{"author_link":"\/users\/bthedestroyer","author_name":"BtheDestroyer","author_uid":"bthedestroyer","comments":[],"epoch":1673105877,"event":"LD52","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":319071,"likes":9,"metadata":{"p_key":"170277","p_author":"BtheDestroyer","p_authorkey":"1002584","p_urlkey":"399118","p_title":"Advice for your first LD","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD52","p_time":"1673105877","p_likes":"9","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1002584","us_name":"BtheDestroyer","us_username":"bthedestroyer","event_start":"1672963200","event_key":"116","event_name":"Ludum Dare 52"},"node":{"_collation":{"body_sanitizer":"TextUtils::SanitizeHTML via existing importer","event":"LD52","removed_author":false},"_superparent":313060,"_trust":2,"author":2584,"body":"As someone who's done this a few times before and made all of these mistakes, some things to keep in mind:\n\n1. Don't stay up for 48 hours straight constantly working in an attempt to squeeze out the most time. After a few hours you *will* lose steam; this is a great opportunity to take a few minutes to eat, make a blog post, discuss with your team (if you have one), etc. You will keep thinking and solving problems in the background and usually the main factor of solving those problems is giving yourself enough time, not working constantly.\n2. Remember to stay hydrated! Always have a mostly full glass of water available. If you run low, go refill it; the trip will give you a brief break and may give you space to help solve a problem.\n3. Start polishing *now*. If you're doing the Compo, you're already basically out of time for adding new features. For every hour you spend adding a feature, know that at least 2-3 will be spent polishing and bug fixing.\n4. Scope down throughout the jam. Every 12 hours evaluate (with your team) where you are and if you'll need to cut anything. If you wanted to have 3 levels but don't have 1 done yet, maybe just make 1 level. Wanted two main systems that play off each other but aren't completely finished with the first one, maybe cut the second system and just make the one you have really good.\n5. Enjoy the experience! This is supposed to be *fun*. If you find yourself stressing out about the deadline or a bug you can't squash, take a breath and remember that in the long run, Ludum Dare doesn't *really* matter, and that's kinda the point. It's ok to fail! It's ok to not know how to do something perfectly your first try!","comments":0,"created":"2023-01-07T15:28:11Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":319071,"love":9,"love-timestamp":"2023-01-08T21:32:52Z","meta":[],"modified":"2023-01-08T21:32:52Z","name":"Advice for your first LD","node-timestamp":"2023-01-07T15:37:57Z","parent":314709,"parents":[1,5,9,313060,314709],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/52\/rhythm-reaper\/advice-for-your-first-ld","published":"2023-01-07T15:37:57Z","scope":"public","slug":"advice-for-your-first-ld","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":984507},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"319071","n_urlkey":"399118","n_parent":"314709","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/52\/rhythm-reaper\/advice-for-your-first-ld","n_slug":"advice-for-your-first-ld","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"2584","n_created":"1673105291","n_modified":"1673213572","n_version":"984507","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/52\/rhythm-reaper\/advice-for-your-first-ld","text":"As someone who's done this a few times before and made all of these mistakes, some things to keep in mind:\n\n1. Don't stay up for 48 hours straight constantly working in an attempt to squeeze out the most time. After a few hours you *will* lose steam; this is a great opportunity to take a few minutes to eat, make a blog post, discuss with your team (if you have one), etc. You will keep thinking and solving problems in the background and usually the main factor of solving those problems is giving yourself enough time, not working constantly.\n2. Remember to stay hydrated! Always have a mostly full glass of water available. If you run low, go refill it; the trip will give you a brief break and may give you space to help solve a problem.\n3. Start polishing *now*. If you're doing the Compo, you're already basically out of time for adding new features. For every hour you spend adding a feature, know that at least 2-3 will be spent polishing and bug fixing.\n4. Scope down throughout the jam. Every 12 hours evaluate (with your team) where you are and if you'll need to cut anything. If you wanted to have 3 levels but don't have 1 done yet, maybe just make 1 level. Wanted two main systems that play off each other but aren't completely finished with the first one, maybe cut the second system and just make the one you have really good.\n5. Enjoy the experience! This is supposed to be *fun*. If you find yourself stressing out about the deadline or a bug you can't squash, take a breath and remember that in the long run, Ludum Dare doesn't *really* matter, and that's kinda the point. It's ok to fail! It's ok to not know how to do something perfectly your first try!","title":"Advice for your first LD","wayback_source":[]}