Hello everyone. I've been working on my game, Wilford, since LD48 took place and it's now on Steam as an early access title. I'd love it if you gave it a try and told me what you thought :smiley:

If any of you are still working on your LD48 entries, share them in a comment so I can check it out.

The 12th Alakajam! week-end will be held on June 25-27, and the theme selection phase is already ongoing. If you've never heard of the jam, the schedule is as follows:

• The two weeks prior to the jam are dedicated to an original 2-step voting system (Week 1 = submission/voting, Week 2 = shortlist ranking)
• The jam itself lasts 48 hours both for solo & team entrants, and launches at 7pm UTC (Europe-friendly times). An underrated unranked category also lets you have a relaxed approach to jamming: you can work on a long-term project of yours while still taking part in the karma/coolness system to get valuable feedback.
• Two weeks of community voting then take place until the winners are crowned :crown:

Feel free to check out the results from our previous jams to get a feel for how things are run. We hope to see you there :smiley:

Just released my 5th indie game, took me 4 months but I finally managed to finish it. https://zack-bazzle.itch.io/knights-and-foreigners

Hello, this is my second app created :)

Google Store link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.godotengine.minipets

Itch.io link: https://melvinng.itch.io/mini-pets

Kindly download and review my game, thanks :)! Mini Pets is a hyper-casual digital pet game where you raise a virtual pet by feeding it, playing with it, and cleaning it every 8 hours.

As you feed, play or clean your pet, it will gain levels. Upon hitting certain levels/milestones, it will evolve and change color. Will you be the lucky one to unlock the SUPER RARE secret pet?

Enjoy!

I just found this right now. It's not mine, but it's definitely awesome and I'll use it for now on. It offers permalinks that re-generate the effects so you can just bookmark them instead of save as a file or browser cookies.

EDIT: I almost forgot the actual link. Here it is: (https://sfxr.me/)

Who could have thought releasing a tool was going to be hard. Anyways I'm trying to publish qASIC (simple tools for unity) and that has been a wild ride of it's own.

Website

A lot of things require a website now. As I didn't know much of HTML (except some things we did in school. Actually what I did in school, as IT teachers suck) nor CSS I decided to still not use a website builder. It was fun learning the basics, but probably I will have to redo some code in the future. It's already live, so you can check it out if you want: https://qasictools.com/

Unity asset store

As most things unity I need to release it on the asset store. For that I need a website (which I've made) and a demo scene (which I will make). I also need promo material: screenshots, videos, etc. I've setup a really basic page at the moment, but I still have a lot of work

Trailers

I've implanted qASIC into some of Unity's sample projects and tutorials. While doing this I've been recording my screen so I could use for a trailer. At first I made some cool logo animations, but they were to cluttered, so now I'm probably will use a simple header with description approach many people use (old example below)

Polishing the tool itself

I thought I have done everything. I was wrong. Recently, I've added some many features to the audio manager, that I can't even count, fixed things with console, added a debug window and even expanded Console Configuration. Just thinking about how will people use it makes you want to adjust some things more. For example the audio manager now cannot play sounds when it's paused (globally pausing would disable only the currently playing sounds) and you can ignore global manipulation all together. Things like the scene command can now be disabled (changing scenes randomly can break certain games). I still think there's much more, but for now this is just beta, so I'll improve things in the future.

Demo

As I said, unity requires a demo scene. I wanted to test and try making a small walking simulator where you could view different aspects of qASIC. It would be great in testing out it too. For now there's not much to say.

You can check out the website now

(roast me about it's design as much as you want)

Thanks for all the support, play the free version here. Web browser version, itch.io exclusive. Very Happy with the final results. Went from game jam to game damn! THIC! Looking forward to creating a new IP soon.

https://profsuarez.itch.io/vacuum-kingdom-monochrome

I just finished my first game in Monogame! - https://eboatwright.itch.io/blaster It's a Megaman like platformer, and it's VERY hard. :smile:

Hi! In my previous post I was writing about how to start and plan your work while developing post jam version of a game. For last few weeks I was working on improving my game based on players feedback. Here I will share most interesting problems from my ludum dare entry, and how I handled them in the post jam version.

1. Game difficulty

Problem: Game is too hard

I got a lot of feedback that game is too hard, as not everyone is fan of hardcore gaming. Some people have big satisfaction because of that, others gave up much faster. I didn't want to use standard "please choose your level of difficulty" because of: - players have no way to guess which level will be good for them upfront - lowering game difficulty while playing the game is not a nice feeling to everyone - each player have different perception which level is hard for them

Solution: Let player decide difficulty dynamically based on the reward

I used ~~star~~ apple system known from many mobile games. So instead of loosing the game, when you run out of resources, you can buy a resource using apple (up to 3). Your final score of the level depends how many apples you used. Players can decide themselves if they are satisfied with the score, and go back and replay the level when they master the game.

2. Game response to players actions

In roots puzzle there is a simple economy mechanism: - water tile gives 10 Water - mineral tile gives 10 Minerals - leaf tile gives 2 Co2, but cost 1 Water 1 Mineral - root tile cost 1 Co2 + 1 Water + 1 Mineral

I could write all of it in a game tutorial but didn't want to, because: - I wanted players learn this rules themselves by just playing around and observe changes in the resources panel - reading text is boring

Some players liked it and learn it in the first minute of a game, others were not able to completely work it out till the end. My conclusion was, that changes of resource might not be enough response for player's action. Therefore in post jam version I display popups with exact numbers of resources gained (10, 2), like in a picture below:

3. Unfair game mechanisms

Problem: There is no fun in counting tiles, just to know if you have enough resources to reach the goal

That was clear for me from the beginning, although I thought players would not mind just try & die approach that instead of counting whole path you just follow the algorithm: 1. try path A 2. lose and restart 3. try path B 4. win

As levels are quite small and fast to rerun there was no big pain in restarting the level. Although I was wrong. Some players see learning by loosing as a unfair mechanism.

Solution: Let's make counting easy and fun

In post jam version I added a distance measure tool that you can unlock. So players who prefer to make ideal plan from the beginning of the game, have tools that will make this process more fun:

4. Visibility of Game progress

In original version, you have no indicator of how many levels game has(aside of description below the game, that nobody reads or remember). Players have more motivation to finish the game, when they now how many levels are waiting for them, and how much progress they already made. Together with changes for game difficulty it was a perfect moment to introduce a board when you can see, select and unlock all the levels:

5. Players are different. Fun, difficulty and fairness is subjective

This point might be the main conclusion from all my learnings during this project. I could observe different people having completely different reactions while playing it. I could also see a small argue over my game between 3 different players, about which of game mechanism/improvement suggestions are good or bad. I needed to think and check how one change will increase fun for one person and destroy it for another. Therefore while looking for fun in a game as a single indie dev don't count just on yourself. Try to get as much valuable feedback as you can.

Thanks for reading, if you want to try my post jam version you can play it here: https://wdebowicz.itch.io/roots-puzzle it's still in development so would love to get your feedback.

Hello, this is my second app created :)

Google Store link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.godotengine.minipets

Itch.io link: https://melvinng.itch.io/mini-pets

Kindly download and review my game, thanks :)! Mini Pets is a hyper-casual digital pet game where you raise a virtual pet by feeding it, playing with it, and cleaning it every 8 hours.

As you feed, play or clean your pet, it will gain levels. Upon hitting certain levels/milestones, it will evolve and change color. Will you be the lucky one to unlock the SUPER RARE secret pet?

Enjoy!

Hello, this is my second app created :)

Google Store link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.godotengine.minipets

Itch.io link: https://melvinng.itch.io/mini-pets

Kindly download and review my game, thanks :)! Mini Pets is a hyper-casual digital pet game where you raise a virtual pet by feeding it, playing with it, and cleaning it every 8 hours.

As you feed, play or clean your pet, it will gain levels. Upon hitting certain levels/milestones, it will evolve and change color. Will you be the lucky one to unlock the SUPER RARE secret pet?

Enjoy!

At LD48 the theme "Deeper and Deeper" gave us an inspiration to combine a farming simulator (where you dig potatoes and carrots) and a mining simulator (where you are reaching the core of the Earth). We continues the work after the jam, and now we would like to invite you to the beta test. Here is how the game looks like now: https://youtu.be/SmHsWq-fUy8

It is an incremental idle game with a big shift towards tycoon genre. The things which (as I humbly think) differentiates this game among the others, are: - it has embedded auto-clicker, just press an object, and continuous clicks will be applied to it - 2 currencies: "money" and "workforce" are used to upgrade 2 sides of the game. Money upgrades productivity (output per single cycle), and workforce - automation (speed of workers, number of simultaneous productions) - custom prestige bonus: on restart the player can select, which aspect of the game should get the boost from the prestige points. There are 6 of them: Tap effect, Housing capacity, Population growth, Prices level, Production efficiency or Transport capacity - 3 interconnected systems: agriculture, industry and population

Android (Google Play): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.airapport.farm.mine.idle.ludumdare48

PC (Itch): https://airapport.itch.io/farm-and-mine

Discord: https://discord.gg/qpDbwpF5un

I would also like to invite you to exchange video first impressions. If you record your very first play session of 5-15 minutes and show me, I can do the same for you. Watching such recordings is really useful, as it lets the developer to see how will the fresh player behave in the game

Below The Ocean's first update is here! Return to the ocean's deepest depths in search of "The Cardinal's Grail"!

ITCH: https://ismaelrodriguez.itch.io/below-the-ocean

This update brings along a few major features

SAVE POINTS: Some air tanks will have a ribbon tied to them, these tanks are checkpoints AND save points, so you can suspend a "dive", and return to it later.

Chapter Select: Keep track of each expedition's progress.

Speedrun Mode: Once you complete a chapter, you'll have the option to start a new dive in Speedrun Mode; which makes all the diamonds look new. Perfect for those 100% diamond speedruns!

In the works:

Chapter 3: The Nobleman's Crest: I'm obviously working on some more levels for Chapter 3. The main challenge for each update is to think of new and different ways to use the tether mechanics for platforming AND puzzle-solving.

Unlockables: I'm planning on adding unlockable treasures, starting with player skins. Probably color palettes too. You'll be able to find some treasures hidden in the levels, as well as unlock them through challenges/achievements.

Fast Travel System: fast travel across save points. Good for treasure hunting!

On my mind:

EXTRA HARD LEVELS: One of my design objectives for Below the Ocean is to keep the level design easy enough for my wife Kelsey to complete each chapter; I usually round down any sharp corners she runs into. But this approach can also be extremely limiting, so I'm considering some more difficult areas as an additional side challenge. It's on my mind for now, because I'm going to focus on my "main quest" first, but eventually I want to make some REALLY REALLY hard levels. We'll see how that goes. I'm aiming for Chapter 3 release date of August 6th 2021, wish me luck!

Hopefully yall are enjoying Chapter 2 for now! Thanks for all your continued support!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ishyrodriguez

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA1CRCU98iHXfMrn1Bsd48Q

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CpRlEzrXpA

Those of you who played the smash hit Nanna (1,761st overall) during LD48 may be interested to know that the game lives on. Its latest incarnation is The Witch, the Moon, and Alice.

To make a long story short, Nanna was converted into a framework, REPLICA 2D. REPLICA in turn was used to make a game for Alakajam 12, including a post-jam version, AKA "Nanna 2." You'll see a few similarities between the original Nanna and this game — a lot of trees, for example, along with an evil witch who spoils everything.

Music credits:

Brian Cavanaugh (@bcav) (cave music, victory music)

John Bartmann: memory-shores-master, profound-mystery-master, back-to-the-mountain-master, dystopia-master, nubia-master, and lurking-deep-master.

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback and support for Nanna.

Dahla's Journey is now available for MOBILE on ANDROID!

Check the new game page on https://kryptopixel.itch.io/dahlas-journey and make sure to follow KryptoPixel for future games and updates.

You can play Dahla's Journey for free in your Android Phone by installing it from the Play Store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kryptopixel.dahlajourney).

You can still play the buggy, LD-48 version by downloading it from the old Itch page (https://pijamar.itch.io/dahlas-journey).

Hello, this is my second app created :)

Google Store link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.godotengine.minipets

Kindly download my game, thanks :)! Mini Pets is a hyper-casual digital pet game where you raise a virtual pet by feeding it, playing with it, and cleaning it every 8 hours.

As you feed, play or clean your pet, it will gain levels. Upon hitting certain levels/milestones, it will evolve and change color. Will you be the lucky one to unlock the SUPER RARE secret pet?

Enjoy!

Goop Loop, the game I originally made for LD47 with the theme "Stuck in a loop" has been completed, with a substantial amount of new content and improvements, and is now out of early access on Steam!

Here's the launch trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKRnevJsId8

And here's the steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1454550/Goop_Loop/

Also, on the off chance any press read this, here's a press kit as well: https://gooploop.lonewulfstudio.com/presskit/

The itch.io page for the remake of our LD43 game Deadline of the Dead is up:

https://hastilyassembled.itch.io/zombie-admin

It's all coming together. Zombie Admin will be out very soon 🥳

Follow us on Twitter on YouTube on Itch.io

Remember how I had promised one last fanart several weeks ago? Sorry everyone, but what was going to be a pixel font slightly based on Ludum Dairy as a gift to the entire Ludum Dare community has been completely rejected by a series of unfortunate issues. First the file it was stored in became corrupted, and then the laptop I use for game development had a hard drive failure and is still out of commission.

(Self-plug for a game that doesn't even exist yet) I also lost the project file for the open-source shooter game I had been working on every day for over a month, so apologies to anyone interested in free open-source games.

Contrary to reports that the three divers died of radiation sickness as a result of their action, all three survived. Shift leader Borys Baranov died in 2005, while Valery Bespalov and Oleksiy Ananenko, both chief engineers of one of the reactor sections, are still alive and live in the capital, Kiev.