Ready and excited for LD.
Project template with common conveniences.
This is all Love: http://love2d.org

Jetpack with a solid trail.
It's in PETSCII spirit.

Level editor works, main controls seem solid for playtesting.
Creating jetpack challenges.

First attempt to collect everything can be wasteful.

But you only have limited power for all the rooms,
so you can backtrack to redo old rooms with less power.

Level design has lead to some iteration.
You can no longer start a new jetpack trail while falling,
so make use of your previous trails.
Also there's now a tiny jump to give leeway in the controls.

Going for bitesized rooms, this is almost too long.

I woke up with new eyes.
Basic interaction is quite fun, but making levels that complement it is a challenge.

Exploration and reusability should be the focus, not strict puzzles.
It's also more meaningful for me to design levels that way.

Done with flexible room transitions.
My last goal for day 2 of 3.

Game is coming together with new level designs,
I'm doing my best to give it a sense of progression.

Most functionality is there,
but I need to introduce the elements more slowly.

It's been a week since the event, during which the verysoftwares entry ZETPACK-99 has reached the necessary 20 ratings. To celebrate, here's some notes about its level design, which has been very well-received.

But before reading, perhaps you want to try it yourself: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/39/zetpack-99/

(1/5) During development, one important thing was making a solid level editor first. I worked with a database of reusable pieces, which made fast prototyping possible. I planned to include the editor with the game, but left it out for usability reasons. Certainly something for future versions.

(2/5) A key theme coming directly from the main mechanic was backtracking and reusing spaces. Besides being interesting as individual sections, each room also had to work as part of a larger strategy of power conservation. In the end, I felt like I succeeded - and also got positive feedback on this, which is a relief.

(3/5) Lots of iteration went into the progression of the scenario. I made sure that gameplay elements are introduced one at a time, even cutting out rooms that seemed to teach too much at once. This way, each game element is explored thoroughly, and the locations become more memorable. With as little explanation as possible, you are naturally lead towards more complex uses of your trail.

(4/5) The way rooms are loaded into the game isn't just a visual effect. It also allowed me to design open spaces, proper for your zetpack ability. If the game world were static, I would've had to limit the player's progression with walls and tunnels a lot more. Loading also made the world build up as you play, which is delightful.

(5/5) Whenever there's a new ability or object, I made sure the player can't progress without using it in a safe environment. It's an interactive method of learning by doing, familiar from metroidvania type games.

Well, it's good to write down these making-of thoughts before I forget. I am overall satisfied with my LD39 entry, it's quite a complete experience in itself but also has potential for further development.

BONUS: Currently doing LOWREZJAM, carrying the creative momentum from Ludum Dare - I enjoy designing virtual environments, and this time I'm doing so in a tiny raycasted world. Here's some sneak peeks:

ZETPACK-99 was very well received!! Thanks to all who played & had feedback. I was unsure of developing further, but I'll reconsider given the demand.

For more verysoftwares:

☆ You can follow on Twitter or Itch.io.
☆ Maybe try the LOWREZJAM entry, Sunray Valley. It's an hour-long game about exploring and discovery.

Future radar:

☆ There's the A Game By Its Cover jam, 06 Sept - 20 Sept.
☆ Music Game Jam runs 22 Sept - 25 Sept.

☆ A full world of Sunray Valley is underway.
☆ Open-source the engine to answer TIC-80 community requests.
☆ Consider how Dropplet & ZETPACK could be made into full games.

☆ Game design articles! Updates on a large project! Even Patreon!!

Updated my profile! Hoping to make new friends.

With 2 hours to go, I've setup Sublime Text and my other tools.

In last LD, I finished the first build of ZETPACK (https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/39/zetpack-99) in less than an hour, thanks to LÖVE. But I had slept over the local 4 AM start time.

This time, my workflow is to stay up and finish the a build first, then sleep.

Open to collaboration and experimentation with visual effects.

These are a bit like comic panels.
Doing a narrative game with them.

This day was mostly spent AFK.
However, a scripting system for interactive comics is now in place.
I thought about story structure and decided to focus on a replayable multi-choice scene.

This Ludum Dare, I ended up making an interface scripting system that's a joy to use.
Didn't finish a game with it, but I'm making it a part of my large game project.

Looking forward to playing all the nice entries I saw!

Still a bit open-ended on what I'm going to make, but I have some rpg monsters.

End of the first day for me. To make encounters more interesting, I'm pivoting a bit by having cards with actions on them. You pick one each turn and the rest are sacrificed.

The game is essentially done, so I've submitted it: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/43/card-grangers.
It's really simple to pick up, so feel free to try.

making a rhythm game where all currency is time.