Hot on the heels of Meta Game Jam, I'm very excited to be doing my second Ludum Dare.
I'll be tracking my progress on Twitter, so come say hi! I'm dead keen to see what other people are going to get up to. I've gone full-time indie now, after years of going to university and doing a 'normal' job, but I reckon I can still hang with you whippersnappers.
Stay radical, see y'all at the weekend.
Just wanted to share. It's currently mindnumbingly hard, which I suppose is the point.
Tweets for more.
Randomising between different death messages in my hard-as-nails game Flappy Blocks.
Tweetle dee, come tweet me.
Flappy Blocks is out, and ready to play in browser. It's been a real fun ride, and the support I've received this weekend has been awesome.
Now, onto another very important task...
Congratulations to all! That was one heck of a game jam, and I think the theme was spot-on. It brought out so many bizarre and wonderful games, which I've really enjoyed playing.
Flappy Blocks smashed it, getting 10th in humour and more surprisingly 8th in theme. I am so proud.
I'm working on a mobile version 2, so please follow me on Twitter if you want to see that bloom into a frustration-inducing flower!
I wrote a list-orial on preparing for a game jam, and with a month to go it seems like the ideal time to share it!
10 Ways to Prepare for a Game Jam
What prep step would you add?
There's a lot of great themes in the slaughter! I'd also argue that most people who've posted their outcomes so far are much too critical - how can you say only 3% of these themes are good!
My criteria are:
It could work for an abstract game (e.g. block puzzles)
It could work for a non-abstract game (e.g. platformer)
It will inspire a wide range of games, rather than most people having the same handful of ideas
I would actually want to play these games (so, "Annoying Controls" is right out)
With those criteria, around 30% of themes are green for me. I'd encourage others to be a little more generous so it's an actual vote, rather than just luck which themes get selected enough among a group of incredibly picky people.
Following LD41, I wrote some lessons learned on preparing before the game jam. I think there's some good stuff in here, especially for anyone new to the sport!
10 Ways to Prepare for a Game Jam
What would you add?
Finally, track drawing and a cute train to follow them. Not a game yet, but a whole lot better than nothing!
Hey all, joining for a 3rd consecutive jam. Here's my themes:
In my opinion, a good theme: - Can be used for lots of types of games, not just a couple - Doesn't encourage bad games (so not suggestions like, "Frustrating to control") - you'll be playing 20 of these after the jam! - Hasn't been seen in the last few years, so check previous themes
Have fun everyone! Pimpin' time for the 10 Ways to Prep for a Game Jam article, and my Twitter - always up for making new jam friends!
And there's some very interesting stuff. A couple I think are too restrictive, but other than those there's a lot of potential for ideas.
It seems like a good time to share a post I wrote a while back, called 10 Ways to Prepare for a Game Jam. Would you add anything?
Also, do say hi on Twitter - I love meeting new jammers!
1969: Astronaut's Journey is underway.
Look forward to a journey to the moon. Astronauting is dangerous, but sacrifices must be made...
Tweet me - I love meeting new devs :)
We do what we must, because we can. For the people who are still alive.
Honestly quite excited. Tweet.
Astronaut's Journey is a dumb retelling of the 60s space program, where actual sacrifices were made as good men died.
I wrote something of a post-mortem about the things that clicked, and where I might take the project next.
I had a ton of fun making Astronaut's Journey, and now the holidays are over I'm looking forward to making a version 2.
Results are in, and they came out golden!
Considering I ran out of time to add sound, and there's a known instability at the final rocket stage, I think 33rd overall / 18th fun is bloody excellent. It also leaves me wishing I'd had just that little extra time to fix those problems!
If you're looking to follow along with updates, y'all can find me at Twitter, my terribly interesting blog, or Itch.
