Not my first Ludum Dare, but before I always have someone talented for graphics in my team and I focused on programming. This time I had to create all the graphics by myself. But I think it's not that bad...

Vegenant is a game about a reckless flower hero stuck in an endless loop of arenas full of insect. Here's pre-release footage (we made some changes in UI and colours afterwards):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9TD2O2E1YY

You can choose from different Vegenant types (Fire, Poison, and Electric), each with a different playstyle but all with the same goal -- defeat all the insects.

Unfortunately, we didn't manage to add sound which we totally wanted. The balancing of different Vegenant types could also be better. And many things didn't make it from nice-to-have list to the game, like better feedback for taking damage or mighty beetle boss. So, better time management and project planning next time!

All over, the game is fun to play, and most importantly, we definitely had fun developing it. So why don't you try Vegenant yourself? https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/47/vegenant

This was by no means my first game jam. However, I usually had a team where we could split the job, and I mainly focused on programming. So choosing Compo this time was something refreshing that forced me to the other things as well.

My plan was to create a game with a simple game loop that people can play for few minutes, so I can be done with the programming quickly and focus on the other parts of the game. After exploring the topic, I came up with an idea of a game including anglerfish living in the depths.

After spending a few hours programming, I had a fully functional version featuring some rectangles moving on the screen. Then, it was time to open my iPad and start drawing some fish. I don't usually draw anything, so this was a whole new experience that I surprisingly enjoyed and explored a lot more, like the new Unity's PSB importer or 2D skeletal animation. Eventually, I even opened Garage Band for the first time to put together some background music, which turned out to be more an ambient sound, but it kind of fits the game.

You can judge the result yourselves:

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/48/anglerfish-feeding-frenzy

It sure is not the best game ever made, but I'm satisfied with my result, and more importantly, with the experience and new things I learned during the game jam. After all, that is why I attend game jams.