I’m in! This will be my first LD.

I’ll be using Java/LibGDX

Introduction

As this was my first Ludum Dare, I thought it might be instructive for me to reflect a bit over the experience

The game I made is called The N.I.D. Project. You play a mind-reading surveillance weapon, in the form of a cloud of nanites, which can infect and jump between human hosts. The objective is to infiltrate an enemy facility, gather vital intelligence about the weapons being developed there, and escape.

What went right?

The concept:
I used a few hours on brainstorming the theme, deciding on the idea of an unconventional weapon which used some kind of mind control or possession. Combining these elements with the concept of infiltration, resulted in a pretty solid concept, because I could continuously draw new ideas from it during development. The hardest part was to filter the resulting list of possible features, so that I only considered features which could be completed within the 48 hour time limit.

The mechanics:
Gameplay-wise, I was going for a mood which would combine an element of exploration with an element of planning. I decided early on that the player should not be able to move by himself. Instead he would have to lie in wait, observing the personnel inside the base, and choosing the right time to “ambush” them, in order to make progress. This means that the game is more of a puzzle game than an action game, but I think the mechanics worked out pretty well. In order to accentuate the exploration aspect, I also implemented an “exploration fog of war” mechanic, so that you gradually reveal the base as your host enter the different areas. To enhance the mood, since you control a mind-reading weapon, I also put a lot of effort in simulating the “minds” of the personnel as well, so that you can see details about what your current host is thinking/doing (this was implemented by exposing a lot of the AI-states through the UI, by giving them meaningful names).

Time management:
While I did not have time to implement all the features on my “nice to have” list, I still think that time management was one of the things that went right. I kept a TODO list of features, and focused on gradually enhancing the core features, so that the game was playable at all times. The only exception was when I discovered that I had forgotten to make the menu-screens – luckily it only took around an hour to make them, or I’d been in trouble I focused on having the basic game features ready at the end of the first day, allowing me to concentrate on enhancements all of day 2.

The graphics:
While my graphics would probably be considered functional at best, in comparison to a lot of the other great games here, I still consider the graphics a huge success compared to my usual results :-). Following recommendations from this site, I tried out Aseprite, which is the first drawing program I have ever tried, in which I can be somewhat productive

Sufficient rest:
As the Compo started at 3 AM in my local time, I was able to go to bed early, and start working directly after a night’s sleep. I made sure to get 6 hours of sleep after the first day, and I made sure to go outside for a walk a few times during the Compo as well. This meant that I stayed effective for most of the compo (although I was a bit exhausted in the last few hours)

Practice with development tools:
I used Java with LibGDX to develop the game. I spent the weekend before the Compo on making a few small games and tests in LibGDX to acquaint myself with the framework, and this allowed me to be much more productive during the Compo.

What could have gone better?

Music and sound:
I had planned to do some kind of music for the game, but looking at my TODO-list I decided that implementing more game play features would probably be a more effective use of my time. For the next Ludum Dare, I should definitely practice a bit beforehand on learning some basic music skills and/or relevant programs.

GUI:
I am not satisfied with the GUI. The exploration/mind-reading details of the game required a lot of text, and the indirect control required a few UI controls. But I don’t feel that the UI meshes very well with the game map. Perhaps a more sharply divided GUI might have been better, rather than trying to “blend” the text areas with the game area.

Map-building:
I ended up spending a lot of time on creating the map, since I basically ended up with representing the map in a handful of text-files, and then parsing them into the game. For my next Ludum Dare, I should probably find an appropriate map-editor, and declare a parsing-library beforehand, in order to read the map made in the editor.

Smoother character movements?
This has been mentioned a few times in the comments of my game. I would probably not have had the time for the extra complexity, but I am considering adding this to a post-compo version, just to see if it “works better”

Thoughts about a post-compo version:

Looking at my TODO list of unimplemented features, as well as the very constructive comments on my game, I’ll definitely  make a post-compo version of the game (including experimenting with smoother movement). I am considering spending 16 hours on enhancing the game (corresponding to having submitted the game as a Jam entry), just to see how much of a difference an extra day can do

Post-compo version of The N.I.D. Project

As I briefly mentioned in the post-mortem I posted earlier, I had a look at my TODO list of unimplemented features from the Compo, as well as the very constructive comments on my game, and decided to spend 16 hours extra on enhancing my game (corresponding to having submitted the game as a Jam entry), just to see how much of a difference an extra day can do.

To re-cap, in the game, you play a mind-reading surveillance weapon, in the form of a cloud of nanites, which can infect and jump between human hosts. The objective is to infiltrate an enemy facility, gather vital intelligence about the weapons being developed there, and escape.

Download the new version from my entry page (it has been added as a text link near the bottom of the entry description), if you want to try out the new features

New features include:

• Smoother movement (repeatedly requested in the comments )
• The ability to probe the minds of your hosts, discovering their secrets, and finding ways to manipulate their actions.
• Visual feedback on when it is possible to transfer to a new host.
• Individual personality traits, which affect how your mind control powers affect your host.
• Additional audio feedback.
• More detailed statistics upon mission completion (as well as hidden bonus objectives).

I’m looking forward to my second LD.

Programming:
Java (LibGdx)

Graphics:
I’ll probably use Aseprite

Sound/Music:
I’m spending today looking for some good tools, in the hope that I’ll have time for making sound and music for my game this time.

My Compo-game, “Open-plan Office Distractions”, is about a team of developers, and the numerous distractions they face by working in a one room open-plan office.

Pre-project Boss-briefing

In my original brainstorm, the game was supposed to be a management-game. You would actively control the workers, by assigning tasks, optimizing development processes, etc.

However, as I implemented the office, and the various “distractions”, I realized that I actually found it much more entertaining, to just watch the poor workers be hindered by the various distractions.

In the end, I therefore opted to remove most of the player interactions, leaving only the concept of spending “golden marks” (a reward triggered by finishing projects on time) on a few upgrades and on removing “failure”-marks (thereby prolonging the game/simulation).

I think this decision worked out rather well – in a way, I feel that the various mishaps which happens to the team during the projects are more entertaining, since you cannot prevent them directly.

I hope that you will try out my game, and leave a comment. Does the lack of “traditional” player interactions benefit my game?

Boss, please let me get back to work!

Due to the recent upheaval at the Imperial Court, the Emperor has demanded that a report should be written, to shed some light on the recent events concerning the small world of Morix.

The Emperor suggests that you try to govern Morix yourself, before reading the rest of this report.

Background:

The Morix colony is a turn-based strategy game, in which a young nobleman was banished from the Imperial Court by his older brother. He was sent to the small remote planet of Morix, to act as its new governor. Here, using the resources of his new world, he will extract raw materials, amass wealth and influence, upgrade the colony, and fight off (and/or bribe) marauding space pirates. Eventually, he will become powerful enough to be able to repay his brother for the injustice.

This is my sixth Ludum Dare, and my first time participating in the Jam instead of the Compo.

The Emperor approves of the following:

• Story - I'm glad I took the time to work out a story as my first task, as it gave the player a specific goal to achieve. At the same time, it gave me a contextual framework for all the other writing in the game, as I could frame all the other events, resources and NPCs in terms of how it helped the ambitious main character in achieving his goal.
• Participating in the Jam - I usually participate in the Compo, but this year I decided to participate in the jam instead, with the same restrictions as the Compo, but for the extra time. I really enjoyed having time to make some deeper gameplay, a proper story, and a more polished end result this time.
• Content - I am happy with the amount of content I managed to include in the game this LD, for instance a variety of gameplay elements and resources interacting with each other, a greater variation in writing, and two different endings. I also managed to implemented a good deal of reactivity: The NPCs addressing you differently depending on your reputation and social status, the random events changing if you become a criminal (or as a result of various actions through the game), and the different reaction faces of your advisor depending on the news of the round.
• Mechanics - I am quite satisfied with the mechanics I implemented. The interplay between the resources, the colonist allocation and the random events worked out pretty well, with the gameplay naturally evolving into three different phases: A survival phase in the beginning, where death could come swiftly, gradually replaced by gaining traction as you start to be able to buy upgrades and be able to take advantage of the positive random events. And then, finally get the feeling of power and stability, as you amass wealth and resources in preparation for victory. I also think I hit upon a good number of different resources, that behaved similarly in some respects, but also had unique uses to justify their separate existence.
• UI - I was pretty satisfied with how the UI turned out. It seems that the tooltips in particular, worked well in explaining the game mechanics, and I feel that I struck a balance between gameplay complexity and a simple interface. I also wanted to have tracked the colony upgrades in the UI, but I did not have the time to make the icons, so that instead became part of the end-of-game score.

The Emperor frowns upon the following:

• Scope - My scope ended up a bit too large. I had to cut a few features, like extra facilities and upgrades that would have given the player more control over the random events, e.g. the ability to assign colonists to defense, or to operate a radio facility, which would allow finer control over the probability of the random events. I'd liked to expand upon the mechanics even further, with a few more facilities, upgrades, and events for variety's sake.
• Early game - The early game suffered a bit from the cuts mentioned above. In the beginning, before you have built up a stockpile of resources, there is not a lot to do, except for advancing the clock, and hoping for some good random events, to be able to survive the pirate attacks. I had originally planned for an extra "game phase" in the beginning, where you would spend your first turns building up the colony. This would culminate in the construction of a space port, and mark the beginning of getting the "visitor" random events. Instead, I tweaked the pacing of the beginning, so that you have to balance your growth with being able to keep the pirates at bay. But the randomness of this phase felt frustrating to some players.
• Content - While I built a lot of reactivity and details into the game, I think I should have adapted this effort to the kind of event that LD is. The time spent on multiple endings, and creating a lot of subtle details that will only be seen after playing for quite a while, could probably have been better spent on improving the early game experience.
• Tool-familiarity - I made the game using Java and LibGDX, which is my usual tool set. But this time, I ended up spending several hours on Saturday, on experimenting with mouse-over, and drag and drop functionality. I should definitely have practiced more on using the UI-toolkit before the event itself.
• No music or sounds - Every LD I want to make some music and sound, but in most of them I fail to allocate the time for it. For sounds, I usually use BFXR, but I think I have to find a simple music tool without a daunting amount of features, much like the simplicity of Aseprite allows me to make functional pixel graphics. If you know of any such music creation tool, I'd appreciate it if you would leave a comment!

Conclusion

This has been one of my most enjoyable LDs so far. Due to the extra time from the Jam, I had time to experiment with some deeper mechanics than usual, to spend more time on the writing and story, and to create a user-interface that feels more "alive" than in my previous games. I've also enjoyed the post-LD gaming, I feel that I've played some real gems this time!

Somnium, Imperial bureaucrat.

To reiterate, an open position as governor of Morix can be found on https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/the-morix-colony

When I write feedback,
I also leave a haiku.
Why yes, that’s quite odd ;-)