Fenyx mentioned something near and dear to my heart. Trees. Or *dead* ones to be more specific.

Pen, Pencil, and Paper are things that are probably used a lot. Unfortunately P&P doesn’t seem to get mentioned, or listed a lot in the roster of tools people are using.

Lets give pencil and paper some more love. Post a drawing about how LD makes you feel and show your love for all things paper. And while your at it stop by his “im in” post and hit the plus button.

No thats not real paper, ironically. I found out last minute after I had already done a drawing that the gum I have been sticking to my webcam has permanently fogged it =(

Webcam notwithstanding, I’ll be using paper-based design a lot more this and future LDs, and I hope you all will too!

This is my third attempt at Ludum Dare. First time was a few years back with another account and I didn’t even get a chance to start because of a medical emergency with my sister. The second time was a little over a year ago and my family needed me to handle some personal matters so I couldn’t finish.

But this time around I let everyone know, plenty of time ahead. Hey, third time is the charm. Still a little apprehensive that life will get in the way, but I’m gonna risk embarrassment and just dive in.

My toolbox includes..

• Javascript | HTML5
• MelonJS
• GraphicsGale
• Tiled
• Paint.Net
• …and others.

In lieu of preparing more, I took some time to unwind before the contest and built this:

Yes, it really does fire. About three meters. Shish kabob sticks are deadly dangerous to inflated balloons =D

“I know! I’ll stay up all night! I’ll power through this. It will be just like camping out. In front of my computer. With carpel tunnel. It’ll be awesome.” I said, unaware I was lieing to myself at the time.

Six AM rolled around, and the birds started chirping like the annoying neighbors that they are, and the first blue overcast hints of morning showed in the sky..and there I was, my body saying “haha, you dumb bastard. Fooled you! Its called a second wind and YOU JUST RAN OUT.”

So I flopped down on my bed, and nearly crashed before a lightbulb flicked on above my head, and I struggled from catatonia to set my alarm. Excellent. Everything would turn out okay. And then I woke up. And the alarm said “12:46 PM.” I slept through it…..fuuuuuuuuu

So I went to the kitchen

…and got some breakfast. Hey, I hear the astronauts eat liquid for breakfast/lunch/dinner too! (also had some eggs and toast)

So while I was pushing around my eggs on the plate, and philosophizing about toast instead of WORKING ON MY DARN GAME, I thought about how eggs are so much like Ludum Dare. They start out with a lot of promise. A lot of hope. Hey, it could hatch into a cute, cuddly, feathered game…I mean chicken. But then…Crack, sizzle. And then you have burnt eggs. Or an awesome omelet.

Point is we all think we have more time than we do. The lesson I learned is to have a proper sense of urgency. And don’t start late unless you are *doubly* sure you can finish. Of course, better late than never. I expect to be doing a LOT of polishing afterward. =)

Anyway heres a toast to all the awesome screenshots so far. My hats off to you. And for everyone like me who is behind, keep on pushing. Life rewards persistence with results. Cheers!

[Video for those who prefer it]

This is my second time participating in Ludum Dare, only with a new account, because for the life of me I can’t remember what my first account was.  I didn’t finish last time so I figured I’d give it another shot.

I’m starting late but better late than never (though never late is better!)

Minimalism suckered me in as a theme, because I’m not an artist to begin with.

Only half the normal time to work with, and it is almost midnight here. MrFun’s survival guide says sleep, but I can always sleep when I’m dead, haha (by the way, who would have thought people actually get injured during a game competition?)

Also, title screen, yah! Only 17 hours left to fail.