Excited for my first Ludum Dare game jam! For my first time I wanted to participate with my brothers so I will be in the Jam category rather than Compo, but I'm no less thrilled. Hyped to see what we can come up with once the event begins!

I've never thought about this before for some reason, but for this LD I plan on having an online leaderboard that any player can submit their score and name to, I've found https://silentwolf.com which is a free backend for small Godot games (by one goated dev) and spent some time getting familiar with their API.

Since this is my first time doing this I'd appreciate any tips on what makes an engaging leaderboard, I have some questions like: - Should I keep all entries by each player or only keep one entry and replace it whenever the player gets a higher score? - Should I limit the amount of characters in a player name like old arcade games or allow any length? - Should I implement anti-profanity or just manually delete bad words in the database? - How many scores should I display before older entries are ignored? etc...

Yesterday i saw a post here where someone showed of some tools good to use for gamedev. (sorry can't seem to find the original post) On there was Pixel Composer, and i am in love ever since :D Used it the whole day to get used to it and will definitly try to use it to create some animations for my game! Since i wanted to focus on sprites more this time arround, i really hope to get some cool sprites done with this new tool :D

With that in mind, this is what i'll use:

Editor: VSC

Code: Plain old Javascript

Engine: None

Art: Paint.net + Pixel Composer (!)

Sound: FLStudio + My Voice and Stuff around me xD

I'm not too pleased with the topics in the final round, but am still looking forward to whatever it will be! Still have to go get food and stuff, after i'll get a bit of sleep to be ready to start in 8 hours.

Wish you all a lot of fun with Ludum Dare 57!

I've been looking forward to this since October! I missed the last few events so I watched as y'all had all the fun.

My stack will be:

Editor: Nano (via GCP Cloud Shell)

Code: Python

Engine: None

Art/Sound: None, text based

I'm really into logic puzzles these days so I'm attempting to create one based on the theme with some levels and missions included. Also going to try using AI as an assistant with some of the writing, get me started on a blank page then I'll take it from there so some derivative work will be included.

Viva le Ludum Dare!

Since people mention their tools and engines, I guess I'll present the GameMaker package I've been using every jam for a while.

It's GameMaker Community Toolbox! A set of utility functions maintained by me, with contributions from various members of the broad GameMaker Community! You can check out the repository here: https://github.com/Alphish/gm-community-toolbox

Alternatively, if you want to first browse the functions and see if there's anything useful at all, you can check the reference: https://github.com/Alphish/gm-community-toolbox/blob/main/Docs/Reference/Reference.md

Also also, I uploaded the demo showcasing most of the functions to itch.io, along with the GameMaker local package: https://alphish-creature.itch.io/gmct-ea

However, the demo doesn't include the file_read_all_text, file_write_all_text, json_load and json_save functions because it's tricky to showcase file management in a browser demo. I mention these, because of various Community Toolbox functions I use these basically every time.

Hopefully some of you GameMaker jammers out there will find the package useful!

Glad this event escaped cancellation. Always super excited to make something for Ludum Dare. Working with a couple of friends this weekend who have never done a game jam before supporting with art and writing. Though we're obviously waiting for the theme announcement we're already toying around with some gameplay ideas that excite us as group. Gonna be a fun weekend, hope it goes well for everyone else.

Hey everyone! This is my 11th Ludum Dare and my 28th-ish game jam overall and I wanted to share some sage advice.

Setup your build pipeline RIGHT NOW. Before the jam even starts.

• Create your itch page right now (leave it as a Draft). Set the URL to "ld57" or something generic because we don't know what the theme is yet.
• Setup your IDE / game engine / template project / whatever. (you should really already be doing this)
• Write a script that will make an upload-ready production build of your game. (some engines make this easier than others)
• Write another script that will upload your game to your itch page (look into the itch tool "Butler" if you haven't heard of it!)
  • I suggest separating these scripts so you can smoke-test the build before you upload it
• Test the pipeline now! Just upload a blank test project, just to make sure the whole system works. Don't worry, it's not "cheating" to upload a blank project to the internet.

This way, you can upload whenever you want as frequently as you want!

This also streamlines playtests. You can set the page to password protected and then you already have a link you can send people. No awkward google drive / dropbox links!

In the final hours of the jam while everyone is panicking to upload, you're able to chill out (or spend those last precious minutes adding final polish to your game :wink: ).

Engine: Unity Model Software: blender Programming Language: C# (it is the programming language used in unity) Image Software: Paint.net

And i will be doing solo

• Engine: Unity
• 3D modeling: Blender
• Painting: krita, inkscape
• coding language: c#
• ide: rider, vs code
• Ideas document: google docs, markdown
• local git: Gitea
• idea software: chat GPT
• Free time activity: counter strike
• Team: 4 people
• artists: 1
• programers: 2
• game designer designer: 1
• Processor: Ryzen
• GPU: Nvidia
• Monitor: LG
• mouse: razer
• keyboard: logitech
• controller: xbox
• internet speed: slow
• tootbrush: forgot
• weather: cold
• Food: snacks
• Sleep: no
• hotel: trivago

It's so crazy to think about it... Been Jamming semi-regularly since 2016.

(Note: 2 more games were on the old website pre-2017 I think so they are missing here)

It is going to be a nice sunny weekend. Best to stay indoors as much as possible. Using Godot again.

That timer sure is working its way down towards zero, eh?

Hello everyone! This will be interesting ✨

🔨 Engine: Unity 6 📝 IDE: VS 2022 📄 Project for WEB

Good luck for Everyone 💖

Desk is all clean, white board is clear, template is built, all I need now is a theme and a dream.

I never remember to do these. Been a game dev for a decade and never tried a jam, so here we go!

Engine: My custom engine, Kata Engine Language: C++/KataScript Tools: Blender, Photoshop, Ableton Live, Visual Studio

Can't wait to see the theme!

Hello all!

This is my first game jam and I am super excited to participate this year. I am a coder from austin who is interested into doing more game development.

Tech stack: For game engine and coding: ebitengine and golang Graphics: asperite

Every year I do this post, just to remind you that your health is important.

Welcome and have lots of fun! Here are some tips :-)

• You are the most important this weekend, so take care of yourself (drink/eat enough, sleep enough, use a good chair, etc)
• Be aware of 'feature creep', a good way to do that is to plan something that should take half of the weekend to create. Be sure to playtest it and if there is more time, THEN implement some of your scrapped features. Always aim for a "least viable product" in the first day of the LD weekend.
• Make sure the game is easy for you to play: you know the mechanics very well as you are the designer. For other players it should be harder to play, as they did not spend an entire weekend to design it :-)
• Take time comming up with a solid, fun and doable idea, it will save time later as you can ground your development in this first concept.
• Controversial one here! Don't be afraid to use new techniques and tools. It will take up time ofcourse, but it is a great way to force yourself to grow as a gamedeveloper. Keep time in mind though.

If you leave a comment, then I will put your name on my 'to play list'. I'm curious what you all end up creating :-)

I never remember to do these but got lucky from a reddit post today lol!

I'll be using my custom engine using C++ and KataScript! Coding in Visual Studio and making assets with Blender and Ableton Live!

Can't wait to see the theme!