Well, I am glad that's all over. That was an exhausting Ludum Dare!

What did you make?

Due to time differences, I wake up before @Rodobodolfo on Saturday morning. He usually leaves me some drunken suggestions from the night before but this time I woke up to a message saying he's had too much to drink and telling me not to make a game about a small planet...

I like to walk and think so grabbed the dogs and went for a walk in search of inspiration, and bacon sandwiches from the local bakery. By the time I got home all I had was a 1920's Detective voice in my head saying "It's a small world."

So, we decided to make a clichéd detective story, hitting the theme with stupid 'it's a small world' coincidences. It's a simple point and click adventure with terrible voice overs and rubbish characters.

What went well?

Design Document

The problem with the time difference is that we can't confirm anything until Rodo wakes up around 1pm my time. So I could start working on art all morning for an idea that Rodo is either going to hate or dismiss as unfeasible, wasting lots of work. I decided to use the time waiting for Rodo to create a design document for the game. It included the story, characters, sequence of events, key items, etc. Once Rodo woke up I presented him with the document like a business plan. He signed the deal and we set to work!

The design document worked like a road map for the game which turned out to be invaluable. We've never done one before and simply kept a to-do list but having something a little bit more in-depth kept us laser focused on what to do. I highly recommend taking the time to do this if you don't already.

Got Rhythm

Rodo and I have been working together for a few years now and we've found our rhythm with each other. We both know that no matter how busy the other one is they will always drop whatever they are doing to help out or make a tweak somewhere. We also know our limits, kinda...

What went wrong?

Scope

We weren't miles out of scope it's just that certain things took longer than expected. I had planned to write the script and do voices on Sunday but the script took up most of the day due to my brain being broken from the day before. The voices had to be done on Monday and were very rushed. It really cut into the time I wanted to use for polishing. We could have not had voices and probably had time to implement more items and the other features we had planned, but what are you gonna do?

Calamity Rodo

Rodo is responsible for the "game" side of our entry. Without him we are nothing. Due to a suspected stomach bug or hang over, he was unable to sit and stare at a screen for long.

This was the title of Rodo's first and only git commit on Day 1 after about 2 hours work.

M38 - Initial Commit. Basic Navigation. Got sick. Poffle hates me now. I've ruined LD haha

I didn't hate him. Rodo is a machine and if he has a deadline I know he's gonna make it. I beavered away with that in the back of my mind and definitely not wondering if I am working on a lost cause...

Rodo woke up Sunday, feeling better and ready to work. Boom! Power cut. This project is doomed! Rodo takes this time to study the aforementioned design document on his phone while he waits for power. An hour later it's back on and Rodo does 2 days work in about 12 hours! My anxiety levels start to reduce as we realise that unless something else bad happens to Rodo we might actually finish the game, and we did! A lot went wrong but it just about worked out in the end. Awesome work, Rodo! He claims he's still sick but who cares, LD is over!

Why should I play it?

If you've ever dreamed of being a detective or dreamed of playing a detective game then this is the gift we give to you.

*Play it! - *https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/murder-38