My wife has agreed to do most of the baby care that weekend so I can try this out. <3
Language / Engine: GameMaker or Haxe, or C#. I think GameMaker may be the easy way to go with it being my first time on a time limit.
Sound: SFXR or BFXR
Graphics: Paint.NET or Gimp
This was my first ludum and I had a lot of fun. The community is so nice and I have had a lot of helpful feedback. Thank you all!
At first I was thinking of a top down kind of game but I have never done a platformer type before so I really wanted to try that. Then I was thinking I wanted the bottom of the screen to be all lava and the player would have to stay on the platforms. Saturday I went to town for lunch so I could take a break from the computer and game and that is when the idea of the frozen ground came to me. So I cut the lava and made the bottom of the screen a solid platform. Then I started working on the code for the frozen ground mechanic. That turned out to be a good call because a lot of people said they liked that part.
After that I worked on adding power ups to make that game more interesting. I originally wanted a lot more but I ran out of time so I had to settle for 3.
= Shoot Faster
= Full Heal
= Flame Shield. (Makes you invulnerable and thaws ground you are standing on)
What I learned:
One thing I learned was after hours of play testing what I think is easy will not be easy to everyone else. I had a lot of comments that the game was hard. Some people liked that and some maybe not so much.
This was also my first time using gamemaker other than a few test programs the week before. I did not think I would be able to finish in the time limit with my normal C# coding so I took a risk and used gamemaker. The risk paid off here and I learned a lot about the software in the process.
What I need to work on:
I need to work on my art. I think it turned out ok in the end but I would like it to be much better. I guess that just comes with time.
I also had comments that I needed background music. I have never done music before so I crossed that off my list before I even started. So I think I will do some research in the next few months and see if I can learn to at least make some basic music that sounds decent.
Language / Engine: Most likely GameMaker for the speed. Maybe Haxe or C# depending on what ideas I come up with for the theme.
Audio: SFXR or BFXR. I am thinking I will also try autotracker.py this time.
Graphics: Paint.NET or Gimp
Well I am 24 hours into my second Ludum Dare. My first Ludum Dare seemed to go a lot smoother but maybe that is because I am pushing myself a little bit more this time.
All the core game mechanics are in place and I have started working on my pixel art.
The attack/weapon system is a lot more complex compared to my last game so that has been a big time sink. I am also spending more time on my pixel art then I did last time. Pixel art is a weak point for me so that is also taking a lot of time.
I also still need some sound effects and a boss or some way to win the game. Then polish.
I am super happy with how my tree turned out. They turned out so good that they kind of look out of place with the rest of my pixel art.
This was my second Ludum Dare and I had a lot of fun again!
This time around I got a little too ambitious and had to cut some content at the end. I was not sure I was going to finish on time but I made it. I was planning on having another enemy type and a boss at the end guarding the herbs but I ran out of time for that.
I also wanted to spend more time on the level. I was thinking you would have to find the spells in the level before they could be used. I even have code setup for that.
I also did not get to spend a lot of time balancing the abilities. I did not really want the poison mist but I wanted more than one damage ability. (The thorn seed was the first thing that came to mind with the theme.) I was running low on time and I could not think of anything I really liked so I ended up leaving the poison mist in.
I did spent a lot of time on art since that is one of my weak points but I think it paid off. I still am not happy with my character art but the background turned out very nice.
Overall I can see an improvement over my last Ludum Dare game. I took all the comments I got to heart and worked on some of the weak points the community pointed out. Thank you all!
I had to miss the last 2 due to being out of town for work but it looks like I will be able to take part in this one!
Language / Engine: Most likely GameMaker for the speed.
Audio: SFXR or BFXR, autotracker.py, I don’t like autotracker that much so if I have time I will try to google something up.
Graphics: Paint.NET or Gimp