{"author_name":"Yamzho","cat":"LD #34","comments":[],"epoch":1450180560,"likes":1,"metadata":{"p_key":"9748","p_author":"Yamzho","p_authorkey":"40804","p_urlkey":"44971","p_title":"Stem is ready to be played !","p_cat":"LD #34","p_event":"LD34","p_time":"1450180560","p_likes":"1","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"40804","us_name":"Yamzho","us_username":"yamzho","event_start":"1449792000","event_key":"31","event_name":"LD34"},"text":"<p>First of all, I have to tell everyone : <em><strong>MASSIVE WELL DONE !<\/strong><\/em> This was my 3rd Ludum Dare, and I&#8217;m always impressed by the amount of awesomeness I can see every four months here ! Wow !<\/p>\n <p>As usual, I did enter the compo challenge. And again, it felt like 48 hours\u00a0were not enough ! <img src=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-includes\/images\/smilies\/simple-smile.png\" alt=\":)\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/> But I guess the feeling is shared with every Ludum-darers ! But I managed to ship a game right before the deadline. The game ? Stem, a game where you control a growing plant with your left and right keys.<\/p>\n <p><a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/stem-0.png\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-525106\" src=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/stem-0-300x225.png\" alt=\"stem-0\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/stem-0-300x225.png 300w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/stem-0-550x413.png 550w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/stem-0.png 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/stem-1.png\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-525107\" src=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/stem-1-300x225.png\" alt=\"stem-1\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/stem-1-300x225.png 300w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/stem-1-550x413.png 550w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/stem-1.png 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/stem-2.png\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-525108\" src=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/stem-2-300x225.png\" alt=\"stem-2\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/stem-2-300x225.png 300w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/stem-2-550x413.png 550w, http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/stem-2.png 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n <p><strong>What went right ?<\/strong><\/p>\n <ul>\n <li>The gameplay. The mechanics are easy to understand: collect good stuff, avoid bad stuff ! I think most game during Ludum Dare should keep mechanics simple for two reasons : one, it is way easier to develop; two, a lot of players spend little time rating\u00a0each game and usually give up when they have to spend more than 3 to 4\u00a0minute trying to understand the rules.<\/li>\n <li>The aesthetics. I love the clean, simple, minimalistic look of the game. I have been playing a lot to Two Dots &amp; Mujo (both on Android) and loved them. Also, I am not good at pixel art ! \ud83d\ude09<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <p><strong>What went wrong ?<\/strong><\/p>\n <ul>\n <li>The difficulty. The game difficulty isn&#8217;t properly balanced. It is\u00a0way too easy at start and gets harder too slowly. I released a post-compo version which solves partially that problem (but if you rate the game, rate the initial release only to be fait to other contestants). I&#8217;ll need to spend more time for future releases.<\/li>\n <li>The sound\/music. Well, there&#8217;s no sound or music to the game. Unfortunately, I ran into game breaking bugs in the\u00a0compiled version of the game\u00a0(bugs that were not appearing in my IDE) and spent\u00a0about three and a half hours debugging the mess. So, I had to skip on recording the music and sounds. Funny enough,\u00a0I actually implemented the classes to play sounds in the game (you can actually see them in the source code).<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <p><strong>And now ?<\/strong><\/p>\n <p>I will try to implements new features, some musics and sounds, and to balance the game during the following weeks. I&#8217;ll keep on posting updates here until the next Ludum Dare ! <img src=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-includes\/images\/smilies\/simple-smile.png\" alt=\":)\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/> Oh, and of course, do not forget to&#8230;<\/p>\n <h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-34\/?action=preview&amp;uid=40804\">RATE MY GAME : STEM !<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>","time":"December 15th, 2015 6:56 am","title":"Stem is ready to be played !"}