{"author_link":"\/users\/balimaarthebassfish","author_name":"BalimaarTheBassFish","author_uid":"balimaarthebassfish","comments":[],"epoch":1745776477,"event":"LD57","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":415443,"likes":8,"metadata":{"p_key":"211695","p_author":"BalimaarTheBassFish","p_authorkey":"1297676","p_urlkey":"451522","p_title":"Post-Jam Reflection: Dive Into the Hive Mind","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD57","p_time":"1745776477","p_likes":"8","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1297676","us_name":"BalimaarTheBassFish","us_username":"balimaarthebassfish","event_start":"1743811200","event_key":"111","event_name":"Ludum Dare 57"},"node":{"_collation":{"body_sanitizer":"TextUtils::SanitizeHTML via existing importer","event":"LD57","removed_author":false},"_superparent":406845,"_trust":1,"author":297676,"body":"First of all \u2014 thank you to everyone who played, rated, commented, left feedback, recorded videos, laughed, cried, ran out of ammo, and punched a bee in desperation.\n\nThanks to you, this was our strongest Ludum Dare performance ever as a team \u2014 not just in terms of score, but in how we felt about what we made.\n\nThis was the Ludum Dare where we finally clicked.\n\n\ud83d\udee0\ufe0f **What Went Right**\n\nWe actually planned first. Instead of charging in with vibes only (RIP Paper Cat Farms), we spent about an hour deciding what we really wanted: a short, punchy game you could beat in about 10 minutes, dense with action, and fun enough to come back to.\n\nWe balanced from experience. We followed an old-school design principle (popularized at id Software, creators of Doom and Quake):\n\n*\"If you can beat your game blindfolded, that's Hard. Normal should come before that.\"*\n\nThis helped us keep the main route satisfying but not soul-crushing. Endless Mode is there if you want to hurt yourself. \ud83d\ude09\n\nOur small early maps were intentional. We learned during testing that huge mazes with three enemies hiding at the end were just... boring. Early levels are small and fast on purpose to keep pacing tight and fun. Later levels grow larger and more challenging.\n\n\ud83d\udc1d **The Soul of the Game: Ammo Management**\n\nWe received tons of thoughtful feedback (thank you again!) about ammo scarcity.\nMany players noted that running out of ammo could feel brutal \u2014 but also strategic.\n\nWe want to be very clear: this was deliberate.\nAmmo management wasn\u2019t a flaw \u2014 it was the soul of Dive Into the Hive Mind.\n\nWe didn\u2019t want you to be Rambo.\nWe wanted you to think like Agent 47:\n\n-Make every shot count.\n\n-Decide when it\u2019s worth the risk to punch.\n\n-Adapt when things don't go to plan.\n\n\nSome players loved this tension. Some struggled. But we believe it gave the game its identity, and we\u2019re proud we stuck to that vision.\n\n\ud83c\udfa8 **Behind the Scenes**\n\nBizzybee \u2013 Art, Music, and SFX\nBiz went full mad scientist, doodling like a whirlwind and composing electric, neuron-inspired music centered around the note B (\"bee,\" get it?).\nDespite a recent chronic fatigue diagnosis, she powered through and made more art for this LD than ever before. Constraint truly made creativity flourish this time.\n\nFgeva \u2013 Programming\nWith up-front design this time, there were no last-minute panics. Fgeva hit all our main goals and even some stretch goals \u2014 though he may or may not have been hallucinating from sleep deprivation by the end. (LD tradition!)\n\nBalimaar \u2013 Programming\nTerrified about implementing procedural generation \u2014 and then utterly euphoric when it worked.\nThis jam had way fewer \"we're doomed\" moments thanks to early planning. Also: much less bee-serk panic compared to LD56.\n\n\ud83c\udfaf **Moving Forward**\n\nWe are soon to release a Post-Jam Version fixing many rough edges:\n\n-Polished visuals and SFX balancing\n\n-Smoothed out web build issues\n\n-Controller input fixes\n\n-Small tweaks based on feedback\n\n\nBut importantly: the ammo balance remains true to the original vision.\nWe made a game that demands careful thought and adaptation \u2014 and we\u2019re sticking to that.\n\n\u2764\ufe0f **Final Thank You**\n\nThank you for diving into the hive mind with us.\nThis was hands-down the best Ludum Dare we\u2019ve had \u2014 and it\u2019s thanks to all of you who played, commented, encouraged, critiqued, and took a chance on our weird little bee-brain experiment.\n\nWe hope you had fun.\nWe sure did.\n\n\ud83d\udc1d\ud83d\udc9a \u2014 The Hive Mind Team\n*(Bizzybee, Fgeva, Balimaar)*","comments":1,"comments-timestamp":"2025-04-28T00:10:40Z","created":"2025-04-27T17:48:02Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":415443,"love":8,"love-timestamp":"2025-04-30T18:20:27Z","meta":[],"modified":"2025-04-30T18:20:27Z","name":"Post-Jam Reflection: Dive Into the Hive Mind","node-timestamp":"2025-04-27T17:54:37Z","parent":408994,"parents":[1,5,9,406845,408994],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/57\/dive-into-the-hive-mind\/post-jam-reflection-dive-into-the-hive-mind","published":"2025-04-27T17:54:37Z","scope":"public","slug":"post-jam-reflection-dive-into-the-hive-mind","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":1312772},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"415443","n_urlkey":"451522","n_parent":"408994","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/57\/dive-into-the-hive-mind\/post-jam-reflection-dive-into-the-hive-mind","n_slug":"post-jam-reflection-dive-into-th","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"297676","n_created":"1745776082","n_modified":"1746037227","n_version":"1312772","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/57\/dive-into-the-hive-mind\/post-jam-reflection-dive-into-the-hive-mind","text":"First of all \u2014 thank you to everyone who played, rated, commented, left feedback, recorded videos, laughed, cried, ran out of ammo, and punched a bee in desperation.\n\nThanks to you, this was our strongest Ludum Dare performance ever as a team \u2014 not just in terms of score, but in how we felt about what we made.\n\nThis was the Ludum Dare where we finally clicked.\n\n\ud83d\udee0\ufe0f **What Went Right**\n\nWe actually planned first. Instead of charging in with vibes only (RIP Paper Cat Farms), we spent about an hour deciding what we really wanted: a short, punchy game you could beat in about 10 minutes, dense with action, and fun enough to come back to.\n\nWe balanced from experience. We followed an old-school design principle (popularized at id Software, creators of Doom and Quake):\n\n*\"If you can beat your game blindfolded, that's Hard. Normal should come before that.\"*\n\nThis helped us keep the main route satisfying but not soul-crushing. Endless Mode is there if you want to hurt yourself. \ud83d\ude09\n\nOur small early maps were intentional. We learned during testing that huge mazes with three enemies hiding at the end were just... boring. Early levels are small and fast on purpose to keep pacing tight and fun. Later levels grow larger and more challenging.\n\n\ud83d\udc1d **The Soul of the Game: Ammo Management**\n\nWe received tons of thoughtful feedback (thank you again!) about ammo scarcity.\nMany players noted that running out of ammo could feel brutal \u2014 but also strategic.\n\nWe want to be very clear: this was deliberate.\nAmmo management wasn\u2019t a flaw \u2014 it was the soul of Dive Into the Hive Mind.\n\nWe didn\u2019t want you to be Rambo.\nWe wanted you to think like Agent 47:\n\n-Make every shot count.\n\n-Decide when it\u2019s worth the risk to punch.\n\n-Adapt when things don't go to plan.\n\n\nSome players loved this tension. Some struggled. But we believe it gave the game its identity, and we\u2019re proud we stuck to that vision.\n\n\ud83c\udfa8 **Behind the Scenes**\n\nBizzybee \u2013 Art, Music, and SFX\nBiz went full mad scientist, doodling like a whirlwind and composing electric, neuron-inspired music centered around the note B (\"bee,\" get it?).\nDespite a recent chronic fatigue diagnosis, she powered through and made more art for this LD than ever before. Constraint truly made creativity flourish this time.\n\nFgeva \u2013 Programming\nWith up-front design this time, there were no last-minute panics. Fgeva hit all our main goals and even some stretch goals \u2014 though he may or may not have been hallucinating from sleep deprivation by the end. (LD tradition!)\n\nBalimaar \u2013 Programming\nTerrified about implementing procedural generation \u2014 and then utterly euphoric when it worked.\nThis jam had way fewer \"we're doomed\" moments thanks to early planning. Also: much less bee-serk panic compared to LD56.\n\n\ud83c\udfaf **Moving Forward**\n\nWe are soon to release a Post-Jam Version fixing many rough edges:\n\n-Polished visuals and SFX balancing\n\n-Smoothed out web build issues\n\n-Controller input fixes\n\n-Small tweaks based on feedback\n\n\nBut importantly: the ammo balance remains true to the original vision.\nWe made a game that demands careful thought and adaptation \u2014 and we\u2019re sticking to that.\n\n\u2764\ufe0f **Final Thank You**\n\nThank you for diving into the hive mind with us.\nThis was hands-down the best Ludum Dare we\u2019ve had \u2014 and it\u2019s thanks to all of you who played, commented, encouraged, critiqued, and took a chance on our weird little bee-brain experiment.\n\nWe hope you had fun.\nWe sure did.\n\n\ud83d\udc1d\ud83d\udc9a \u2014 The Hive Mind Team\n*(Bizzybee, Fgeva, Balimaar)*","title":"Post-Jam Reflection: Dive Into the Hive Mind","wayback_source":[]}