Howdy All,

Here’s my code base. What does it do? It’s C++11 code that uses Allegro 5 to do some display, sound, input, and fonts. It’s also got some of my old Fluxions 0.2.0 code that I’ve written to do 3D math and other things [Probably won’t need anything but the Matrix/Vector stuff but who knows…].

http://www.mfactorgames.com/ludumdare/microwerx_ld29_warmup.zip

Here are some of the tools I plan to use:

• Language: C++11 via Microsoft Visual Studio 2013
• My boiler plate Allegro 5 LD29 warm up code + Some previous code I’ve written for 3D graphics + math(Fluxions 0.2.0) [if needed]
• Libraries: Allegro 5, OpenGL, GLU, GLUT
• Sound and Music: Ableton Live + a variety of software and hardware synthesizers.
• Graphics: GIMP and Paint.NET
• Fonts: freeware Commodore / Atari / Apple ][ TTF fonts

I think that’s it. I am excited to start as this is my first compo though I’ve been wanting to participate for a few years now.

=^)

I got the inspiration for my game from a scripture in Isaiah 2 about a man casting his idols of silver and gold to the moles and to the bats.

(Isaiah 2:19-21) And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.  20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;  21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Well, I didn’t have time for the bat, but I sure did find tons of stuff I wish I had done:

1. Write a better 2D engine before I started – it turns out I ended almost writing a 2D engine from scratch!
2. Figure out how to compute collisions between objects so it’d be easy.
3. Think of how a proper state machine would work for a great feeling game.

But there was stuff that seemed to go right too:

1. Doing 8-bit style graphics (8×8 grid) with lots of colors was fun and I think they looked nice and playful.
2. Having good musical tools helped make the music come out great.
3. C++ Lambda functions and member initialization! – Boy these things are amazing…
4. Fleshing out event handling stuff and graphics and sound with Allegro before the weekend was absolutely vital.

Title Music
Game Music

I'm excited for LDJAM 41. This time around, I am using TypeScript for my main language. The tools I am planning on using include:

• Microsoft Visual Studio Code
• TypeScript
• Pyxel Edit
• Ableton Live 10
• Various analog synthesizers for music and sound effects

Some limitations on my process include

• Limited controls
  • Keys/gamepad: Escape/Space/Enter, Up/Down/Left/Right and One action button
  • One button mouse
  • I'm considering a configuration option where ZQSD is a control option versus WASD.
• 5:4 aspect ratio, 8x8 sprites, tile backgrounds/foregrounds

Woo hoo! I'm excited. Tomorrow will be a lot of fun!

I'm finished with my base code (https://www.github.com/microwerx/ldjam41).

Some basic features: * Canvas and WebGL * Music (via mp3's) * Audio (via wav's) * 3D Models (Alias/Wavefront OBJ and MTLs) * GLSL Shaders * Basic Keyboard, Mouse, and Joystick support * Basic state machine for switching game modes * Vector and Matrix math

Tools I'm using: * TypeScript * Visual Studio Code * Node.js (for typescript and lite-server) * Pyxel Edit for graphics * 3ds Max for model editing * Ableton Live for audio editing * Various analog synthesizers for audio effects

Part Adventure, Part Action. Marco Polo is journeying across Asia with his camels. But many deadly foes and situations lay ahead. Will he survive?

All music, sounds, etc are new for this game. I'm starting to get the hang of developing apps that are event driven.

http://mfactorgames.com/games/ldjam41/

Just an observation. But lots of people make their downloads the same name. If you're downloading lots of games to play, you end up seeing "LD41final", "LD41game", "LD41" a lot and then can't remember what it is. I recommend using something like "LD41 Your Game Title" or something like that.

It was fun to create Marco Polo. I've always wanted to do a classic text adventure game like Oregon Trail or Marco Polo. At the same time, slowly I'm getting better at creating a game experience. There was a lot of good feedback and this has been my most ambitious game.

What went right: 1. I had maybe a day and a half to work on the game. So using the skills I already had, I didn't try to go crazy learning something new. So for genre #2, I used a side scrolling game mechanic that I have been working on.

1. One hour game jam. This little compo on Saturdays has really helped focus on what key items need to be part of the game experience such as starting, stopping, winning, and losing a game. I am getting good at quickly putting those key items into my final application.

2. Graphics and typography. I have found a few typefaces that I really like and have a particular aesthetic. Likewise, I had decided a while ago to embrace 8x8 sprites because they require a lot less time to create. They hearken back to the old Commodore VIC-20, which I am very fond of.

3. Playtesting. I got the feedback I needed by simply playing other games and rating them. I had a lot of fun and it was good to see what others were able to accomplish in 48 hours. You learn quickly what works and what doesn't. It is fun to play and rate the games that your reviewers have created!

What went wrong:

1. I had never created a text adventure in a modern event loop based architecture. I spent many hours trying to work on state transitions in order to keep the game from crashing.

2. I was not able to smoothly transition from one genre to the next. I would have liked to smoothly fade in the screen. This requires some more work and understanding on my part.

3. I didn't do as good of a job at marketing my game. On the LDJAM website, I had screenshots of my game and very little description. Next time, right off the bat, I'll create a compelling graphic to represent my game and a good description highlighting its features.

4. Random events. So this time around, I used a random number generator to create events, but what I needed to do is created randomized lists so that events do not happen repeatedly over again.

I hope this was mildly interesting. If you would like to play my game, feel free to visit https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/marco-polo

I'm going to try to make a game with my in development LibXOR library (www.github.com/microwerx/LibXOR), Pyxel Edit, Ableton Live, some analog synthesizers, and a little bit of time.

Two days later and this is my second compo game on the new website. So I present to you Furtual Rabbit: A Defurred Income Game. It is a game where an Angora Rabbit's only chance for survival is to sell its fur--what makes it valuable. It has to eat hay, pellets, veggies, treats, and drink water. It has to exercise. Its hair has to be brushed and cleaned to maintain/improve the fur quality. This is my first virtual pet game and I had a lot of fun.

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/44/furtual-rabbit-a-defurred-income-game

Things that went right - Focused on a simple game - Used tools I was familiar with (including my in development LibXOR library) - Learning to do fur in GLSL was not too bad

Things that went wrong - Still debugging my base library code - The Stanford Bunny really highlights the flaws in the shell fur method - Getting everything balanced was hard -- lots of play testing required

I will be using my own HTML5 LibXOR library for the bulk of my code this time around. I've been busy sprucing up how I handle sound/music and input. I'm a little behind on my goals for drawing graphics, but hopefully that won't be too much of an issue for LD45.

Other tools I'll be using include:

• Ableton Live
• Various analog and digital synthesizers
• Visual Studio Code
• Pyxel Edit for graphics
• GIMP for graphics
• Audacity for sound editing

My github repository is ldjam45

Sweet, finished a new game called Star Battle for the compo. This was pretty fun to make and the graphics have this cool vibe to it. The game is about finding creation stars to populate an empty region of space. Planetoids begin to appear and can be mined for gold. I was modeling my game system on a type of puzzle called STAR BATTLES. Star Battle puzzles involve setting stars on a puzzle grid making sure that only certain numbers of stars show up in every column and row and region. I was not able to enforce the latter, but the simulation is enjoyable anyways as you pilot your little ship around the galaxy trying not to get too close to the big stars.

The Link to My Game!

I'm doing this game jam with my class of game developers in Fairbanks, Alaska! Socially distancing, of course.

I'm going to be using:

• My custom game & graphics library LibXOR.
• Analog Moog synthesizers to create music
• Pyxel Edit, Gimp and 3DS Max for creating images and 3D Models

Now to think of an idea!

I though people might be interested in seeing my game Atlantoid Plantoid in action. I recorded a clip of my game and uploaded it to YouTube.

https://youtu.be/sQNiuwE9vwY