{"author_link":"\/users\/fullmontis","author_name":"fullmontis","author_uid":"fullmontis","comments":[],"epoch":1534938393,"event":"LD42","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":118190,"likes":3,"metadata":{"p_key":"121400","p_author":"fullmontis","p_authorkey":"1002934","p_urlkey":"337435","p_title":"What Is On The Walls Inside (LD42) - Post Mortem","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD42","p_time":"1534938393","p_likes":"3","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1002934","us_name":"fullmontis","us_username":"fullmontis","event_start":"1533859200","event_key":"73","event_name":"LD 42"},"node":{"_collation":{"body_sanitizer":"TextUtils::SanitizeHTML via existing importer","event":"LD42","removed_author":false},"_superparent":97793,"_trust":6,"author":2934,"body":"![image834.png](\/\/\/raw\/67b\/z\/1a621.png)\n\n### So it is done...\n\nAnother Ludum Dare, another weekend of sleepless nights, another small game that surfaced in this cruel world... What a time to be alive!\n\nSo my jam game, [What Is On The Walls Inside](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/42\/what-is-on-the-walls-inside), is now released. You can play it online right now, if you feel like it.\n\nI feel like this one was one of the best Ludum Dares I had in the longest time. Maybe because for once I did a lot of things right, and while I was unable to complete the game for the compo and had to fallback to the jam, I'm happy to say that it was an interesting experience and totally worth the time.\n\nBut let's examine this in order and see where things went well and what we can improve next time.\n\n### Genre\n\nI am not that good as a programmer. There, I said it.\n\nMaybe it is my stubbornness in using a barebones HTML5 engine that I made myself, or maybe just the fact that I don't practice nearly enough than I should: but I can't make games that are too complex in scope or mechanics.\n\nThis means that I am naturally brought to games that are simple in terms of interaction with the user, and visual novels are the kind of game I gravitate towards. This is not only a matter of necessity, but it is also I am naturally brought to. I love stories (if you didn't get that already from my [twitter bio](https:\/\/twitter.com\/fullmontis)), and as such I like to express them in a medium like games. This is probably a controversial topic, since many people wouldn't even consider visual novels in the same field of games; but I don't like to make too many categories in my head. To me games are interactive experiences, and anything that fits in that scope can be considered as such.\n\nOf course, this means that narrative games are my first choice when it comes to game jams, since it is both something I'm decent at making in that timeframe, and something I like to make. This however has put me at a disadvantage, since it seems that games too heavy on the narrative are quite harder to accept than games that are more action-oriented. That is rather obvious, just like movies are more popular than books.\n\nThis always made me feel a little inadequate when it comes to making narrative games. I mean, why bother when I know that not many people are going to enjoy it? That always made me think twice about mi first ideas, which always involve some kind of narrative, for something that is more interactive and workable from the point of view of the user. This, however, always meant that I had to wrestle with mechanics that I was not an expert into, which in turn made making the game in question much more difficult to make. So I always ended up scrapping what I had been working on for most of the time, because I realized I didn't have the technical proficiency to complete it. Not only that, but I didn't feel as motivated to complete it, because it was not a game I was making for myself: it was mostly for some generic other, someone who could enjoy that kind of game. And working your ass off on something that you don't really want to see completed is real pain, especially if there is no outside incentive other than \"it is for a game jam\".\n\nFor once, I was able to ignore this. I just decided to make a game I wanted to make, without trying to pander to a wider audience for some imaginary glory (that would not come either way). That was a very important decision, and something I needed to understand by myself.\n\n**Lesson 1: Always choose the idea you want to make, and not what you think others want to see.**\n\n### Time\n\nThe most important thing for me was time management. This is the first time since I started doing Ludum Dares back in [LD26](https:\/\/fullmontis.itch.io\/the-call) that I was actually able to use the whole 48 hours without external problems and without wasting time.\n\nThe usual for the past jams was this: find an idea, start gushing on how great and simple it is, then grab the keyboard and start working. Then, a few hours later, realize that the idea isn't as contained as I wanted it to be, and end up throwing it away with a stab on the chest while I start looking for another, crumb-size idea to make in the squeeze of time remaining. This became such a routine for me that I came almost to expect it. I'm glad to have broken the spell for once.\n\nLuck was also on my side because for once I had the full weekend for me, instead of having the usual unexpected things that happen right when you least expect them, like the dog throwing up in the kitchen. It was quite uneventful as a weekend. Of course, one can't rely on luck that much, but it is always a nice thing to have.\n\nI also ended up being rather economical in terms of what I was making. Usually I end up brainstorming tons of ideas that end up in oblivion, or create tons of art or writing that I can't really use in the game. This is a big waste of time, and for once I was able to instead be more focused and only make what was needed.\n\nLudum Dare's early start also made it a lot more easy on the time management side, since I was able to brainstorm ideas for an hour before heading to bed for a weekend of work. This seems trivial but in fact is one of the biggest problems I had with Ludum Dare until now: three days of work instead of two relieve a lot of stress from the nervous system, and I was much more productive with the little time I had at hand. I'm glad to see it is going to be considered as a base for future August jams. Horray!\n\n**Lesson 2: Be sure to only focus on the core of your idea, and manage your energy so that it is balanced during the whole jam.**\n\n### Clarity\n\nThe main goal for this Ludum Dare was to be as out there as possible. Realizing that most of my games were held back in some way because I was scared of what others may think was depressing and a moment when I decided this had to change. So this time I wanted to take an idea, simple of course, and I would pursue it no matter how wild it may turn out to be. It was mostly an experiment on relasing creative brakes that held me back in the past.\n\nAnd well, that is exactly what it came out to be. If you played the game, you probably noticed it isn't ortodox under any aspect. I just followed this idea, trying to put it on paper as close as I could, and I think I ended up doing a better job than I expected. I don't know how much it made the game enjoyable, but I think at least it made it interesting.\n\nBut this raised a big clarity problem. I admit I had almost no idea what the heck I was trying to create. Say you want to make a platformer: it is something that has done before, and everyone has some practice designing such a game. Now, consider whatever What Is On The Walls Inside: that is something that is completely designed from scratch. I was just following an idea without any ground under it, and trying for the whole time to somehow make it stand up on its own in the real world. And that was a lot of work.\n\nI had a vague sense of what I wanted to make, but I still had to test and feel around the game and see if it was working or not. In the end it kind of did, and it holds itself as a whole like a nice cake, but it was a lot of work. This is probably the main reason why I was unable to finish the game in time for the compo. I'm not annoyed, because the extra time of the jam was a wonderful help for making the game shine, but I still believe I could have fitted the whole game in the compo time frame.\n\nI cannot overstate how important it is to have clear in your mind what you want to create: the clearer the image, the easier it is to transfer it into something playable. This is a staple of all arts, but it is especially important in games, because the interactive element of games can literally break it if you don't realize beforehand that you are aiming too high.\n\n**Lesson 3: Have a clear vision of the end product that you want to create.**\n\n### Conclusions\n\nOverall, I consider myself more than satisfied on how this jam went along. It was very interesting to play around with ideas and experiment, and it was a great way to learn something new.\n\nFor now, that is all. Thanks for reading.\n\nYou can check out [What Is On The Walls Inside](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/42\/what-is-on-the-walls-inside), if that tickled your curiosity. ","comments":1,"comments-timestamp":"2018-08-23T08:15:27Z","created":"2018-08-22T11:42:57Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":118190,"love":3,"love-timestamp":"2018-08-23T08:06:49Z","meta":[],"modified":"2018-08-23T08:15:27Z","name":"What Is On The Walls Inside (LD42) - Post Mortem","node-timestamp":"2018-08-22T11:46:33Z","parent":99074,"parents":[1,5,9,97793,99074],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/42\/what-is-on-the-walls-inside\/what-is-on-the-walls-inside-ld42-post-mortem","published":"2018-08-22T11:46:33Z","scope":"public","slug":"what-is-on-the-walls-inside-ld42-post-mortem","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":353903},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"118190","n_urlkey":"337435","n_parent":"99074","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/42\/what-is-on-the-walls-inside\/what-is-on-the-walls-inside-ld42-post-mortem","n_slug":"what-is-on-the-walls-inside-ld42","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"2934","n_created":"1534938177","n_modified":"1535012127","n_version":"353903","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/42\/what-is-on-the-walls-inside\/what-is-on-the-walls-inside-ld42-post-mortem","text":"![image834.png](\/\/\/raw\/67b\/z\/1a621.png)\n\n### So it is done...\n\nAnother Ludum Dare, another weekend of sleepless nights, another small game that surfaced in this cruel world... What a time to be alive!\n\nSo my jam game, [What Is On The Walls Inside](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/42\/what-is-on-the-walls-inside), is now released. You can play it online right now, if you feel like it.\n\nI feel like this one was one of the best Ludum Dares I had in the longest time. Maybe because for once I did a lot of things right, and while I was unable to complete the game for the compo and had to fallback to the jam, I'm happy to say that it was an interesting experience and totally worth the time.\n\nBut let's examine this in order and see where things went well and what we can improve next time.\n\n### Genre\n\nI am not that good as a programmer. There, I said it.\n\nMaybe it is my stubbornness in using a barebones HTML5 engine that I made myself, or maybe just the fact that I don't practice nearly enough than I should: but I can't make games that are too complex in scope or mechanics.\n\nThis means that I am naturally brought to games that are simple in terms of interaction with the user, and visual novels are the kind of game I gravitate towards. This is not only a matter of necessity, but it is also I am naturally brought to. I love stories (if you didn't get that already from my [twitter bio](https:\/\/twitter.com\/fullmontis)), and as such I like to express them in a medium like games. This is probably a controversial topic, since many people wouldn't even consider visual novels in the same field of games; but I don't like to make too many categories in my head. To me games are interactive experiences, and anything that fits in that scope can be considered as such.\n\nOf course, this means that narrative games are my first choice when it comes to game jams, since it is both something I'm decent at making in that timeframe, and something I like to make. This however has put me at a disadvantage, since it seems that games too heavy on the narrative are quite harder to accept than games that are more action-oriented. That is rather obvious, just like movies are more popular than books.\n\nThis always made me feel a little inadequate when it comes to making narrative games. I mean, why bother when I know that not many people are going to enjoy it? That always made me think twice about mi first ideas, which always involve some kind of narrative, for something that is more interactive and workable from the point of view of the user. This, however, always meant that I had to wrestle with mechanics that I was not an expert into, which in turn made making the game in question much more difficult to make. So I always ended up scrapping what I had been working on for most of the time, because I realized I didn't have the technical proficiency to complete it. Not only that, but I didn't feel as motivated to complete it, because it was not a game I was making for myself: it was mostly for some generic other, someone who could enjoy that kind of game. And working your ass off on something that you don't really want to see completed is real pain, especially if there is no outside incentive other than \"it is for a game jam\".\n\nFor once, I was able to ignore this. I just decided to make a game I wanted to make, without trying to pander to a wider audience for some imaginary glory (that would not come either way). That was a very important decision, and something I needed to understand by myself.\n\n**Lesson 1: Always choose the idea you want to make, and not what you think others want to see.**\n\n### Time\n\nThe most important thing for me was time management. This is the first time since I started doing Ludum Dares back in [LD26](https:\/\/fullmontis.itch.io\/the-call) that I was actually able to use the whole 48 hours without external problems and without wasting time.\n\nThe usual for the past jams was this: find an idea, start gushing on how great and simple it is, then grab the keyboard and start working. Then, a few hours later, realize that the idea isn't as contained as I wanted it to be, and end up throwing it away with a stab on the chest while I start looking for another, crumb-size idea to make in the squeeze of time remaining. This became such a routine for me that I came almost to expect it. I'm glad to have broken the spell for once.\n\nLuck was also on my side because for once I had the full weekend for me, instead of having the usual unexpected things that happen right when you least expect them, like the dog throwing up in the kitchen. It was quite uneventful as a weekend. Of course, one can't rely on luck that much, but it is always a nice thing to have.\n\nI also ended up being rather economical in terms of what I was making. Usually I end up brainstorming tons of ideas that end up in oblivion, or create tons of art or writing that I can't really use in the game. This is a big waste of time, and for once I was able to instead be more focused and only make what was needed.\n\nLudum Dare's early start also made it a lot more easy on the time management side, since I was able to brainstorm ideas for an hour before heading to bed for a weekend of work. This seems trivial but in fact is one of the biggest problems I had with Ludum Dare until now: three days of work instead of two relieve a lot of stress from the nervous system, and I was much more productive with the little time I had at hand. I'm glad to see it is going to be considered as a base for future August jams. Horray!\n\n**Lesson 2: Be sure to only focus on the core of your idea, and manage your energy so that it is balanced during the whole jam.**\n\n### Clarity\n\nThe main goal for this Ludum Dare was to be as out there as possible. Realizing that most of my games were held back in some way because I was scared of what others may think was depressing and a moment when I decided this had to change. So this time I wanted to take an idea, simple of course, and I would pursue it no matter how wild it may turn out to be. It was mostly an experiment on relasing creative brakes that held me back in the past.\n\nAnd well, that is exactly what it came out to be. If you played the game, you probably noticed it isn't ortodox under any aspect. I just followed this idea, trying to put it on paper as close as I could, and I think I ended up doing a better job than I expected. I don't know how much it made the game enjoyable, but I think at least it made it interesting.\n\nBut this raised a big clarity problem. I admit I had almost no idea what the heck I was trying to create. Say you want to make a platformer: it is something that has done before, and everyone has some practice designing such a game. Now, consider whatever What Is On The Walls Inside: that is something that is completely designed from scratch. I was just following an idea without any ground under it, and trying for the whole time to somehow make it stand up on its own in the real world. And that was a lot of work.\n\nI had a vague sense of what I wanted to make, but I still had to test and feel around the game and see if it was working or not. In the end it kind of did, and it holds itself as a whole like a nice cake, but it was a lot of work. This is probably the main reason why I was unable to finish the game in time for the compo. I'm not annoyed, because the extra time of the jam was a wonderful help for making the game shine, but I still believe I could have fitted the whole game in the compo time frame.\n\nI cannot overstate how important it is to have clear in your mind what you want to create: the clearer the image, the easier it is to transfer it into something playable. This is a staple of all arts, but it is especially important in games, because the interactive element of games can literally break it if you don't realize beforehand that you are aiming too high.\n\n**Lesson 3: Have a clear vision of the end product that you want to create.**\n\n### Conclusions\n\nOverall, I consider myself more than satisfied on how this jam went along. It was very interesting to play around with ideas and experiment, and it was a great way to learn something new.\n\nFor now, that is all. Thanks for reading.\n\nYou can check out [What Is On The Walls Inside](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/42\/what-is-on-the-walls-inside), if that tickled your curiosity. ","title":"What Is On The Walls Inside (LD42) - Post Mortem","wayback_source":[]}