Having taken part in 5 Ludum Dare events now (from LD26-30), I think I’ve gotten the hang of making a game in such a short period of time (kind of). I’m just going to say straight away that I’m actually quite happy with the game I’ve made this time around, but it still could be better.
The Good:
Time Management
You know, time management is strangely one of my strong points in Ludum Dare. I somehow managed to fit everything in, even after feeling incredibly tired by the end of it. There was plenty of time for all the art and music that I wanted to go in (kind of).
“The Art of Screenshake”
If you know of Vlambeer, you’ll know their games are incredibly polished, and they put a lot of work into “game feel”. When I saw Jan Willem Nijman’s presentation “The Art of Screenshake” I made sure that I used his tips and tricks, and made them my own to make sure the game I made was really enjoyable and felt really nice to play, even if the graphics or gameplay mechanics weren’t exactly special. I feel I achieved that, as not only in Bounty of Corruption, but also my last LD game “Flesh Hunter” I got many comments about how well polished the games are. Ultimately, I think that a polished game that is fun to play will do so much better than a game that follows the theme word for word. Speaking of Vlambeer, a lot of the comments on the Ludum Dare page say that it plays a lot like Nuclear Throne, made by guess who? Nuclear Throne was a huge inspiration for this game, and it’s clear to see that.
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Mud Forest
End of Level / Level Up
Arid Rockland
Pastoral Plains
Dry Desert
Wet Desert
The Bad:
Theme
It was clearly going to be “Connected Worlds”, but I was almost completely unprepared for this (in the end, I personally think that the game is miles away from the theme). I wanted to either make a dungeon crawler (hooray for originality!) or a big space game where you have to travel to different planets, both of which were based around randomly generated levels. Both of which are also probably the most common type of game made for Ludum Dare with a theme like that… This was my greatest weakness. They say that you don’t need a good idea to make a great game/app, but I don’t have any idea, let alone a single, terrible one (same with names)
“Kind Of”
While the game was very polished, and I’m happy with the content that was added, it’s missing a lot. I feel like this game needs more variety in gameplay, more enemies, different weapons (upgrades even?), etc. It also has a half-assed introduction and outro, but if I’d spent time making those really nice, I would’ve spent less time on other things that are more important for a 48 hour game making competition.
Post-compo Version:
Like all the games I’ve created for Ludum Dare, I plan to add loads of features, but most of which never get finished, or even started sometimes. For some reason Bounty of Corruption feels a little different, as if there’s an urge to add things for some reason. Anyway, here’s a list of stuff I’m going to try and add:
- Networked Multiplayer (I’ve got a super basic prototype already functional! 😀 See below for video)
- An introduction/outro, as mentioned earlier
- More enemies, such as a final boss.
- Balancing. Yep, while the game’s balance isn’t that bad, it’s definitely harder for people who have never played it before, as there isn’t enough ammo spawning in. Also, some random generation needs fixing, cacti can spawn on top of the enemy portals…
And there you have it folks, a game I’m proud of, and what I could have improved upon. I recommend you check it out for yourself, you might be pleasantly surprised!
Rate my game here! http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-30/?action=preview&uid=20850
Tags: postmortem
