I’m excited about this after I learned about it. This is my first time.
I’ll be using either Flash and Action Script or Java and LWJGL. With Photoshop and Illustrator for graphics creation. Possibly Tiled Map editor.
Best of all – everyone have a great time putting something together!
Still in and moving along. Not sure I’ll finish by the deadline though. No photos to show yet. As far as tools, I knew it would depend on the theme and my idea. I finally ended up using the following:
IDE: Adobe FlashBuilder
Language: ActionScript
Framework: Flixel
Art: Adobe CC Suite
Music: Apple Logic 9 with packaged Apple Loops, possibly with my own voiceovers (stay tuned), Adobe Audition CC
Repository: GitHub
Good luck everyone! Keep chuggin’ along!
So, with 3 hours left – I’ve decided to call it. I’m out for LD #27. :-\ I’m just not as far along as I need to be. I think the 8 hour time suck yesterday left me perpetually behind. Mental note – don’t plan any other events on the same weekend as Ludum Dare.
Had a great time, and learned quite a bit about my strengths and weaknesses. I’m SO IN for #28!
Also had a great time watching different competitors on twitch.tv, will probably continue through the rest of the competition.
Good luck everyone! Follow me on Twitter – @outcastpixel.
I had a great time with LD#27. This was my first, but not certainly my last.
Unfortunately, I ran out of time and forfeited about 3 hours before the compo was over. :-/
Here’s some helpful tips that I learned – some of them are real no-brainers:
Know your language. (DUH!)
I chose my language based on the project idea. Unfortunately, I chose a language that I wasn’t familiar enough with to be proficient in the given amount of time.
Have a couple of languages and frameworks under your belt. (DUH!)
See previous tip.
Practice before the compo. (DUH!)
Take the week (or two weeks) before the compo to practice coding in your best languages. I got marred up in things like XML parsing in the language I was using.
Know your tools. (DUH!)
See previous tip. If you haven’t used (insert tool here) in a while, spend some time to re-familiarize yourself with it.
Be prepared. (DUH!)
Don’t spend the first few hours having to install software or setup repositories. Set that up before hand. This is something else that was a big time suck.
Do all your errands before the compo starts.
Again, this goes back to being prepared. Run your errands, stock your pantry, do your laundry, etc. I had to run buy groceries and household supplies during the compo. It ended up being more of a time suck than I thought.
Don’t plan anything else during the compo. (DUH!)
I ended up having something pre-planned before entering the compo. Again, it was a big time suck. Also, I was unmotivated to code afterward. So much time lost with this one.
Go outside.
Go outside for a bit to clear your head – or at the very least, step away for a while.
For those that have a day job, take time off.
If you can, take off the day before the compo starts and the day after the compo ends. Take the day before to prepare, run errands, etc. The compo also got my body out of sync with my normal schedule – late nights and 4 hour sleep schedules. Getting up this morning was a real bitch. Take the day after to get back into sync with your normal schedule.
Hope everyone had a great time! See you on #28!
I’m in again for the LD 28 Jam. This is my second Ludum Dare and I’m excited to be taking part again! Hoping to actually get something finished that is in a workable state.
I’ll be using ActionScript with Flixel. Adobe Suite, including Flash Builder. Possibly Logic for music.
Changed from the Compo to the Jam to give myself more time and the possibility of working with someone else. Looking for a pixel artist. 😉
Errands ran, food bought, nap about to be taken. I’m ready to lock myself in for the weekend! Here’s to a great Ludum Dare everyone!
Tags: LD28
This is my 3rd Ludum Dare – this time I’m doing the Jam. Here’s what I’m using:
IDE: JetBrains’ IntelliJ
Language: Java
Frameworks: libGDX and Java SE 8
Art: Adobe Creative Suite
Music/SFX: sfxr, Audacity, Logic
Good luck to everyone!
OP
I’m in for the Jam. This will be my 4th Ludum Dare. This time I plan to finish “something” at least.
What I’m Using
Language: ActionScript 3
Library: FlashPunk
IDE: FlashDevelop
Creative: Adobe Creative Suite, Audacity, sfxr
Maybe some other various tools if the need arises!
Good luck everyone!
Not making progress as fast as I would like, but it’s a marathon not a sprint right?
Hoping a good nights sleep will re-energize me.
☃
Lost motivation yesterday and ended up just watching Twitch all day.
Found renewed vigor today. Will try to finish the Jam.
So with 4 hours remaining and an estimated 8 to 12 hours of coding to get something worthy of submission, I am out. Here’s my postmortem.
1.) Totally lost interest on Saturday, which caused me to be a day behind. I got frustrated with trying to create the art for the game. Didn’t regain interest until Sunday afternoon. So a good 10 to 12 hours lost.
2.) Trying to create art before game play. I think a big mistake is getting caught up in the frustration of trying to create art for the game before working out the game play.
3.) Know your tools! So I keep jumping from one set of tools to the other. My first LD, I used AS with Flixel. I believe the last LD, I was using Java with LWJGL. This time I used AS with FlashPunk. Though I didn’t have much trouble with FlashPunk, I got caught up in trying to create elaborate code for things that were much simply handled by the library.
4.) Scale back features. I don’t think this was a big problem for me this time, however, looking at what I had to complete – a scoreboard, A* Pathfinding, a tiling system, and intro and end screens, and various other tweaks, I didn’t have enough time. These things were important to the game itself.
5.) Quite proud of these. First, after my initial frustration with art – I finally came up with some things that I liked. I implemented a timer based spawner, where the number of spawns were directly proportional to game elapsed time. I had a little trouble with how collisions should be implemented but finally figured that out.
For next LD
1.) Prototype gameplay with basic rects.
2.) Find a graphic artist and/or sound designer to pair up with for graphics and sound/music.
3.) Implement a level system.
I believe that I will finish this game and post it to my website later in the week.
The last time I couldn't think of a game to go with the theme. If I have a good idea, then I'm in.