game Snake, but instead of your tail growing, the map shrinks! I know it's not super clever, but I wanted to start with something small and simple.

As much as I wanted Ludum Dare 42 to be my first one, I had an interview that I needed to prepare for that forced me to drop out. Hopefully the timing on this one is much better for me and there won't be a scheduling conflict, and might be able to actually participate.

My theme suggestions are: - Control anything but the protagonist - You are the final boss - Stay out of sight

I like Lua so I think I might use Love2d instead of unity2d like I originally planned. I don't know though. For sprites I'll probably use gimp and for sound I have no clue.

Who else rejects IDEs in favor of something that doesn't suck?

I came up with this so far. I feel like that's enough to start coding and thinking up assets.

Yeah I made like no progress so far

So this is now the first LD that I've finished. It was pretty freakin hard man. I didn't make the most pretty looking or functional or extensive game, but I made it in 2 days so. Consider it a prototype. I'm going to go get some rest now.

Here's the link for anyone interested: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/43/running-low

I've participated in two LD's before but only finished one of them. I'm hoping this one will be even better.

• Framework/language: Love2D/Lua
• Graphics: GIMP probably (I suck at art)
• Sound: idk, probably beepbox because I absolutely suck at making sounds

My suggestions are:

• You can't control the protagonist
• You are the final boss
• One shot

I was planning on using Love2D to make my game as that's what I've been using but I came across Defold (https://defold.com/product/) and it seems interesting. I'm considering trying it out. Has anyone used it, and if so, what are your thoughts on it?

Lots of games have you start with nothing. This could be anything from mario to fallout to minecraft. "Start with nothing" isn't a theme, it's a condition.

Anyways, as for my game idea, I'm thinking of doing a roguelike. Permadeath means every playthrough you start with nothing. I'll try to add another twist to enhance the "theme", and for my #eggcrew bros out there I'm gonna work an egg into the game.

But first I gotta do my homework lol. Applied Combinatorics, then game dev

Edit: Another idea I got is rags to riches, like some kinda business simulator where you start with nothing and work your way towards becoming a mogul. If anyone wants this idea it's yours.

So I have an idea, a basic code layout, and a start screen. The idea is a roguelike, where you start with absolutely nothing; you are naked and need to find clothes, equipment, and a backpack to have any inventory space.

Oh, I'm also still not done with my homework yet, but I couldn't help it.

So I made quite a bit of behind the scenes progress. I set up the basic templates, got the menus working, and am now working on the actual game. Game progress can be tracked on my github: https://github.com/Grinshpon/Bare-Bones

I've made an effort to keep my code much more organized than last time, and I created a sub-framework for love2d using a system of Collections and Entities, which, if you are familiar with the Unity engine, is analogous to scenes and gameobjects. I'm pretty proud of it, especially because I made it from scratch. I know it's not the most efficient, but it's fun to reinvent the wheel because I like programming. I might create a separate repo for this system after I flesh it out, too.

I made a simple random map generator, with starting and end points. Getting the generation to work took quite a bit because I'm not very experienced in it, and the layouts are fairly simple but they're good enough for a prototype.

I thought a simple roguelike wouldn't take long, but I had to go out yesterday night and now I'm still not close to done. I'll try to get it in a submittable state but idk, might have to release it after the jam.

Anyway here's a screenshot

But I still want to work on this and release the prototype when it's done. Technically it's already available on my github.

The theme for LD46: Keep it alive, wasn't in any of the voting rounds. So how did it become the final theme?

Edit: Nevermind I'm just blind. I spotted it in the final round.

Don't think I'll have time to finish since I have work and stuff, but "stuck in a loop" made me think of time-based mechanics, and I thought about implementing a rewind mechanic, so I made a small demo in Unity:

https://i.imgur.com/ww5J2F5.mp4

Thinking out loud about ideas, if you fancy one it's free for the taking

• a dating sim where the goal is to seduce someone then knock them out and harvest their organs

• a stealth game where you play as a vampire and have to sneak around a town harvesting blood (I might do this one)

• A diablo clone but you play as that butcher who says "fresh meat!"

The game is LUDUM DARE SOLID: LIMITED SPACE ACTION

It's a mini stealth game where the levels get smaller, and if you get spotted you lose.

Progress so far:

The main gameplay loop is essentially done, now I need to work on adding levels, and a menu. Oh and some sounds.