This past weekend I competed in the game jam competition, Ludum Dare. Ludum Dare is a competition where hundreds of game developers make a game around a theme from scratch in 48 to 72 hours. It was my second time competing, and I feel as though I have improved. Here is the Click The Power Post Mortem.
The Great
Polish
This is one of my most polished games of all time. Polish is something I have been looking to improve on, and I would say I have succeeded. I made sure the game ran bug-free, all of the UI looked nice and was visually appealing, and I added little touches to the gameplay that made it more complete. Overall, I am very proud of the finished product.
The Okay
Sound
I only had one sound effect, which although is really all I needed, could have been expanded upon. I did however create some background music that I really liked. It was my first time using Bosca Ceoil, and I think I came out with some decent music. Ironically, I created better music for this Ludum Dare with Bosca Ceoil than I have for my other games using Sonar (I should probably learn how to use it).
Graphics
I like 3D models better, but I’m decent at simple 2D art. I made several sprites for each of the cards, which although simple got the point across. However, I am very happy with the animated background I made in After Effects, a program I am proficient in. It brought the game to life.
The Bad
Gameplay Length and Difficulty
Unfortunately because I was focused on creating a polished game, the gameplay wasn’t that long nor hard. You can beat all 40 waves in about a minute, and some people found it pretty easy. I think I should have made at least 50 waves, as well as increased the difficulty a bit.
Overall, I think this was my best Ludum Dare entry out of the two I have done. Hopefully, I can say the same thing for next time.