Here are my thoughts on the 3rd round of theme voting:

My favorite was probably "You control the environment, not the player."

Tools: - Godot (main development) - GIMP, Inkscape, Piskel, MagicaVoxel, Blender, and Krita (graphics and animation) - FL Studio, Audacity, BeepBox, and SFXR (audio)

Good luck to everyone!

72 hours to start and counting ._.

T-24 hours to Ludum Dare #42.

To celebrate I've made a beautiful wallpaper for your desktop :)

Feel free to download and use.

Trying to learn everything I can about Godot 3 in -6 hours ._.

I got my workspace all set up and only an hour and a half remaining :astonished:

T - 60 MINUTES PEOPLE

30 MINUTES

Ink Flood is a puzzle platformer game in which you have to escape from the rising flood of ink by avoiding obstacles, collecting keys, and making your way through seven stages.

You can rate and download the game here -

Ink Flood is a puzzle platformer game in which you have to escape from the rising flood of ink by avoiding obstacles, collecting keys, and making your way through seven stages.

You can rate and download the game here -

Ink Flood is a puzzle platformer game in which you have to escape from the rising flood of ink by avoiding obstacles, collecting keys, and making your way through seven stages.

You can rate and download the game here -

Also, if you find any bugs, please let me know.

Ink Flood is a puzzle platformer game in which you have to escape from the rising flood of ink by avoiding obstacles, collecting keys, and making your way through seven stages.

You can rate and download the game here -

Now available on Windows, Mac, and Linux!

Thanks to everyone for around 20 ratings in each category, plus commented feedback and, of course, post-submission-day bug reports :confounded:

You can rate and download the game here -

Thanks to everyone for 30+ votes on Ink Flood!

If you haven't played the game already you can check it out and download it here:

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/42/ludum-dare-42-2 - https://gamejolt.com/games/inkflood/361114

As soon as the theme came out, I started brainstorming ideas, which included running away from space police to get out of the galaxy, cleaning up an office or warehouse, and finally climb your way out of a building that is flooding with ink. While it wasn't a new or particularly innovative concept, I felt that it was simple enough for me to get done in a limited time with a limited grasp of physics programming and I could apply the graphical style well.

After throwing together some platformer physics, I rigged and animated a 2D silhouette character, decided that I didn't like the silhouette style, and trashed it. I then went through multiple placeholder graphics between flat art and pixel art and settled with pixel because it gave the game a nicer feel.

On Saturday, I started adding the ink mechanic and tried to decide what other mechanics to add. I wanted to add some sort of platform that would be destroyed when you stepped on it, but couldn't think of what it would be. Later, upon making the tileset, I added a crate and decided to make an explosive version of it that would blow up when you landed on it, pushing you slightly upward. I also made it so that jumping off the TNT crate would push you higher, allowing for more possibilities.

I eventually decided that I needed another mechanic and added barriers, which were enterable from the bottom, but could only be entered from the top by stomping with the down arrow key. The final mechanics to add were keys, doors, and a limited number of lives.

Most of the next day was dedicated to level design. I was originally planning to have 12-16 levels, but after the first few I realized that I didn't have enough time to add more mechanics and the game would lose interest.

The next day I played through the game multiple times, refining, and fixing the numerous bugs. I also through together some release material that would be ready for Submission Hour.

Over submission hour, the servers were creaking and groaning under the strain and I was unable to put anything out for the first twenty minutes or so. After putting the game out, I received a comment saying that the game was broken and discovered that I had forgotten a file that was required for the game to run. I re-added it, re-uploaded it, and everything was safe.

Looking back, I think I should have realized that you could fix bugs past submission hour :stuckouttongueclosedeyes:

You can still play the game here - https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/42/ludum-dare-42-2

The rating period is over, Ink Flood got nearly 40 ratings, now we just have to wait for the results :sweat_smile:

I was pretty happy with being almost 600th overall in my first jam and was pleased with the fun and audio ratings. Innovation was not a surprise (the game isn't a new concept) :stuckouttongueclosedeyes:

It appears that LD43 is only 19 days away. I am not sure whether or not I will even be able to participate yet , but if so I will probably end up doing the Jam again :zap:

As was reflected in the results of the last Ludum Dare, audio and game design/balance were my strong points, while I performed rather badly in graphics and feel (humor, mood).

Once again, I will probably be using Godot, FL Studio, and Gimp/Krita/Inkscape?

If someone else actually knows how to make graphics :confounded: and wants to work as a team, please say so.

I've now gone through half of the themes, keeping 361 and slaughtering 1110 :fire: :sweat_smile:

Hello, I am a music producer, programmer, and sound designer looking for a dedicated 2D graphics artist to work with as a team. If you are interested, contact me on Discord at Alkali#5245 :grin:

I went through all of the themes from Round 1 of theme voting; while most were astonishingly bad, some seemed like they could be viable.

Useless superpowers -1 - Basically "Inconvenient Superpowers."

Break the cycle +1 - I could see a wide variety of games being made from this; it provides quite a bit of freedom but isn't too vague.

Don't trust the game -1 - Leads to a lot of gimmicky games that give you inaccurate instructions, making gameplay difficult.

Absorb your enemies 0 - "Absorb" gives a wide variety of meanings; however, the theme restricts to games with focus on enemies.

No killing allowed -1 - Would probably end up with a lot of games that normally involve killing but that element is removed creating a huge hole in gameplay; otherwise provokes no ideas.

One item, many uses +1 - This theme could be very powerful.

You are the princess waiting to be rescued in the castle -1 - Pretty much all games would specifically have to be set with a princess in a castle.

Take one, leave one +1 - "One" can be a lot of things; however, it has to be taken or left. Not too broad or too narrow.

Scavenger -1 - Eh.

Control the environment, not the player 0 - This could cover a lot of ideas; people might abuse it and make a bunch of generic block-based puzzle games.

Indirect combat 0 - Kind of like "No Killing Allowed" but with a lot more possibilities and less terrible gameplay.

You're the final boss -1 - Yuck.

Permanent damage -1 - Too restrictive while being too vague; I have no ideas from this.

Automation +1 - This could be a lot of things.

Discovery (LD 19) -1 - Who the heck submitted a theme from a past Ludum Dare in the first place and how did it get to Theme Voting?

It only changes when you aren't looking -1 - Too restrictive while being too vague; I have no ideas from this.