{"author_name":"Doctor Broccoli","cat":"LD #24","comments":[],"epoch":1346093700,"likes":0,"metadata":{"p_key":"51839","p_author":"Doctor Broccoli","p_authorkey":"15882","p_urlkey":"87537","p_title":"Magenta-man, a postmortem","p_cat":"LD #24","p_event":"LD24","p_time":"1346093700","p_likes":"0","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"15882","us_name":"Doctor Broccoli","us_username":"doctor-broccoli","event_start":"1345766400","event_key":"12","event_name":"LD24"},"text":"

Get the game here!<\/a><\/p>\n

Holy shit! I made something playable!<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“Playable” being a relative term, of course.<\/p>\n

I’ll try to keep this short, mostly because I am dead tired. Who knew that programming a game nearly non-stop for 3 consecutive days without getting a proper nights’ sleep could be this exhausting? (Other than everyone who participated, I mean.)<\/p>\n

The idea:
\n I knew even before the theme was announced that I wanted to create something with an ‘arcade’ feel to it. I also knew the art style that I wanted to use; brightly coloured polygon-men on a black-and-white background. Don’t ask me why, I just thought it would look cool.
\n When the theme was announced I immediately had the idea to create a game with evolving enemies that adapted themselves to upgrades that the player picked out for himself.<\/p>\n

The good:
\n – I like the art. I have always had tremendous fun with using code and simple art assets to create complex-looking shapes and animations and I’m really happy with the animations and effects that I managed to get in here. The text is still pretty rough around the edges though…
\n – I created something playable! You wouldn’t believe what a big deal that is to me.<\/p>\n

The bad:
\n – The code is a mess. I didn’t plan ahead far enough when writing the code and that really came back to bite me in the ass near the end.
\n – It’s not done!<\/i> Oh sure, it’s playable. (I know I had fun with it for a minute or two.) But it’s simply not done; the arsenal is very limited, the game balance is nonexistent and, most prominently, there is no lose condition. You can run out of HP but nothing will happen.
\n At time of writing I still have 4 and a half hours left, so theoretically I could fix these problems. The problem is: I’ve been staring at a computer screen for the past three days and I’m exhausted. I really can’t see another line of code right now. Heck, I’m too tired to come up with a name that’s better than “The Amazing Adventure of Magenta-Man.”
\n Now, I’m definitely going to finish this someday. Just not right now.<\/p>\n

What I learned:
\n – Plan ahead. I’m sure everybody has already mentioned this in their postmortem but that’s just because it’s so bloody important!<\/i> You really can’t make a good game if you don’t know what you’re about to create. Note that this point goes for game design as well as code.
\n – Stock up on coffee before this thing starts.
\n – Work in a group next time. Now, there’s nothing wrong with working on your own. It’s just that working in a group will undoubtedly improve the quality of absolutely everything about the game.
\n – PLAN. AHEAD.<\/p>\n

Notes:
\n – Magenta-man is, as his name implies, magenta. I hate magenta, I really do. When I first created the character I made him magenta so that he’d stand out against everything and I could see his animations properly. At some point I tried to pick a new colour for the character and everything that wasn’t magenta just seemed wrong.
\n – I will definitely participate in the Ludum Dare again someday.
\n – “I’ll try to keep this short”, sure. Me from 20 minutes ago is a big ol’ liar.<\/p>","time":"August 27th, 2012 1:55 pm","title":"Magenta-man, a postmortem"}