I’ve watched for a long time and now it’s time to join. I will be using Construct 2, Paint.NET, Inkscape, and Audacity.

Good luck to everyone!

Ryan Davis

Play it here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/rashlander

RASHLANDER sort of spewed out of me LD weekend. It is a Downwell Mario Galaxy Lunar Lander hybrid that was made with Arcade First principles, which means that it must work in an arcade cabinet. These limits fueled the creative process, making decisions easy in a way that isn't typical for me.

The result is a really outrageously hard lander that is fresh and compelling. It's almost a joke how hard this thing is--but the design point is still made, I think. I'd like to talk about some things that went right, as well as some things that did not.

The Good.

-The visuals came together fast. I embraced a 320x240 resolution, which sounds horrible at first but goes all the way around problems pixelated games usually run into post 2000 ("fake" looking, pixels not lining up, varying pixel sizes, etc.) Sticking to rigid resolution requirements made pixel art a product of math, not hours of poking with a pencil tool. It's 2017 so I can play with shaders that juice up the pixel art, but at 320x240 they still agree with the overall look. I am extra happy with the HSL effect as screenshake rather than an actual shake.

-The movement is the most compelling part about this game. This means that I can have a simple game (get to the goal) which is still a challenge for players. Game Jam time requirements are a monster without a dead simple mechanic, so this was a real life saver for me. After post competition work it became clear that the perceived difficulty goes WAY down when I properly introduce players to the mechanics.

-I love space. SPACE

The Less Good.

-Holy Space Rocks is this game hard. After the LD dust settled I tried to beat it, and found I was unable to. On the one hand I am going for Downwell/Spelunky level difficulty here. So in that way it's not a flaw. However, Downwell and Spelunky have SO MANY reasons for the player to stick around (upgrades, tunnel digger, earned extras, etc.) and this little game jam baby just doesn't have that going for it. Again, post competition I am discovering the perceived difficulty goes down when you have something to work toward.

-Proc Gen is mean sometimes. This version is full of moments where you start a level and die immediately. I'm working on it.

-Not enough space. :(

TLDR

This was an amazing weekend and I made a cool thing that people seem to like. I learned about new ways to limit myself and how it puts genuine rocket fuel in the development process. I learned about new ways to juice up a game when I don't have HD pixels to do all the heavy lifting. I also learned that people are generous and up for a challenge when you state up front "THIS GAME IS HARD."

What a good time. Good luck and happy landing,

Ryan Davis https://twitter.com/ryguygames

We've all seen those amazing pixel art animation gifs. You know the ones. The ones that make you think, "I don't have a budget for that." The ones that bring phrases like "programmer art" to mind when you think about your own game.

I am an artist, but for this Ludum Dare I saved time and creative energy by avoiding all arty bits and letting the computer do it for me. Let me pick apart a few things that gave RASHLANDER fluid pixel art animation but without a single frame of hand animated spritework.

Play RASHLANDER here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/rashlander

STEP 1: Set the game resolution to 320x240. There are no ugly pixels when every pixel is literally the same size. Now math magic can just whiz around and do all kinds of fun stuff without me micromanaging it.

STEP 2: Shaders. Nothing about 320x240 prevents me from using whatever shaders 2017 has made available to me. The cool part is 320x240 is so low resolution that heavy use of shaders is not hardware intensive.

STEP 3: Tween everything. You have to pick the right elements to tween (subtle scale tweening just does not work) but if you exaggerate your tweens the game comes alive.

STEP 4: Borrow from Nintendo. If we're being real this step can go in any tutorial on the internet. RASHLANDER's explosion effect is just a variation of something I saw in Breath of the Wild. It looks different because it's scaled to 320x240. Suddenly it's a beautiful pixel art effect, and at no cost to me.

How did you make your game's visuals work for you? Anyone else here make an hybrid beast of math and pixel art? I would love to see what you came up with!

Edit for those interested: RASHLANDER was made with Construct 2, using settings which prevent blur and anti-aliasing. You can pick the "retro" template to achieve the same effect.

Ryan Davis https://twitter.com/ryguygames

I made a really hard game. Oops.

Just for fun, I wanted to see if someone could get to the end.

* Anyone who can upload a screenshot of the credits page gets a Steam key to my game, Adventure Lamp. *

Don't feel obligated to rate or comment on the game, this is just for fun.

Also, feel free to request a play of your game. I'm happy to return the favor.

Play RASHLANDER here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/rashlander

This competition I learned about Sadism and Challenge. I have always been averse to making hard games, as I think the glorification of controller throwing has been a real low point in gaming as a whole. But this time, I accidentally made a very hard game.

Play RASHLANDER here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/rashlander

I was afraid I had made something truly bad. No one would play or rate this thing, I thought. So I warned people on the main page: "This is a hard game. It is meant to be difficult." I also happened to use an arcade aesthetic, which was a pretty happy accident. It's no surprise for players to find high challenge in an arcade setting.

What I learned is that difficulty should always been paired with informed consent. Players should know what they are getting into. The art style, the marketing, the package needs to read "hard but fair." Otherwise you'll fall fast into Sadism, and your players will reject you over it. Informed consent gives people a moment to put their game face on, and in turn, transforms difficulty into challenge.

Play RASHLANDER here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/rashlander

-Ryan