LudumData

I’m scared about the upcoming Ludum Dare, and don’t really know where to start

[raw] LD27Uncategorized 24. Jul 2013 · 14:43 UTC · 29 days before compo start by Pixelaided · 0

It’s upcoming only in a month’s time, and I’m shaking even now. I don’t know where to start! I’d love to prepare by using sfxr and making spritesheets in Paint.NET, but the rules say I can’t until the 48 hours start. I understand Game Maker. I know how it’s just like coding but put in a simpler way. But I’d like to challenge myself, and go more versatile with using C# or Java. I’d use ActionScript with flash, but flash’s amtlib.dll isn’t working, and I understand Java and C# better. Programming would be a LOT easier if it was put in a simpler way. It’s like learning a new language, you know the translation but you have to learn the language. I’ve dreamed of doing something like the Ludum Dare, but I need more training! Can anyone bring me to something that’ll help me prepare?

Ontop of all that, what should I use to program it? I have Netbeans, Eclipse, Microsoft Visual Express, Gamemaker 8 Pro, and (I haven’t used this in a LOONG time) Unity.

Thank you.

Comments

24. Jul 2013 · 14:56 UTC
You can technically use anything that you have created before AND have made publicly available. So anyone could grab the resources you’ve released in the wild. They accept posts in here with links to what you’ve made as ‘released publicly’.
24. Jul 2013 · 14:57 UTC
Ah, and I have slightly the same problem that you do. I understand Unity “well enough” but don’t know whether I should use that or something actionscript-based. I like C#, but I have a slightly hard time with 2D in Unity. Whatever you use, I highly recommend that it be playable on the web.
24. Jul 2013 · 16:38 UTC
Unless you really know what you are doing or want to take crazy risks, always do a compo or jam in the language/libraries you know best. There’s enough challenge in bringing a game to completion in a compo without throwing a new technology on top of that.
vgcharlienash
24. Jul 2013 · 18:29 UTC
Don’t be scared! Its good fun, the last Ludum Dare was my first one. There’s nothing to worry about, just enjoy it when it starts. As for language, Batch is a nice and easy one to use for game jams as it sets yourself a challenge on what you can make using it. :)
dalbinblue
24. Jul 2013 · 19:02 UTC
Before the first time I entered Ludum Dare I wanted to do some preparation as well. What I ended up doing (and what helped me a lot) was to actually port an old Nintendo Entertainment System from scratch using my language and tools of choice. Specifically I ported over Dragon Warrior, or at least partially (you could play thought the first hour or so). What was nice about doing this was the graphics and sound can be easily downloaded, and there are tons of documentation out there on how these games work under the covers. Given this I was able to concentrate on getting used to the tools I was going to use and solve much of the basic game issues I would need to solve like loading level data, drawing sprites, etc.