This was my first Ludum Dare and only my second game jam of any sort, so it was an interesting experience. These postmortems seems to be a common thing and I have certainly found them interesting to read, so I'll add my own thoughts to the mix as well.

I created a game called Agoraphobia, which I felt was an interesting take on the Small World theme. Agoraphobia itself is an anxiety disorder, with one of the most common manifestations (in terms of what is portrayed in media) being people afraid to leave their own homes. I attempted to adapt this into a game mechanic.

What worked:

• The music - I must first give credit to Abstraction, who made several music tracks that were free to use for LD38. I found track 8 to fit well with my game, though I slowed it down significantly to fit the mood better (using Audacity). https://soundcloud.com/abstraction/sets/ludum-dare-challenge
• The theme - I wasted a lot of time considering the theme and how I was going to approach it. Yet, despite the toll that took on how much content I could produce, I am happy with my take on the theme. It's a less literal interpretation of A Small World and one I haven't seen any other games do this jam (but would love to see if there are any).
• UI - The lack of a UI might be more accurate. Aside from a health bar and the anxiety effect, there was no real interface in this game. I thought this may result in confusion for players, not knowing that health packs weren't related to anxiety, or that you could increase your home size/safe area. Everyone I've watched play has understood these mechanics pretty much immediately though; maybe

What could be done better next time:

• No Jampo! - I didn't make a clear decision to do the Jam vs the Compo, so I ended up not making the best use of either. In hindsight, I should have just gone with the Jam as it allowed more time (which I needed) and I could have used third party graphics, instead of committing to using my own art, which leaves a bit to be desired.
• Planning ahead - I had not even looked at the list of potential themes prior to the jam beginning, let alone considered what kind of game I might want to make. Next time I would at least consider possible themes ahead of time. I think I would narrow it down to a few potential genres that I would like to work on, then limit myself to one of those once the final theme was decided.
• More content - This was largely due to me taking so long to decide on an interpretation of the theme; initially I was planning a Carmen San Diego type game as a take on the idea of 6 degrees of separation. Changing my approach halfway though the jam obviously didn't help. As a result, Agoraphobia is a pretty sparse experience.

Other thoughts:

• This game revolves around a single mechanic. I've watched a few streamers play Agoraphobia so far, for some the mechanic has clicked with them right away. For others, the lack of a fun hook in the game has been the main takeaway (that I could see). I don't think a game that deals with this kind of subject should necessarily be fun but you also have to accept that you're going to have a smaller audience that will be engaged by it.
• I'm looking forward to LD39!

Get in touch with me @ https://twitter.com/Kodiqi