I'd like to share a bit about my roguelike sperm fleet submission: SPERMA. To try it out for yourself in the browser, see my submission page: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/48/sperma

I was brainstorming ideas for the Compo and there were a few obvious themes that came to mind: Caves, Ocean Depths, Mining, and.. well... sex. I told myself that I'd avoid something sexual, but here we are.

I'm not exactly sure how the thought came up anymore, but I realized that controlling a large fleet of sperm with slightly different control systems could prove an interesting challenge for players. They'd have to decide which ones to keep alive! The upgrade system could then be used to make more and more sperm reach the finish line.

I started off with some concept thumbnails and anatomy/biology research:

Next up was considering what challenges the player might face. Here's my list for that with bonus depiction of some spermies:

When it came down to the final 6 hours, I had a checklist of screens and issues to crush on. Note: I ultimately gave up on sound effects due to lack of availability and chose to make a single looping soundtrack instead.

If you have any questions, you can ask me anything! I love talking about games and how they're made :)

My submission this year is sort of a social experiment... Let's see how it goes :)

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/50/$287412

In most blockhain technology, it is inevitable that your mining equipment will never keep up with the increasing complexity of hashing challenges. This game tries to capture that reality in an online multiplayer experience. I had this project in the works since January 2022, and have decided to share it here since it's really on-theme for LD50.

PLAY IT HERE: http://www.minetoucoin.com/

I'm so proud to share TOUCOIN. Your player character represents hardware that is mining for cryptocurrency on the blockchain. Mine to gain currency, fight off viruses, and upgrade your mining rig. Try to outpace the timer as the mining challenge grow harder each block.

The game is multiplayer; you can play solo, with friends, or with strangers.

Upgrade your hardware.

Fight enemies and clear the block before time runs out.

My first Ludum Dare game was "Sperma" as part of jam 48's theme "Deeper and Deeper". After a year and a half of joking about it, I finally polished up the game and released it on Steam! It's not as successful as other games from the same graduating class (e.g. Dome Keeper), but I still love it just the same :)

• STEAM VERSION: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2218980/Sperma/
• JAM VERSION: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/48/sperma

Happy gaming! :smiley:

Scribble idea:

Design character in unity with basic geometry:

Scribbly map:

In-game version:

With a twist of course... Biggest challenge is going to be getting the multiplayer setup quickly :dizzy:

I don't know exactly what I'm making... but here it is so far.

Please be companion. I might just make a game about companions regardless of the chosen theme... As the great gaming sages say:

"It's better to make a game about the wrong thing than no game at all" - Anonymous