{"author_link":"\/users\/agasyanc","author_name":"agasyanc","author_uid":"agasyanc","comments":[],"epoch":1777469402,"event":"LD59","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":432245,"likes":3,"metadata":{"p_key":"96803","p_author":"agasyanc","p_authorkey":"1425772","p_urlkey":"312449","p_title":"Choose your strengths","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD59","p_time":"1777469402","p_likes":"3","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1425772","us_name":"agasyanc","us_username":"agasyanc","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":425772,"body":"![pr-cut.gif](\/\/\/raw\/c2f\/76\/z\/72f18.gif)\n\nFor @parsefal and me, this is our second game jam. Our first experience clearly highlighted my weak spot \u2014 visual content.\n\nBack then, we were making a platformer. I took on the graphics because I already had some experience with graphic editors, but I had never drawn tiles or character animation before. The result was beginner-level graphics, and the game looked, to put it mildly, unimpressive.\n\nAnother problem was scale. It\u2019s impossible to make many levels in three days, and that seriously hurts the cohesion of the storyline.\n\n![Timeline 1_01_00_21_24.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/c2f\/76\/z\/70e99.jpg)\n\nThis time we decided to lean into our strengths and make the whole game procedural. Parcefal has the perfect hobby: he\u2019s constantly writing music, and putting together a dozen tracks over three days is a welcome break from programming for him. Working with music is convenient here, too \u2014 tweak the arrangement a little, and it sounds like a new track.\n\nAs for me, after last time, when the endless \u201cexport \u2014 check in game\u201d cycle had me quietly hating Photoshop, I happily retreated into generation and shaders. Shaders and programming interest me more than pixel art, and they haven\u2019t been done to death quite as much.\n\nIt turned out to be an ideal combination. Some things worked out better than we expected, others didn\u2019t go according to plan.\n\n\u2192 ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/packetracer\/\n\n![Timeline 1_01_00_55_39.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/c2f\/76\/z\/70ea2.jpg)\n\nIn the next part, I\u2019ll tell you how we handled level generation and matched the track length to the music.","comments":0,"created":"2026-04-29T08:35:32Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":432245,"love":3,"love-timestamp":"2026-04-29T17:34:28Z","meta":[],"modified":"2026-04-29T18:07:18Z","name":"Choose your strengths","node-timestamp":"2026-04-29T18:07:18Z","parent":425655,"parents":[1,5,9,424249,425655],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/packetracer\/choose-your-strengths","published":"2026-04-29T13:30:02Z","scope":"public","slug":"choose-your-strengths","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":1373352},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"432245","n_urlkey":"312449","n_parent":"425655","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/packetracer\/choose-your-strengths","n_slug":"choose-your-strengths","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"425772","n_created":"1777451732","n_modified":"1777486038","n_version":"1373352","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/packetracer\/choose-your-strengths","text":"![pr-cut.gif](\/\/\/raw\/c2f\/76\/z\/72f18.gif)\n\nFor @parsefal and me, this is our second game jam. Our first experience clearly highlighted my weak spot \u2014 visual content.\n\nBack then, we were making a platformer. I took on the graphics because I already had some experience with graphic editors, but I had never drawn tiles or character animation before. The result was beginner-level graphics, and the game looked, to put it mildly, unimpressive.\n\nAnother problem was scale. It\u2019s impossible to make many levels in three days, and that seriously hurts the cohesion of the storyline.\n\n![Timeline 1_01_00_21_24.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/c2f\/76\/z\/70e99.jpg)\n\nThis time we decided to lean into our strengths and make the whole game procedural. Parcefal has the perfect hobby: he\u2019s constantly writing music, and putting together a dozen tracks over three days is a welcome break from programming for him. Working with music is convenient here, too \u2014 tweak the arrangement a little, and it sounds like a new track.\n\nAs for me, after last time, when the endless \u201cexport \u2014 check in game\u201d cycle had me quietly hating Photoshop, I happily retreated into generation and shaders. Shaders and programming interest me more than pixel art, and they haven\u2019t been done to death quite as much.\n\nIt turned out to be an ideal combination. Some things worked out better than we expected, others didn\u2019t go according to plan.\n\n\u2192 ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/59\/packetracer\/\n\n![Timeline 1_01_00_55_39.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/c2f\/76\/z\/70ea2.jpg)\n\nIn the next part, I\u2019ll tell you how we handled level generation and matched the track length to the music.","title":"Choose your strengths","wayback_source":[]}