I’ll be giving a go entering Ludum Dare 48h #21, which will be my first entry ever. (crossing fingers that I’ll actually get something playable done in such a short time)

The tools I’ll be using are: C++ (Eclipse being the IDE of choice) + SDL/OpenGL with my (very) WIP Framework, hopefully it’ll turn out to be usable even tho it is in very very early stage. I’ll have my trustworthy BlitzMax as back-up in case things get too hectic.

And for “art” I’ll be using: GIMP, TuxGuitar and SFXR

Tags: C++, GIMP, opengl, SDL

Woke up at around 06:00 brainstormed for around one hour and got the game plan written down. Being my first Ludum Dare ever, I decided to go with extremely simple game concept as my only goal is to actually create something playable.

Escape as theme gave kazillions of ideas, but most of them were just simply out of reach in such a short time span. In the end I decided to go with simple puzzler as it seemed like concept I can actually finish and could be enjoyable.

On actual progress I’ve coded some of the basic logic and the “engine” can load maps from external files. In hindsight I probably should’ve slept few hours more as the first hours of coding was just pain and I made more typos than actual code =).

Here’s a screenie what I actually have on the screen so far… nothing much, but the underlying code is flexible enough so adding new kinds of objects is quick and painless:

screenie1

Tags: C++, escape, progress, screenshot

To my great surprise I’ve gotten ahead of schedule as on my checklist of necessary features to make the game playable only remains one little thing.
I also got around improving the graphics (still very much WIP tho) which made quite an impact.

On the other side of things I’m running critically low on carbonated water and cigarettes which both are mandatory to get any coding done… Off to the shop I head and after that its time to add some new features to the game to make it more interesting.

(I’m starting to get little worried that the puzzle approach I took, doesn’t fit the theme so well after all as “escape” brings to mind hurry and haste and my game is rather relaxed even tho the main character is “escaping”)

And an updated screenie:

Screenshot 2

I finally got around fixing some major bugs that were discovered when I was about ready to submit the game (most of which were Windows related…).

While the game is nothing to write home about I reached my goal and finished a “game” in time from scratch (with almost 8 hours remaining on the clock) so I’m rather happy.
Had great time and will definitely enter again, most likely with more ambitious game designs =).

Cant wait to try out all the great looking games!

Oh and the game can be fetched from: here
(windows and Linux version available)

Tags: C++, finished, submission

I decided to write a little postmortem about my first Ludum Dare while it still was fresh in the memory.
It how ever got bit longish so I posted it to my own forum and decided to link to it here (so I don’t whore up all the front-page).

So if you’re interested you can check it out in here.

There’s some screen-shots from the progress included =)

Tags: post-compo, post-mortem, postmortem

Had such a blast last time, which was my first LD that I’ll participate again (as long as my schedule allows me to, which it should).

My last entry did surprisingly well, taken it was my first time, but due to hectic times at work (we just released new game this Wednesday) I haven’t been able to finish the post-compo version (but its still coming and is actually progressing somewhat steadily, even if slowly… very very slowly!).

I will likely use C++/SDL/OpenGL again, even though I kind of promised myself that I’d use some other language (with GC(!)), but really don’t want to move too far out of my comfort zone while having such limited time. BlitzMax will be my backup tool if I happen to go nerd-rage over silly memory management issues again.

For “art” its the usual GIMP, TuxGuitar and SFXR.

I will probably end up using the same glitchy “framework” I used last time which I wrote a while back Link but I’ll try to get something more usable ready by the next weekend.

Edit: Given my recent drooling over oldskool games I might be using my “retro framework” which i unfourtanetly was unable to finish before LD, but guess its a good way to “beta” test it :). Source available in here

Tags: blitzmax, C++, im in, opengl, SDL

Took me whole lot of time to come up with an idea for a game this time around.
The theme in my opinion is pretty good, but very challenging at the same time as far as game mechanics go.

I really hope I will be able to finish the game in time (and I should be able to), but due to some unforeseen events Windows port might not make it =/

Oh well time to get started with the coding…

Good luck everyone and have a blast!

I’m in for the 3rd time, and after the major fail of last LD (didn’t finish anything) I will take my time to prepare properly (less beer, more code should be a good start).

As usual I’ll likely be using C++ and SDL with my own code-base, and BlitzMax will be my fallback.
Rest of my toolset will be GIMP for art, SFXR for sound and TuxGuitar for music (if I have enough time to compose anything that is).

Good luck everyone, and lets have a blast!

Tags: blitzmax, C++, im in, SDL

Just mere moments ago I clicked submit on Ubuntu Software Center with my October challenge game. Motivated by the challenge I finally got around finishing a game I’ve been working on since Ludum Dare #21 (its actually post compo version of the game).

The game has been pretty much ready for a quite long time, but needed new levels and polish which I constantly put off by bad excuses :).
For now the game is Linux only, but the code is written in crossplatform way and I’ve compiled few test versions in Windows using MinGW.

Fingers crossed the game actually gets accepted to the store.

About the game:
-Sliding block puzzle game with twist
-Includes fully featured level editor and online hi-scores

Screenies:

YouTube “Trailer”
(for some reason YouTube really killed the quality of the video)

Tags: game, garden, october challenge, puzzle, submitted, tiny

Had my first sales today via Ubuntu Software Centre which felt really good, a day late, but I’m still happy!

I’ve really slacked on “marketing” the game as we’ve been crunching at work, but hopefully in next few weeks I can make proper demo version and port the game to windows (note to self: how come I’m always able to blame work for my slacking).

Getting the game published in the Software Centre was simple and the review process was really fast (wish other platforms would work as well).

I’ve been toying with the idea of porting the game for Android, but I have not done any research about that yet (never done any mobile development).
The game is written in fairly standard C++ (uses some POSIX libraries) and SDL, and AFAIK that combo should work decently well on Android.

The games October challenge submission is here: Tiny Puzzle Garden

Thanks for the fun event and good luck with your sales everyone!

Tags: challenge, completed, first sale, october, tiny puzzle garden

I’m in for my 4th Ludum Dare 48. Couldn’t take part in the last one due to Guild Wars 2 launch being on the same weekend but now the stars have aligned properly again and I can join in.

Since my 1st LD (which is the only one I actually finished in) my preparations have been, kindly put, lacking, but this time I’ve cleared the schedule done some quick mock-ups and gotten in to the dev mood, hopefully I can finish something working.

My tool set will be the same as for every LD so far:

• C++ as the language
• GNU (GCC & GDB) as tool chain
• Eclipse as IDE
• GIMP for “art”
• TuxGuitar & SFXR for making ones speakers cry

I’ve tweaked ( == stripped and “streamlined” ) my tiny little frame work which I will use as my base-code, and as the rules demand here’s a link to it: Link.

For “added value” here’s a picture of my desk,which isn’t that fancy (sorry for the bad quality, my phone is ancient):

Lets get ready to rumble!

Tags: C++, eclipse, GIMP, im in, SDL

Where to begin, where to begin…

The theme was bit of surprise to me (not that there’s anything wrong with it, just wasn’t really prepared for it), but after a good 4 hours I had some what useable idea for the game.
The game is fairly simple collection of smaller games where you play the role of a evil crook trying to get them riches!

So far I’ve finished 2 of the mini-games or “activities” as they’re called in the game and will go for atleast 3rd one (plenty of time for that).

Here’s a WIP screenie of the game (I was being very lazy and didn’t crop the image):

I’m having bit of a trouble to find a interesting reasoning for all the activities, but hopefully I can come up with something.

Lets keep on jammin’!

Tags: progress, update

Finally this morning I came up with a 3rd mini-game for the criminal “simulator” I’ve been working on.
The new activitiy was very simple to implement which leaves me good chunk of time to polish and tweak the game.

The biggest thing left to do is to port the game for Windows, but in theory it “should” compile pretty much out of the box (result may vary ™).

Started today with a healthy breakfast… a large cheeseburger:

I’m not entirely satisfied with my games concept as it doesen’t really give you a motivation for the crimes you’re committing other than a bad story :D.
On the bright side it haz g0at(s)

At the moment seems very likely I will end my bad streak of 2 failed LD’s in a row, which is nice… time to get to the horrors of porting to windows…

Tags: day 2, food, goat, update

Just finished submitting my little game for the compo.
With 10 hours still in the clock, I could’ve probably still polished it, but some rest & laxin sounds nice since gotta go to work tomorrow

The game contains 3 minigames all of which are different criminal activities to gather money for the end goal.
I had really hard time coming up with the 3rd game (which ended being the credit card fraud one), but it worked out OK.

Not 100% satisfied with the game, it kinda needs some bigger game to wrap the minigames or give a reason for the minigames.
Now it feels bit glued on :/

Anyways happy that I finished since 2 last LD’s have been major fails on my part and couldn’t even submit anything.

The games submit page is here: link

And here’s a screenie:

Thanks everybody for awesome event, can’t wait to get my hands on all the games developed this weekend!

PS.
I had some issues with the screen capture software and Im not entirely sure if I can make a time-lapse, but atleast I will write a post mortem…

Tags: done, linux, SDL, sinister simon, submitted, Windows

I’ll try to attend this upcoming Ludum Dare, which will be my 5th time I believe.
This time I’m going to spice things up a little how ever and I am going to use tools unfamiliar to me.
I’ve been meaning to learn out Lua (only done some really small-scale embedded work with it) for a while and decided that LD would be perfect opportunity for this.

As for the framework I’m going with Löve (never used it before) as it seems suitable for LD type of development (==quick and dirty :P).
I’ll try to make a small game this weekend as a warmup to at least have some feel to the language/framework.

The so-called “art” will be handled with GIMP as usual and music will be created with TuxGuitar if I have time for it.

If Lua turns out a disaster I will probably revert back to the warmth and safety of C++, but hopefully I won’t have to.

Good luck everyone and lets have a blast!

Tags: attending, GIMP, im in, Love, lua, tuxguitar

Time for me to get some sleep, woke up at 06:15 today (theme was announced 05:00 local time) and been working on the game on and off since them.
Took me a good while to come up with a design, but I’m fairly happy with my current one as it is very doable in given time and easily expandable if the time permits.

The game’s design is very minimalistic in terms of game-play. The whole game is played with 1 button, which I at first doubted, but it turned out quite fun after all.
I’ve got main game-play and music (which I had way too much fun composing) done, but my “art” is still terribad and I haven’t even started on any menus / death screens etc…

Löve and Lua have turned out quite nice combo (had no real prior experience with either) for quick prototyping, but still wouldn’t use them for anything larger scale as tracking errors can be quite a pain (dynamic typing ftl).

(Sorry no screenshot yet, the game looks that bad atm)

Good night ya’ll!

Tags: design, first day, Love, lua, sleep, update

Finished my entry for the compo just a moment ago.
The game is simple runner type game in which you can flip the physics.

The idea came from VVVVVV which imho is king when it comes to simplistic mechanics (and graphics for that matter!) combined with bit.trip runner(s).
The whole game is played with single button and the only goal is to get as far as possible.

Unfortunately the game doesn’t save high scores (even though there would be time to implement it, I’m just too tired to do it) which is bit of a bummer.

Go check the game out if you’re interested: in here

Thanks everyone for great event, can’t wait to get to judge your creations, but now, it is time for me to eat and sleep so that I can actually do something at work tomorrow

Tags: done, grasshopper, Love, love2d, lua, submitted

Background:
This was my 5th Ludum Dare 48 and the 3rd time I actually submitted a game, so that alone made me happy =).

For the first time in LD I didn’t have any stress and the design phase didn’t feel like “endless grind”, which for some reason usually happens for me.
This was also the very first time I’ve ever used Love2D and Lua for well, anything, and I really learned valuable things in just one short weekend (actually made me order the Programming in Lua third edition to help me integrate Lua scripting to my work-in-progress engine).

In general this was the most fun I’ve had in LD ever, I’m very satisfied with my game, mainly because of the earlier mentioned “no stress” approach and that the tools were new to me.

The short story
I woke up at 06:15 Saturday. The theme was announced 05:00 Finnish time, but I’ve learned from previous LD’s that it is much better wake up well rested even though it means hour or few head start for other than to wake up feeling like you know what and just forcing yourself to design.

When I noticed that the theme was minimalism I immediately knew that I wanted to be shown in the game-play itself rather than just graphics or audio-visuals in general.
Took me a good few hours to get the design down, and at first I kinda doubted it, but when I started to actually working on the development I grew more fond with it.

The coding went fairly well even tough working on a new language always poses its own difficulties. If I could change 1 single thing from Lua I’d definitely would prefer that variables and functions would need to be declared before used. This might be just because of my own sloppiness, but I had few occasions where I had typoed some name and the error didn’t pop up until much later.

Art has always been my main nemesis especially when the schedule is tight. I just can’t do it. The game only has 2 distinct tiles (and few variations of them) and a few sprites, yet making the art took about 3 times as long as the coding… not good!

Music is along with coding my other passion and I had a real blast making the “main theme” for the game. I had this strange inspiration/”image” in my head of a sad Russian cartoon when composing the song and I think the music kinda fits that. I’m not saying the music is any good, but the fun alone I had making it, made it very worth while.

The Good

The bad

The verdict
Not even knowing (or really caring about) the results yet I can say that this was the best LD I’ve had so far!

Some screenshots from development
Coding in Geany, a great editor for Linux & Windows
Composing in TuxGuitar

EDIT: Ofc I forgot to link the game in the post, so here it is: Grasshopper

Tags: development, post-mortem, screenshot, story

This will be my 6th Ludum Dare so far and I’m going back to the basics with the tools.
I’ve been working for a while on a basecode specifically for Ludum Dare, but unfortunately (mainly due to my own lazyness) it is not in the shape I was hoping it to be for this event. It is lacking few major featuers (like audio) and the sprite system has been hacked together in the last few hours so its far from state-of-the-art and likely to be buggy. Anyhow, I’ll give it a go and try to work on it for these few hours there still is before the compo starts and see if I can get the code to even compile on Windows as I haven’t tried that yet even once (in theory it should as I’m not using any Linux specific libraries, but since when has anything been that easy).

Language: C++
Basecode: Link
Graphics: GIMP
Audio: TuxGuitar, SFXR, Audacity

Tags: C++, GIMP, SDL

Been workin on my game for 12 hours now, of which roughly 3 first were spent throwing ideas around and 1 for breaks.
The theme is quite challenging in my opionin, but it is interesting none the less.

My game is slowly shaping up, here’s what it looks like currently:

The most important gameplay elements are implemented, but there’s still handful of ideas I would like to add.
On top of the new gameplay elements I have to create some sort of editor for the maps and implement level loading in to the game :G.

My goal is to get the game as closely completed code-wise as possible today apart for porting it to Windows, and do the porting and proper art/content for it tomorrow, but not sure if it is possible.

Hopefully everyone is having good time

Tags: progress