{"author_name":"Capitals","cat":"LD #34","comments":[],"epoch":1452015900,"likes":2,"metadata":{"p_key":"9200","p_author":"Capitals","p_authorkey":"28209","p_urlkey":"44416","p_title":"The King is Dead Analysis","p_cat":"LD #34","p_event":"LD34","p_time":"1452015900","p_likes":"2","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"28209","us_name":"Capitals","us_username":"\/author\/capitals\/","event_start":"1449792000","event_key":"31","event_name":"LD34"},"text":"<div style=\"text-align: center\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000\" href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-34\/?action=preview&amp;uid=28209\" target=\"_blank\">Play the game now!<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n <div><\/div>\n <div><strong>How well did I do?<\/strong><\/div>\n <div><strong><\/strong>I think did reasonably well this time round. Better than I expected. I achieved a task i thought impossible with this game; to get into the top #100 in a\u00a0category. This was the first time I have worked in 3D, made a game in Unity, and coded in C#. Ultimately I wanted to show that I had improved in my year out. This table shows my\u00a0performance\u00a0over the last two years (4 events participated in):<\/div>\n <div><\/div>\n <div><\/div>\n <div><a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Capture2.png\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-532463 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Capture2.png\" alt=\"Capture\" width=\"596\" height=\"370\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Capture2-300x186.png 300w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Capture2-550x341.png 550w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Capture2.png 596w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 596px) 100vw, 596px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n <div>\n <strong>What could I have done better?<\/strong><\/div>\n <div>The statistics show that I could have done better in the Fun\u00a0category, ignoring the Humor and Mood categories which are non-core categories. My innovation score has improved drastically in two years.<\/div>\n <div><\/div>\n <div><\/div>\n <div>These are the specific improvements from the feedback I got from players.<\/div>\n <ul>\n <li>A bug which lead to the army size to go below zero.<\/li>\n <li>A long and steep (for ludum dare games) learning curve.<\/li>\n <li>The\u00a0inability\u00a0to move forward in some situations.<\/li>\n <li>Lacked sound and feedback to the player.<\/li>\n <li>The reasoning for the battle system was arbitrary and confusing.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <div><\/div>\n <div>Here are the areas I could have improved.<\/div>\n <ul>\n <li>The graphics. The graphics do not have a unified theme\u00a0throughout\u00a0the game. I could have added some more animations.<\/li>\n <li>A interactive tutorial. While I did manage to make a tutorial it was not clear enough.<\/li>\n <li>Added in audio feedback and music.<\/li>\n <li>The game design lacked basic balancing. The other buffs had little effect compared the the advantages of moving forward.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <div><\/div>\n <div><strong>What was done well?<\/strong><\/div>\n <div>The statistics show that I had significantly improved in the innovation and theme\u00a0categories, despite this I still remain that this game is the same or even less innovative and as tied with the theme as <a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-30\/?action=preview&amp;uid=28209\">Molyneux God<\/a>.<\/div>\n <div><\/div>\n <div>These are the pieces of positive feedback I got from other players.<\/div>\n <ul>\n <li>RadMcCool said that he liked the &#8220;weird dissonance&#8221; of the game and between it&#8217;s move set.<\/li>\n <li>MorganLeFay stated he enjoyed that it was a &#8220;Very complex game&#8221;.<\/li>\n <li>PowerSpark remarked that it kept him &#8220;hooked!&#8221;<\/li>\n <li>Neoludo thought that I had &#8220;invented a new board game&#8221;.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <div><\/div>\n <div>While these are lovely to read it is often easier to give positive feedback than negative and constructive\u00a0criticism.<\/div>\n <div><\/div>\n <div>These are the areas I think that I did well.<\/div>\n <ul>\n <li>The 3D graphics were good to look at. Especially with my first time to properly use Anti-Aliasing.<\/li>\n <li>I thought the game was several times simpler than my last two.<\/li>\n <li>It was accessible to web users, making it quicker and easier to play in the Ludum Dare playing\u00a0environment.<\/li>\n <li>It had depth despite being somewhat simple in it&#8217;s control. A challenge of the theme I chose.<\/li>\n <li>I managed my time somewhat\u00a0effectively.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <div><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n <div><strong>What have I learnt?<\/strong><\/div>\n <div>While I succeeded on making a game with proper elements of strategy where the player had to think about their actions. Despite this the lack of a concrete tutorial has led some people to struggle at getting the full enjoyment out of the game (<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/R1E0Ch1WcpU?t=6m17s\">See here<\/a>.) I can work on the way I teach mechanics to people and the way those mechanics interact. A uniformity of graphics and lack of balancing is arguably something that can be improved on if I had a longer development cycle. A simpler or clearer level of complexity would improve how fun the game was.<\/div>\n <div><\/div>\n <div><b>Are you going to continue development, and how would you continue to improve it?<\/b><\/div>\n <div>I doubt I will continue development on this unless I were to be shown that people like the game enough, if I were to though,\u00a0I would improve this game by taking the following actions:<\/div>\n <ol>\n <li>Remove the tutorial and replace it with an interactive tutorial which contains a character to allow me to speak to the player. This would allow me to include the story and relate it back to the\u00a0gameplay\u00a0despite the abstract graphics.<\/li>\n <li>Address the disparity between the text and the UI and the styling of the 3D models.<\/li>\n <li>Balance the other buffs \/ debuffs, making them as useful to the game as the &#8220;Move 1 Forward&#8221; Buff.<\/li>\n <li>Restructure the Battle system, possibly including an animation of the two armies fighting &#8211; which can be skipped.<\/li>\n <li>Animate the game. I think this would add bundles of character to the game.<\/li>\n <li>Transition\u00a0it to a mobile platform.<\/li>\n <\/ol>\n <div><\/div>\n <div>These would be the step I would take to improve the game given the critism\u00a0levied\u00a0on it.<\/div>","time":"January 5th, 2016 12:45 pm","title":"The King is Dead Analysis"}