Congrats to everyone who submitted a game for the compo and good luck in the last few hours for the jammers out there! 😀

I submitted my compo version last night, you can find it here: PLAY

Also I’m streaming me working on the post-compo version as well as rating some games here:

http://twitch.tv/jesosk

Managed to figure out level loading and placing some random structures yesterday night!

Things still to do:

1. Procedurally generate puzzles
2. Publish a first version
3. Fix up menues, handle connection errors etc…
4. Add more animations and fluff 😀

Also just started streaming again!

Got some food!

Also I’ve had some problems deciding which networking solution to use as I want it to be as easy as possible to play the game.

I think I’ve settled with Photon and running my own dedicated server which allows up to 100 simultaneous connections.

Also I’m back on the stream!

Yay good morning everyone!! 😀

Here’s my breakfast:

The bagel was actually kind of dissapointing… never buying a ready made breakfast in a super market again.

Also the STREAM is up!

Now to come up with an actual game idea…. connected worlds huh?

Maybe a multiplayer game where the players play in individual worlds but they interact somehow… kinda like Journey but every players’ world is different?

This is literally the first idea that came to me just now so let’s see 😀

LET’S JAM!!!

ZOMG LD 30! time flies!

This time I made a promise to myself to make a multiplayer game so this week I spent some time looking at the Unity multiplayer features!

I’ll also be streaming from a stable connection this time, for everyone to see…

Anyone else doing LD here in Berlin?

Wish me luck!

Checklist:

• Office – Check!
• Twitch Stream – Check!
• Github Repository – Check!
• Music playlist – Check!
• Unity – Check!
• Food & Snacks – Not Check (Will have to get something later)
• “I’m in” post – Check!

Obligatory workspace post:

Also here’s an visible link for my

STREAM

Final draft of idea done! Severely sleep deprived. Let’s start coding! #LD48 #LD29 #SHLD48 streaming at http://twitch.tv/jesosk

Paper prototyping! Feels good. 😀 #LD29 #SHLD48 #LD48

Had a little brainstorming session. Trying to flesh out some ideas. Would like to make some kind of mobile collaborative game.

Also posting this on the WordPress android app. Have to work out a good flow to share things.

Also I’m streaming at http://twitch.tv/jesosk

Has been a while since my last Ludum Dare. This time doing it live at Sony’s Hackathon in Lund, Sweden.

Will be streaming as much as possible from my twitch account.

Tools you say?

Probably Unity and some generators… We’ll see.

So I made a match-3 game. Just wanted to make one to see how much polish I could put into it.

It ended up being a lot of fun, didn’t expect that.

Play & rate it here:

http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-27/?action=preview&uid=1737

Just woke up and I’m in!

Browsing the site a bit and all I can think of is that I know at least one person who will not like the theme haha! 😀

Had a lot of fun working on this game. Will try to make something out of it after the compo. Here’s a summary of my compo experience:

What I did right:

•  I used a mechanic I’ve seen in other games and made it look and feel different by combining it with a cool effect, mood as well as adapting it to a 3D environment. Using an existing mechanic like this makes it easier to create puzzles as there are existing games to take inspiration from.
•  I spent a lot of time on getting the audio right, which turned out to be time well spent. I’m quite happy with how the game sounds when you are walking around even though it could still be improved a lot.
•  The visual style ended up looking quite good and saved me a lot of time on creating assets since it’s all animated boxes and point-lights. The game executable ended up very small as well which is just a plus.
•  Working on the game around other fellow jammers (Bytegrove & Diamonde) was more fun than doing it alone. I also got the inspiration for my core mechanic from a prototype Diamonde showed me during the compo which I’m thankful for.

What I learned:

•  Guiding the player through the level is key. My entry depended on the player finding their way through the level by stumbling upon the next room. It was made extremely difficult as there were puzzles in between that you had to solve before continuing further, leaving the player confused as to if they were on the right track.
•  Not every player is an avid gamer. The first puzzle in the game relied heavily on the player having the motor skills associated with these kinds of first-person platforming games. This could be a problem if the player is not an avid gamer which I experienced when having a friend play-test my entry after the compo.
•  Visual cues are very important to get right. At the first puzzle I made two objects have the same color but with different behavior which confused most players as to what to do with them.
•  Improving sound effects by having several variations does a lot to having them sound less repetitive and more real. Having at least 3 variations of effects that will be heard regularly seems like a good minimum.

What I’ll improve:

•  Make it impossible for the player to be confused as to where to go. I’d make the first level a lot smaller and point out a clear goal as to where to go with the only object in the room that sticks out.
•  Make the platforming parts a lot easier in the beginning to give non-gamers a chance to learn the controls without being completely frustrated.
•  Don’t have objects that look or behave slightly different. This will only confuse players as to what to do and what is important.

Try it out if you haven’t already!