{"author_name":"jurnacsr","cat":"LD #25","comments":[],"epoch":1355857560,"likes":0,"metadata":{"p_key":"47494","p_author":"jurnacsr","p_authorkey":"16532","p_urlkey":"83159","p_title":"UNLEASHED \u2013 post-mortem","p_cat":"LD #25","p_event":"LD25","p_time":"1355857560","p_likes":"0","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"16532","us_name":"jurnacsr","us_username":"jurnacsr","event_start":"1355443200","event_key":"14","event_name":"LD25"},"text":"
\"UNLEASHED<\/a>

UNLEASHED – Son of Kracken title screen.<\/p><\/div>\n

Play the game here: UNLEASHED – Son of Kracken<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

So it is with a bang and not a whimper that I end my second Ludum Dare competition entry!\u00a0 I always like to wait a few days before I do a post-mortem like this.\u00a0 I need the time off, need to rest my eyes and my ass (sitting in my crap computer chair really wears me out), and take my mind off it for a while.\u00a0 Now, I feel like I have a good grasp of what I was doing, what I hope to accomplish, and what I could have done differently.<\/p>\n

You are free to take a look at my previous entry if you want to get a glimpse of a project done wrong.\u00a0 I was determined to not make the same mistakes as before.\u00a0 I knew first-hand that I needed to do a lot more planning, even if it was only a simple design document with some concepts and strategies lined out.\u00a0 I also knew that I wanted to use a pre-existing engine for my development.\u00a0 I tried rolling my own the first time and it added a dozen layers of complications \u2013 unnecessary complications.\u00a0 I was also determined to finish the damn thing \u2013 have a start, a finish.\u00a0 Have some sounds and understandable art assets.\u00a0 I think I did just fine this time around.<\/p>\n

The entry I give you this year is called Unleashed \u2013 Son of Kracken<\/b>.\u00a0 It was Friday night, and I was halfway through the Hobbit when I remembered that the voting should be in.\u00a0 I checked my phone, and was sad at first.\u00a0 You are the Villain?\u00a0 Not the theme I was hoping for, but whatever.\u00a0 I sat for the rest of The Hobbit and thought hard about a game.\u00a0 Nothing came to me during the movie \u2013 but the breakthrough came during the drive home.\u00a0 I was listening to the XM radio in my car, and the word \u2018Sea\u2019 was in the title of the song.\u00a0 That got the juices flowing \u2013 the sea\u2026pirates!\u00a0 Sea monsters!\u00a0 The Flying Dutchman!\u00a0 I started on an idea dealing with the Flying Dutchman, but then came around to being a sea monster terrorizing the ocean deeps.\u00a0 The Kracken myth soon followed \u2013 and the popular line \u2018Release the Kracken!\u2019 right on its heels.\u00a0 So if your father is \u2018Released\u2019, what does that make you? UNLEASHED!<\/p>\n

\"ULEASHED<\/a>

ULEASHED – Son of Kracken Instructions Screen<\/p><\/div>\n

Once I had the idea, much more started falling into place.\u00a0 I had the skeleton of an idea, so I started writing.\u00a0 I thought about sending ships to different ports, having a large world for you to explore, and having pirates to fight.\u00a0 Some ideas I originally had were five or so types of boats of varying strength based on the island you were near.\u00a0 This idea was abandoned in favor of all islands being relatively equal in the beginning.\u00a0 I documented all this in a one-page document \u2013 the most crucial part of the process.\u00a0 I am a \u2018learn by doing\u2019, so when I type something it gets wedged in my mind much more firmly than just remembering it.\u00a0 Documenting the process was the best decision I made.<\/p>\n

Once the concept was in place, ImpactJS took over.\u00a0 Before, when I rolled my own engine, I had to deal with collisions, drawing, levels \u2013 all the sticky stuff.\u00a0 Not this time around.\u00a0 ImpactJS is an EXCELLENT engine for javascript\/html5 development and I\u2019d recommend it to anyone.\u00a0 Well worth the $100 license fee.\u00a0 I was able to get a prototype up within an hour, with a simple sea creature roaming an ocean with nothing in it.\u00a0 With the built-in level editor I was able to get the islands and spawners in place quickly as well.\u00a0 In fact, because of the power of the engine, I was able to spend the vast majority of the time on game balance, art, sounds, and other aspects.\u00a0 With my first go (LD 24) I spent so much time on an engine that I didn\u2019t have much time to work on an actual enjoyable game experience.\u00a0 Using a pre-existing engine, and a robust one like ImpactJS, really accelerated the process and allowed me to focus on the game mechanics.<\/p>\n

\"UNLEASHED<\/a>

UNLEASHED – Son of Kracken Gameplay<\/p><\/div>\n

Mechanically speaking, the game is a little bit too easy.\u00a0 Cannon balls don\u2019t do a lot of damage, the spears are relatively simple to deal with, and the Merchant Marine that you face doesn\u2019t cause much trouble.\u00a0 The ship difficulty curve is also kind of wonky \u2013 when a ship leaves the map, its spawner gains a level and allows more powerful ships to spawn.\u00a0 The ships also have a tendency to get stuck on islands (as do cannon balls and your acid spit).\u00a0 On a much more positive side, mechanically the game is quite sound.\u00a0 Attacking and being hit feel good (to me), and movement has a definite ramp-up feel to it.\u00a0 You start quite slow but within a few minutes you can overtake anything on the sea.\u00a0 I like using the \u2018Dive\u2019 ability to dodge cannonballs, and using the \u2018Acid Spit\u2019 ability to fire back.\u00a0 The \u2018Vortex\u2019 is crazy powerful.\u00a0 The game does technically have an end goal \u2013 once you kill 100 ships, the Hovering Dutchman emerges and challenges you.\u00a0 When you defeat him, you have \u2018won\u2019 the game \u2013 but with the power of the HTML5 spec (LocalStorage!) I am able to give you a persistent character.\u00a0 Even if you die, your stats remain the same so when you start over you have your same character as before.<\/p>\n

\"UNLEASHED<\/a>

UNLEASHED – Son of Kracken Gameplay Screen 2<\/p><\/div>\n

What would I do different if I could do it all again?\u00a0 To be perfectly honest, I\u2019m not sure what I would change.\u00a0 I documented my game before I started, giving me a good road map of where to go.\u00a0 I used an existing engine to make my life easier, and make the game better.\u00a0 I have little to no artistic talent (as far as drawing\/pixel art is concerned), so I am happy with the sprites I was able to produce.\u00a0 I really like how I used my voice for a lot of the effects, and am also happy with how that turned out.\u00a0 If I were more talented or a better Google-r I could have provided some pirate-y or naval music.\u00a0 I also would like some more decoration in the islands building, and the sea.\u00a0 Additionally, more ships, some sea life, and more stuff <\/i>going on in-game would improve the experience.\u00a0 All of those things were clamped by time (and my sanity \u2013 I needed sleep!).<\/p>\n

What does the future hold for Unleashed \u2013 Son of Kracken (if any)?\u00a0 I really like the concept of the game and how it plays.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t take a might stretch of thought to see it implemented on mobile platforms (using AppMobi\u2019s Direct Canvas acceleration).\u00a0 The game also lends itself to simple mobile controls (especially touch).\u00a0 With some time I could also improve the assets.\u00a0 It\u2019s always been a dream of mine to see a game of mine in the app stores, and seeing people playing and enjoying my game.\u00a0 I might see if I can\u2019t take this a little further, polish it up a whole lot, and try it out!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thanks for all your reviews and comments!<\/p>","time":"December 18th, 2012 2:06 pm","title":"UNLEASHED \u2013 post-mortem"}