Hello everyone! We’re still playing Ludum Dare jam games and we’re looking forward to the next one. *fingers crossed for kittens*

Another few gems that went relatively under the radar, these two short games were very fun and looked really good, they caught my eye from the first time I saw them.

Murdershifters

• LD page: http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-35/?action=preview&uid=34309
• Dev page: http://ludumdare.com/compo/author/chaoclypse/
• Dev Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaoclypse

Stasis Core

• LD page: http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-35/?action=preview&uid=21218
• Dev page: http://ludumdare.com/compo/author/alexiseshford/
• Dev Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlexisEshford

For more LDJAM35 gameplay by Tilde, watch [this playlist], watch Tilde play the winning game of the 35th Ludum Dare [here] or watch older LDJAM games [here].

Hello LD’ers. It was a fun couple of weeks keeping track of everyone who submitted and trying to find time to play your games. Luckily I had some steady ground because of the devs from the LD34 who came back and made another game, including this guy.

So far I did a livestream on a bunch of the games and a video on the WINNER of the LDJAM:

I’ll be around for the next Ludum Dares, to be the very best, like no one ever was, hopefully with more time on my hands (and a cat or time theme going on).

@BackslashYT

Hello amazing devs and inspired new-comers.

I’m going to tell you how to get Let’s Players interested in your game. This is my personal experience as a Youtuber, therefore you can’t rely on just me, so check the comments section for input from other people. I will keep updating this post as I think of more things that could appeal to the general Youtube gamer community.

• First off, you have a game. A great game, the greatest game. You made it yourself or with a team. It is important that this game either has SEVERE replayability or has at least 10 minutes worth of gameplay, this is usually the bare minimum. Many Youtubers create videos that are 10 to 20 minutes long, sometimes even more than that. If you make a game shorter than that you have a chance it’ll get stuffed in a compilation video with other small games, which is..not phenomenal.
• Make it unique. You have the power to change the gaming industry with just one simple idea. Of course this means you have to get this idea and be lucky enough to get noticed. So don’t sweat it too much.
• Be self-centered. No, really. Make a game about something you’re an expert at or have experienced first-hand. Be informative, or convey your feelings like a pro, this is art — the power to make a personal thing into something that everyone can relate to.
• Make it have an easily searchable name. No one can find a game called ‘Cat’ on Youtube when there’s ‘Cat Videos’, ‘Cat Games’, ‘Cat Pictures’ and so on that people are looking for every day. SEO is important for Youtubers. The best thing to do is to make a word that doesn’t exist yet and something that Google doesn’t think is a typo of another word.
• Include humor. This is not always a good selling point so learn from the pros and don’t just resort to toilet humor. Good examples of this are “There’s Poop In My Soup” or “Where’s My Mommy?”, some Youtubers avoid these games like the plague, others welcome them with open arms. Something something target audience. (.. On another note, sassy achievements and pop culture references are always nice if done well.)
• Be controversial. Get into the topics that ruin friendships. Or don’t. Not recommended, but it’ll definitely have a chance of going viral. So be sure you’re anonymous if you’re gonna try this because you might ruin your life. Wait, DON’T DO THIS ONE. NO. BAD.
• As a dev, be helpful and approachable. Great devs have great connections, make friends and build up a community, don’t shy away from your ‘competitors’.
• BE THANKFUL. Even a little of this goes a long way, especially for the smaller Youtubers; you could mention their name somewhere or retweet & like their stuff on Twitter, or list them in your credits forever (Yes. Please.) Some Youtubers spend a lot of time with the devs to help them out, give suggestions and even provide free advertizing. They will remember your kindness. So get on their good side, they might make it to 10 million subscribers.
• Give EXCLUSIVE keys or access. This might not be possible for a LD game jam, it’s attractive though.
• Your graphics, story and or gameplay are MAGNIFICENT. Aw yiss graphics.
• Add kittens. I mean, appeal to a niche. This might be RPG, visual novels, spin-offs, dank memes, sandbox games in space, anything you can think of, there’s a Youtube channel for it. Hopefully they will find you and play your game, or find them and invite them. Their viewers are your audience too.

Some technical stuff: (POLISH IT, haha)

• Make sure your game has no bugs and doesn’t randomly close or freeze at any point.
• USE EVERY OUTLET EVER ON THE INTERNET FOR GAMES EVER. A lot of people like web-based apps, others like to download files. There’s your game’s Ludum Dare page, there’s Gamejolt, there’s Itch.io, and Miotigames is an upcoming similar website. There’s a bunch. Also, remember to make a nice set of accurate & captivating in-game previews.
• If you made a heavy game, make it known. Some computers can’t handle it without freezing up.
• MAKE AN ATTRACTIVE THUMBNAIL. The name and the image is the first thing people see. Make it appealing.
• Make sure there’s checkpoints and that they’re in a good place (if any). Unless you intend on making a rage game. Grr.
• If you have any experience with recording a game, it’ll be easier for you to put yourself in a Youtuber’s shoes. People with a dual monitor setup love it when they can play on one screen, record on the other. It might be difficult to achieve this, but make it possible if you know how to, or else don’t worry about it. If you have a single monitor, sometimes if you try to exit the game, it crashes and that’s really not cool. Prevent this if you can.
• Approach big indie media influences (Kotaku, IndieGameReviewer, etc) while you’re working on it and when you’re done. They might be interested, write an article and boom. Success.
• Be a good person. Spread motivation and positivity. Good energy is contagious.

I hope this helps someone stand out from the crowd and encourage you to come look up some smaller Youtubers to have play your amazing game.

My channel is right here, Twitter for updates & following, this was a video I did for the 34th Ludum Dare, and here‘s where you can request me (Tilde) to play your game for the channel. I hope you will all become very successful and well-known devs, may all the things in your life that you want to accomplish come true.

TL;DR: Make something cool.

We’ll be posting an article shortly on how you can get Youtubers to play your game. This is very important to get the word out, to stand out from the dozens of other submissions and to get a head-start in winning the 35th Ludum Dare.

Here’s a form so you can send your game for us to play!

Other things Tilde does: art, thumbnail art, graphics, voice acting, music, script/story writing, brainstorming, advertizing (to an extent), advice-giving, encouraging, sketching & story boards.

If you’re having issues with the theme SHAPESHIFT we might be able to help you (we have a bunch of ideas but no way to make games)

Looking forward to working with you & making the 35th Ludum Dare the best one yet! You can contact us here or on Twitter @BackslashYT.

Watch one of our Ludum Dare videos:

Hello Ludum Datores!

It was an amazing experience to cover the Ludum Dare for the first time, I’ll definitely be back for the 35th. As a conclusion I’ve made a video showing you (almost) all top 10 winners* in bite-sized format, like a preview.

Haven’t played all those games yet? You’ll definitely want to after this:

And here’s the continuation:

I really enjoyed all the games that I was able to play for my channel, it was fun helping devs out and making new friends. I hope to see you all next time.

Tilde from Backslash Network ~ (@BackslashYT)

*= Compo, overall

List of played games HERE.

Hello Ludum Datores, I’m Tilde from Backslash Network, I’m a new Youtuber to the Ludum Dare, this is my first year. I love helping indie devs out and showcasing their games while making people happy with my energetic videos. In my descriptions I always put a ‘letsplayability’ rating along two other witty review points.

Meowtastic Present Panic

This is one of my favorites; I love cats, it’s fast paced and it has scores (I’m very competitive). It’s called Meowtastic Present Panic. It’s very fun with cute art. This game should have an online high score option, that would be awesome.

From the Sea, Freedom

From the Sea, Freedom is a slow exploration, swimming simulator. You get to learn something about the ocean and you get to laugh at the references. There’s also a lighthouse, so this must be an epic game. With good music and a lot of potential, I recommend you play this game too.

Other #LDJAM 34 game videos:

• Compilation 1: Charge! and Klodowski
• Compilation 2: Klangwelt, Inferno Botanica, Deep Growth
• St. Orchint’s Orphanage

I hope I’ve brought attention to some underrated games and I hope you enjoy my videos. You can still suggest I play (your) games here at my Twitter, or send me a message through Youtube. Merry late Christmas everyone.

Devs covered:

• OnionBlaze ~ Meowtastic Present Panic
• SecondDimension ~ From the Sea, Freedom
• randomhuman ~ Charge!
• Sixten Kastalje ~ Klodowski
• Goodwolf Studios (their website) ~ Klangwelt
• QuestionableQuality ~ Inferno Botanica
• emanvidmaker ~ Deep Growth
• Double Zero One Zero ~ St. Orchint’s Orphanage