{"author_link":"\/users\/garaptic","author_name":"Garaptic","author_uid":"garaptic","comments":[],"epoch":1777048003,"event":"LD59","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":431968,"likes":1,"metadata":{"p_key":"96654","p_author":"Garaptic","p_authorkey":"1431040","p_urlkey":"312300","p_title":"DECODER: My First LD Jam Experience","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD59","p_time":"1777048003","p_likes":"1","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1431040","us_name":"Garaptic","us_username":"garaptic","event_start":"1776470400","event_key":"113","event_name":"Ludum Dare 59"},"node":{"_collation":{"body_sanitizer":"TextUtils::SanitizeHTML via existing importer","event":"LD59","removed_author":false},"_superparent":424249,"_trust":1,"author":431040,"body":"## Intro:\nIn this post, I want to share my experience participating in my very first game jam. I\u2019ll talk about how I built the game, what went well, and how the whole process felt. I actually found out about Ludum Dare from my gamedev teacher, and I felt so inspired that I decided to dive in and see what I could create.\n\n\n## The Beginning:\nAs soon as the theme was announced, I started googling every possible meaning of the word \"Signal.\" From the start, I wanted to do something with deep space signals. Part of the inspiration came from playing Voices of The Void a few days before the jam, where you find and process signals. However, I wanted my game to have a manual decoding process, forcing the player to actually decipher the encrypted data. That\u2019s when the name DECODE was born.\n\n\n## The Mechanics:\nThe first thing I implemented was the frequency slider and the \"garbage text\" effect. When you hit the right frequency, the signal becomes clear.\n![\u0412\u0438\u0434\u0435\u043e-18-04-2026 20_03_38.gif](\/\/\/raw\/0c3\/96\/z\/72961.gif)\nOriginally, I also thought about adding a search for the signal\u2019s coordinates, but it felt too complex to add. So, I focused on the core loop: signal tuning, Morse code, and Caesar cipher decoding.\n\n\n## The Challenges (and the \"Input Box\" situation):\nThe feedback I received highlighted one major point: the input panel. I wanted the game to be challenging, so I intentionally made the input box overlap the frequency slider. Initially, the panel opened with a manual button, but during testing, I found it annoying to click back and forth. I decided to make it automatic: it pops up when the signal is perfect and hides when the signal is lost.\nCombined with the long satellite names in Morse code, this became a \"irritation point\" for players, so to complete Day 2, you actually needed to make everything perfectly. ,_,\n\n\n## The Future:\nAfter the jam ended, I didn't stop. I\u2019ve already uploaded a slightly updated version to Itch.io, adding the music I didn't have time to implement during the 72 hours and fixing some visual bugs. Here's some screenshot of before and after:\n![\u0421\u043a\u0440\u0438\u043d\u0448\u043e\u0442 24-04-2026 191605.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/0c3\/96\/z\/72967.jpg) ![\u0421\u043a\u0440\u0438\u043d\u0448\u043e\u0442New 24-04-2026 191656.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/0c3\/96\/z\/72968.jpg)\n![\u0421\u043a\u0440\u0438\u043d\u0448\u043e\u0442 24-04-2026 191910.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/0c3\/96\/z\/7296b.jpg) ![\u0421\u043a\u0440\u0438\u043d\u0448\u043e\u0442New 24-04-2026 191716.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/0c3\/96\/z\/7296a.jpg)\nBut I\u2019m not stopping there! The feedback has been amazing and truly motivated me to keep going. A friend sent me a massive list of ideas, and another player suggested adding a story twist. I\u2019m definitely going to work on a more polished version with better UI and maybe a small plot. If you\u2019ve played the jam version, I\u2019d love for you to check out the future updates! :D\n\n\n## Fun Fact:\nWhile playing other entries (which actually feels very cool, seeing what people created in such a short time), I found a game with almost the same name: [Decode](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/decode). It\u2019s a great project, you should definitely check it out too!\n\n","comments":0,"created":"2026-04-24T15:58:13Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":431968,"love":1,"love-timestamp":"2026-04-24T16:43:57Z","meta":[],"modified":"2026-04-24T16:43:57Z","name":"DECODER: My First LD Jam Experience","node-timestamp":"2026-04-24T16:26:43Z","parent":431049,"parents":[1,5,9,424249,431049],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/decoder\/decoder-my-first-ld-jam-experience","published":"2026-04-24T16:26:43Z","scope":"public","slug":"decoder-my-first-ld-jam-experience","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":1371619},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"431968","n_urlkey":"312300","n_parent":"431049","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/decoder\/decoder-my-first-ld-jam-experience","n_slug":"decoder-my-first-ld-jam-experien","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"431040","n_created":"1777046293","n_modified":"1777049037","n_version":"1371619","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/decoder\/decoder-my-first-ld-jam-experience","text":"## Intro:\nIn this post, I want to share my experience participating in my very first game jam. I\u2019ll talk about how I built the game, what went well, and how the whole process felt. I actually found out about Ludum Dare from my gamedev teacher, and I felt so inspired that I decided to dive in and see what I could create.\n\n\n## The Beginning:\nAs soon as the theme was announced, I started googling every possible meaning of the word \"Signal.\" From the start, I wanted to do something with deep space signals. Part of the inspiration came from playing Voices of The Void a few days before the jam, where you find and process signals. However, I wanted my game to have a manual decoding process, forcing the player to actually decipher the encrypted data. That\u2019s when the name DECODE was born.\n\n\n## The Mechanics:\nThe first thing I implemented was the frequency slider and the \"garbage text\" effect. When you hit the right frequency, the signal becomes clear.\n![\u0412\u0438\u0434\u0435\u043e-18-04-2026 20_03_38.gif](\/\/\/raw\/0c3\/96\/z\/72961.gif)\nOriginally, I also thought about adding a search for the signal\u2019s coordinates, but it felt too complex to add. So, I focused on the core loop: signal tuning, Morse code, and Caesar cipher decoding.\n\n\n## The Challenges (and the \"Input Box\" situation):\nThe feedback I received highlighted one major point: the input panel. I wanted the game to be challenging, so I intentionally made the input box overlap the frequency slider. Initially, the panel opened with a manual button, but during testing, I found it annoying to click back and forth. I decided to make it automatic: it pops up when the signal is perfect and hides when the signal is lost.\nCombined with the long satellite names in Morse code, this became a \"irritation point\" for players, so to complete Day 2, you actually needed to make everything perfectly. ,_,\n\n\n## The Future:\nAfter the jam ended, I didn't stop. I\u2019ve already uploaded a slightly updated version to Itch.io, adding the music I didn't have time to implement during the 72 hours and fixing some visual bugs. Here's some screenshot of before and after:\n![\u0421\u043a\u0440\u0438\u043d\u0448\u043e\u0442 24-04-2026 191605.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/0c3\/96\/z\/72967.jpg) ![\u0421\u043a\u0440\u0438\u043d\u0448\u043e\u0442New 24-04-2026 191656.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/0c3\/96\/z\/72968.jpg)\n![\u0421\u043a\u0440\u0438\u043d\u0448\u043e\u0442 24-04-2026 191910.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/0c3\/96\/z\/7296b.jpg) ![\u0421\u043a\u0440\u0438\u043d\u0448\u043e\u0442New 24-04-2026 191716.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/0c3\/96\/z\/7296a.jpg)\nBut I\u2019m not stopping there! The feedback has been amazing and truly motivated me to keep going. A friend sent me a massive list of ideas, and another player suggested adding a story twist. I\u2019m definitely going to work on a more polished version with better UI and maybe a small plot. If you\u2019ve played the jam version, I\u2019d love for you to check out the future updates! :D\n\n\n## Fun Fact:\nWhile playing other entries (which actually feels very cool, seeing what people created in such a short time), I found a game with almost the same name: [Decode](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/decode). It\u2019s a great project, you should definitely check it out too!\n\n","title":"DECODER: My First LD Jam Experience","wayback_source":[]}