Some people create a wallpaper, other people create a poll to figure out which the most likely would win, and other people complain about all the sucky themes. The Ludum Dare community has its traditions to prepaire for the weekend, and I love that! To kick it all off, lets do a music countdown #5!

Rules are simple:

• Only music / musicvideo’s + maybe some description about the song, or your day or anything else that comes to mind :-)
• One song a day
• Give other LDers a chance to post their song

Here’s my contribution to kick-off this countdown :-) 35 days to go!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwGG5fX7bxY

Just over a month til Ludum Dare 58. Next week I'll have to start checking in on occasion to see if theme suggestions are up.

Only 33 days to go, the counter is slowly going down. I'm excited!

In preparing for Ludum Dare (which we missed only once since we started in LD 50), we now did another gamejam called Brackeys. It would be great if you check out our game Biscuit Bluff there!

Ratings would be nice, but constructive feedback is also very much appreciated!

Here's our game: Biscuit Bluff

Put a comment down below if you also joined in on the Brackeys gamejam!

I'm really excited to announce that the full version of QuantumPulse 2A, my Zach-like programming puzzle game is now available on Steam, and according to the reviews, people are loving it. If by "people" I mean "nerdy programmers like myself." This game started as my LD54 entry, and after seeing multiple people (including myself!) spend 5-10 hours playing the game (read: competitively optimizing for better scores) I knew it was something I'd enjoy making (and playing) a full version of.

It's super niche, so if you don't like games that involve programming (e.g. TIS-100 or Shenzhen I/O from Zachtronics, which were my biggest inspirations), it's probably not for you, but if it sounds like your kind of thing, please check it out (and share with other relevant communities - I'm a 1-man studio so don't have much reach ^_^).

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3175190/QuantumPulse_2A/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSZN8WbtT8o

As the Title says, when do we start the process of giving our 3 Jam themes that we would like to see in this Jam?

made in paint 3d btw this is not the final game models may be different:

https://youtu.be/_7aYPjStZyk

make sure to check it out! AND CHOOSE 720P AS THAT IS THE HIGHEST QUALITY ON THIS VIDEO

Long time no see!

This time, instead of Godot, I will try high_impact, a very lightweight port of ImpactJS in C. Also, I was crazy enough to switch to a new ergonomic keyboard layout just one week ago.

All in all, if my game makes it to the top 100 this time, it'd already be a huge win.

See ya next month :cowboy:

After LD57, I've started making my own rogue-like game called "Gloomlight" - inspired by Zelda: LTTP and Binding of Isaac. I've been working on it for 5 months now - but I'm happy to be joining LD58 and take a brief pause from my project (for 3 days at least :grin: )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRfa5QZR7e8

For those who are interested and would like to follow my progress, follow me on Instagram

And for everyone, I'm happy to be working alongside you in 3 weeks!

I am very happy, my first comercial game is available on steam, briefcase, a cozy and satisfactory game about inventory management!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3825350/Briefcase/

Hi, does anyone know if ldjam58 is happening? Timer says 17 days but there's been no announcement and the post saying April was back on didn't mention October at all.

https://www.paypal.me/mikekasprzak

EDIT
Mike has a Patreon, so you might prefer to support there:
https://www.patreon.com/mikekasprzak/

Hi all! I'm fantasizing about making a similar platform as ldjam.com. You never know.. It's always nice to have a backup I guess. I've heard and read lots of opinions and it seems like there is no place like this regarding gamejams. People somehow don't see pure itch.io as a good alternative, as the community feels more tight and cozy here at LudumDare. And I think I get the sentiment. It's like swimming in a private pool vs swimming in the open sea with the same people. Or maybe living in a village vs in the big city.

So I have four questions for you:

1. Do you recognize yourself in the statement above?
2. Are there any other platforms, aside from itch.io, were gamejams are helt?
3. What makes LDjam.com special for you? (feeling / technical outlines)
4. What could LDjam.com do better? (feeling / technical outlines)

No promises though, just letting my brain go wild. Maybe I'll start, maybe I don't. Also, I don't want to outright undermine LudumDare, I love it here and I wish that an alternative is not needed for the comming years.

I have done a lot of different jams and there have been some that have been good, and some that have been okay

Alakajam: was fun but there were like 35 entries. I did it because 'DaFluffyPotato' recommended it. The community was fun, but it was only the website, no Discord

OLC Codejam 2025 was excellent but in a different way. Javidx9 has a great YouTube Channel and he is a coder extraordinaire, and has his own engine. The jam ended up being 80 percent frame work C/C++ coders and a few engines. It was great fun because his Discord Channel was pretty busy and there were some amazing entries.

Kenney Jam 2025 was a jam put on by Kenney and Kit Kat, who hopefully everyone is aware are the folks who give away superior free assets. The Discord in that jam was pretty amazing and they did one thing which I believe is essential to a successful game jam. Kenney and Kit Kat played every entry themselves and scored them. They had 755 games to play. It took them 4 weeks but it was well worth it.

GameDev.tv GameJam 2025. Was the very best jam I participated in. Their Discord was was always very busy and they gave away a free course for everyone who participated. They also graded the games themselves if I remember correctly. Some amazing games came out of that jam.

FishFest was cool because it was my best game, but I really enjoyed it as well. Small, no Discord

Ludum Dare was my very first jam years ago and I do it now for nostalgic reasons. That being said...

The grading system for the jam is horrific and allows for bots to skew the results. Recently it has been a hit and miss situation with what is becoming a bit of a drama magnet.

So, how does this get fixed?

1. Discord is essential, no Discord and you have pretty much signed your own death certificate.
2. A precise schedule announced at the very least 4-6weeks in advance.
3. Grading system that cannot be messed with optimally the sponsors playing and grading every game.
4. Although this is not necessary a small gift to every participant. Even a silly graphic that says "I survived LD58" would be enough.

The jams I had the most fun with were longer jams, 7-10 days. Having a longer jam does several things: 1. Discord community has a chance to grow 2. Exchange of ideas has more time to mature 3. Gives coders a chance to try something new rather than doing the same thing from the last jam 4. Allows for the itch.io game page to be worked on, which is important. 5. Allows for the coders to adjust their goals mid development.

As a final note, during the voting period some of us who had YouTube channels live streamed the game play of several games. That was a lot of fun and with a few of us doing it the jammers got to see their games being played and could find improvements. We would post the links in the Discord channel.

I am aware that Ludum Dare has been a Game Jam staple for years and has a wonderful following. I also believe that it could be something even more engaging if some updates were made.

Dear experts, I would like to add a new member to the team for the next Ludum Dare competition, but I encountered difficulties during registration. Do I need to wait until the competition is closer for the 'invitation code' to be released? Thank you all for your explanation!

Hey, you can play it for free, you can play it in the browser, what else do you need?
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/58/gunshift

Hopefully I'll make a web version later :cryingcatface:
But I'd really appreciate it if someone would check it out!

It's a game where you play as a handicapped astronaut who's only hope to survive is to avoid being hit by space anomalies and to destroy them in the process. The game features 3D environment, smooth animations and cutscenes!