{"author_name":"ChronoDK","cat":"LD #23","comments":[],"epoch":1335457860,"likes":0,"metadata":{"p_key":"55938","p_author":"ChronoDK","p_authorkey":"10849","p_urlkey":"91657","p_title":"Sun Bringers Post-Mortem","p_cat":"LD #23","p_event":"LD23","p_time":"1335457860","p_likes":"0","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"10849","us_name":"ChronoDK","us_username":"chronodk","event_start":"1334880000","event_key":"10","event_name":"LD23"},"text":"<p>I&#8217;ll do this fast &#8211; just a few thoughts on my first ever participation in Ludum Dare. I entered the 48 hour combo and ended up creating <a title=\"Sun Bringers\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-23\/?action=preview&amp;uid=10849\">Sun Bringers<\/a>.<\/p>\n <p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-23\/?action=preview&amp;uid=10849\"><img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/compo2\/123793\/10849-shot0.png\" alt=\"Sun Bringers - Title screen\" width=\"614\" height=\"384\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n <p><strong>The Good:<\/strong><\/p>\n <ul>\n <li>I came up with something pretty original, which kept me motivated through all 48 hours. I was excited to see and play the result. I would not have been as motivated if I didn&#8217;t feel my idea was new.<\/li>\n <li><a title=\"CreateJS\" href=\"http:\/\/www.createjs.com\">CreateJS<\/a> is a very\u00a0accessible\u00a0framework to work with, when you are used to ActionScript 3. Using it was a success. I might have been able to create more using ActionScript 3, but I like to learn new things.<\/li>\n <li>I&#8217;m very happy with the tileset I made. It&#8217;s not that the quality is that great, but I really wasn&#8217;t sure I could even create one &#8211; so I was quite happy when I did. <a title=\"Pickle\" href=\"http:\/\/www.pickleeditor.com\/\">Pickle<\/a> is a nice tool for this kind of work.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <p><strong>The Bad:<\/strong><\/p>\n <ul>\n <li>The design required me to build levels. Doing so takes time. Especially without a level editor &#8211; because then it&#8217;s just an array of ones and zeros. I ended up creating just five levels. I did have the time to create maybe twice as many, but in the end I chose to have only levels that introduced new game play elements.<\/li>\n <li>No tutorial. The game is simple, but a few hints would have been nice &#8211; like telling the player that he should use two different Sun Bringers to clear level 3. I&#8217;m sure many people gives up at that point, even though the solution is simple.<\/li>\n <li>I didn&#8217;t work effectively through all 48 hours. I did sleep for 6 hours &#8211; fair enough. But watching my time lapse also show a surprising amount of idling at times when I should have been awake. Knowing this, I should be able to put a few more hours into my production next time.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <p><strong>Conclusion:<\/strong><\/p>\n <p>Participating in Ludum Dare was a great experience. Finishing a game in a weekend is an awesome feeling, even when the game isn&#8217;t the best you have created. Sun Bringers has a pretty good basic idea I think. Creating a creature and letting him loose in a tiny platform puzzle world hoping he can solve it by himself. The execution could be much better in all areas of course, but in the end I&#8217;m satisfied with what I achieved in 48 hours.<\/p>","time":"April 26th, 2012 11:31 am","title":"Sun Bringers Post-Mortem"}