Ludum Dare - Report 3

So the competition itself ended. It was a new experience, it was pretty cool to make a game in a day(I didn't use the 48 hours), I implemented everything I wanted(although not as much as my first ideas).

The game isn't all that pretty, but I guess it fits in to Ludum Dare!

Here is my entry, in case you wanna check it out:

My Ludum Dare entry!

One of the things that made me sad is the lack of music. I can't make it myself and it's against the rules to use other's songs. Oh well.

There's an impressive amount of over 750 games! That's so cool!
Now I'll proceed to rate some games and I'll post about anything that catches my eye!

19/12/2011

Lonely Island: a game heavy on atmosphere, good use of Unity, good, fitting, graphics. Sad story. I like it.
Quiet Player: this game has good graphics and sound, it's also well done, pretty well constructed, with a clear goal, beginning and end.
Lonely Robot: amazing gameplay features for the given time, it feels like a quite complete platforming game, although the camera is bad. Good graphics and sound too! Solid.

I've rated through 8 games, there's much more to come!

 20/12/2011
Alone: witty and creative gameplay. kinda cool. Bad theme fitting, though.
Copy Killer: Best game so far, amazing gameplay, good graphics, interesting puzzles. Lack of sound though, still great! Great take on the theme too! Got the first five stars for theme!
Ending Messages Suck: simple game mechanic but good enough. Charming puzzle-like!

I've gone through around 20, 25 games by now! Tuesday's games wore better than monday's...

Copy Killer is really great! Give it a whirl!

21/12/2011
Abandoned: awesome graphics and concepts, good gameplay, good representation of the theme. One of the best!
Alone in the Mansion: good game, maybe a little bit short, nothing groundbreaking, but it does it's job.
Drink Alone: innovative, interesting take, but not too good on the theme. Everything is good, too.
Dungeons of Solitude: solid Zelda-ish entry. Not innovative, nothing big on the theme, but great game with awesome pixel art graphic!
Final Trip Soccer: innovative, good take on the theme, great graphics, one of the best. The gameplay mechanic is slightly broken, though.

Ludum Dare - Report 2

So I've advanced in the main gameplay of things. My game is still quite simple.

So I was looking for some songs to use in the game... Then I found out I couldn't actually use any of those, I had to make my own. Make my own songs, damn. I tried the mic, tried programs... But I guess my game'll have no songs. Oh well.

Looks weird? I think so too.

So I decided to make a game where the lonely kid has to shot his own thoughts, since that's what I associate to being alone: thoughts.

Everyone is pulling off these cool, crazy games, with interesting mechanics, I'm starting to think my game may be way too simple. Oh well. Tough luck, huh? This is my first Ludum Dare...

There's still more to do! :D

Ludum Dare - Report 1

Ok, two hours have passed since Ludum Dare began. I have now finished setting up my Eclipse project for the game, with some basic classes (yes, I chose to do that after the competition began... Rookie's mistake? We'll see).

I've got my idea set for the game, I came up with those pretty fast, I guess. I won't reveal it yet, though!

This is the main character of the game

This is all I have to show so far, the main character.  He looks cute, right? Made him in ASEprite!

Ludum Dare Competition

I guess I'll go read something(Clash of Kings) and fall asleep. Tomorrow will be a fun day!

Ludum Dare is in two days...

This marks a halt to my Make a Game series.

As far as Ludum Dare goes, theme voting is going on right now. Over the last few months I've been messing quite a lot with libGDX and I think I'm ready for the competition. Or not. It IS my first Ludum Dare, so, who knows what might happen?

I'll basically be using the stuff I've went through in the Make a Game series :)

Anyways, some of the voting is still open, you can go here to vote and to follow the competition:
The Ludum Dare Competition

I'll probably be updating both here and there, through the competition.
I hope that, by the end of the weekend, I'll have something playable to throw right in to the Android Market. Wish me luck!

Don't know what Ludum Dare is? About Ludum Dare

Make a Game - Beginning!

The other articles of Make a Game:

Concept and Scope
2D Graphics - Pixel Art
libGDX Architecture, Drawing and Input
Our Avoiding Game Architecture
Sound Effects and Music 
Publishing

________________________________________________________
This is the Make a Game series, in which I'll go through the entire process of making a game. My engine of choice will be the libGDX. This is me preparing for Ludum Dare of December, so if you follow this, you'll be prepared too! :)

And what is Ludum Dare and why should I care?

Why libGDX? 

1. It's free
2. It's Java
3. It allows me to write a game and get the result in both "pure" Java and Android

So while it's true you won't get any money from the Ludum Dare itself, we'll be looking at ways to make some money with our game :)

Setting up libGDX

First and foremost, you need to setup a project with the engine, and this link below will guide you through it:
Setting up a project with libGDX

Just skip the steps about Android setup if you do not want to work with that right now. It's best to learn how to setup the project by yourself, but I might post a project already all setup for you to jump straight in to development. Kinda.

I can't setup libGDX...

You could download an project already cofigured and go from there!
Try to download one of the open source demos:
libGDX repository Demo projects
You're gonna need a subversion tool, though...
like Tortoisesvn

Play around with libGDX

While I don't get around to writing the rest of the series, why not take a look at some of the tutorials about drawing images?
Drawing images with libGDX

Our next step
We'll start defining what kind of game we're going to make, so we'll take a step back in programming and take a step in design. 

Ludum Dare and Make A Game series!

What is Ludum Dare?
Ludum Dare is an indie game competition. The rules are simple: make a game, by yourself, within 48 hours, with a given theme!
The prize: a great experience!

Well, yes, there are no cash or other types of prizes, except for your own game. And the knowledge that comes with making it.

Ludum Dare: rapid indeed!

You can read more about the rules and Ludum Dare heere:
The Rules of Ludum Dare

"Can I really make a game in two days?!"
Yes, we can!

I'm going to be entering in my first Ludum Dare this December(from 16th to 19th), and I'm really looking forward to it!

But I need to do some preparing, I need to know more about the engine I'll be using then... The libGDX!
So I've started the "Make a Game" series, in which I'll show the entire process of making a game in libGDX, with open sources codes and exploring various aspects of the entire game design process!

Watch the progress here:
Make a Game Series - Beginning!
Godspeed!