https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/40/$57379

Play as a robot cleaning up dirt in each level on the way to the exit. But don't over do it! Too much dirt burdens you and has consequences.

I won't be finishing this but it was fun to work on for a few hours yesterday and today, using SFML.

It's Minesweeper combined with card matchmaking. And even though I wasn't sure if it would even work for the first few hours of coding, it's pretty playable.

The idea is that you flip cards over two at a time. If they match, they reveal the numbers beneath them, which are the typical minesweeper numbers showing how many mines/bombs are in the surrounding locations. I made things easier by having more than 2 cards match. That's what the "sets of" line is about. Sets of 4 means there are 4 of the same type of cards on that level. You are also limited in how many times you can flip cards over per level (I was thinking about adding a timer too).

It was great to participate and I love what I see in everyone else's posts (that fishing driving simulator is hilarious)!

I have existing network code that I could use for online co-op, if I can make it work with the theme. Question is: is this a good or bad idea for testing? Right now almost 5900 people have signed up so there might be a few hundred people testing games when the competition ends (but they'll all be playing different games). I was thinking of something like We Were Here Together, where two people solve puzzles together but from separate areas. Or even a co-op platformer. This is mostly just a curiosity question as it would be a lot of work but with an existing template, it could be doable. (This would also use the Steam SDK which would require people to have Steam.) Thoughts?

A few Ludum Dares back I submitted a game called Burden of Dirt for the rule "The more you have, the worse it is." It was a lot of fun. Time to do it again!

I've wrapped up this weekend's jam with a very very brief game: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/$184615

Give it a shot and tell me what you think of the idea.

I know this may be unpopular with most people here but it would be really nice to have a theme that's more story-based than mechanic-based, for once. I know, you can always include a story but I'd love to see what people create with it as the focus. There are a TON of fun stories you can take and mold into a game (including Robin Hood, Cinderella and many others, which are public domain too, btw).

This would be a more challenging theme for me and maybe that's also what attracts me to it.

That said, I upvoted several other themes as I have many I like.

The game was done except for two things: 1. There was a bug I had to figure out that took me past the deadline 2. There is no balance testing so I don't know how easy or hard the game is

But the idea was simply that a space ship of doom was heading toward Earth to destroy it. You can take out its engines temporarily to buy yourself more time but they will be repaired again after a while. Asteroids can be mined for credits and you can make purchases at a space station (missiles, faster ship upgrades or more capacity for the Earth transports). Oh: missiles are the only thing that damage the engine so your infinite lasers are only good for asteroids.

Playing the game turned out to be kind of fun so I really wish I gave myself more time. Maybe I'll upload it to itch.io anyway after some balancing.

I was lucky to own great Synty assets for the graphics and find free music and sounds online. Thank you to everyone who shares their work for those of us who can only program!

(If you're curious, the three arrows coming out of the ship point to Earth, the station (which moves) and the enemy.)

Love the theme! Your game can be anything and you get to throw in this mechanic to make it even more interesting. Or center your gameplay around it. Or anything in between. It could be as simple as an enemy wave or a supply drop but your imagination's the limit. Have fun all!

I tried to suggest themes that have both direction and flexibility. Even building can be interpreted different ways (like building a community).

Here's my simpler take on the Ludum Dare wallpaper.

Hello everyone! If you haven't already, feel free to add your vote to which theme you think will win:

https://strawpoll.com/polls/NMnQ5RoA1n6

This poll was started by @jesus-gonzalez but I thought I'd share it too, per his encouragement.

With only 8 hours left until the theme is announced, I thought I'd throw out the poll one last time to anyone who may have missed it.

https://strawpoll.com/polls/NMnQ5RoA1n6

And since people were speculating, the official themes were #3 in the Ludum Dare 52 poll, #1 in the LD 51 poll and #1 again in the LD 50 poll. For what that's worth.

I don't know if a swapping theme was done recently but I think it could be fun. And yes, I like puzzle games.

I slaughtered the first 100 suggestions so far and I liked most of them but I am definitely not voting on all 2000+. Which made me wonder (again): what if we allowed less suggestions. Probably 2 would be the sweet spot but I wouldn't even mind if everyone got only 1 suggestion.

The benefits would be: 1. Less time spent voting for everyone. In this case we'd have either 1,000 suggested themes or "only" 700. 2. People would think about their suggestions more. You'd really have to pick your best idea(s). 3. Each theme would get more votes, making it more representative of the community.

The downside would be that people wouldn't get to express themselves as much. But honestly, how many people have more than 2 really awesome ideas. What I've seen so far, a lot of the themes are fine but only a very few truly interest me. Good but not great. But of course "good" is subjective.

I know it's too late for this Ludum Dare but what do people think about fewer suggestions next time (and less themes to slaughter). Would you keep it the way it is or would you change it to 2 or 1 suggestion?

(I'm guessing this came up before so if someone has a link handy, please post it. I'd love to read the discussion there.)

Maybe it's an hour away from starting but isn't it usually 3 rounds of voting and then a final round? If we start soon, we can have 1 day for each.

Looking forward to it! (I guess in the meantime I'll slaughter a few more themes.)

Just for fun.

I'm joking btw. This won't be my final vote but folklore will get a +1 from me for sure.

This was an A.I.'s response to my asking for images with "limited space." These are some of the most spacious homes I've ever seen.

I ended up making a solid prototype and decided this is a good enough experience for the jam so I won't be finishing or submitting it.

The concept is simple: a puzzle game where your character needs to go to the exit but every time you move, you are generating walls that may get in your way or block off the exit. The way you face determines which way walls will be generated, so you need to pick your path carefully. Future levels could have included spawners that rotate the opposite direction of you, or spawners that remove walls instead of adding them, or reversing what's there, or create bridges over the void or any number of things. And there could be teleporters around too. There are a lot of fun possibilities.

I have a feeling a similar game may already exist so if someone knows of one, please comment. Best of luck to everyone still going!

The A.I.-generated images weren't exactly what I was looking for but hey, free is free.