I crossed finger but didnt believed that this time it could happen - so i am glad that it will happen and can now start preparing for Ludum Dare 58!

Thank you mike that you can make this happen in this hard times.

Something to build around but not restricting in design

I don't usually post this, but let's test out something.

Remember... the more versatile - the better.

The same as i always do:

Hey folks!

My apologies for the radio silence. I'll get into why and what's going on a bit, but yes, we will run an event as originally scheduled, though I will have limited availability so fingers crossed we don't run into issues. :fingers_crossed:

If you're new and need to create an account, use the following code:

adeliciouspumpkinjamincoming

IMPORTANT: New user posts wont show up until your account is approved! This is a manual process that requires me to review *something* you've posted, to confirm you're a human and not a bot. To speed up this process, post something about yourself on your profile page, or make a post. I'll be reviewing batches of users/posts every day or two.

Feel free to send me an email, or poke me on Bluesky if this takes more than a day. Again, my script wont find you if you don't say or share anything!

What to expect

Due to my previous unavailability, seeing how the event is less than 2 weeks away, we'll be accepting Theme suggestions until about Tuesday before kicking off the Theme Slaughter. After that, things will run as usual: multiple rounds of voting, theme announcement, jam + compo + extra. I will be skipping the posting of results to social media, as that's a large time commitment for me.

What's up?

My failure to find work after LD57 left me miffed and jarred. I went from multiple interviews in May/June, confident I'd shown extensive experience and enthusiasm for the roles, to rejection followed by months of silence over the summer. Understandably folks take summer vacations, but as September hit I was expecting to hear something...anything, but :shrug:.

Before and after a Silksong break earlier in the month, I continued seeking and sending more resumes and cover letters, but aside from some next-day rejections it's been crickets. To add insult to injury, earlier this week my laptop started refusing to charge. I've since found a way to prop up the computer using a very specific charger and cable that does work, but this Thinkpad's days are numbered.

Sooo yeah, not knowing how I was going to pay my bills, I've been at a loss for what to do about Ludum Dare 58. I shared some of the above on my socials, which lead to some extremely generous donations this past week (:purple_heart:). My job hunt situation isn't solved, but your contributions did help alleviate my panic, so as I wait to hear something I'm going to do my best to ensure the event runs.

(PROGRESS: I did *finally* get a non-automated response on Thursday, but I know from several late rejections to not to get my hopes up. Still, :fingers_crossed:).

What's next?

Uh, well, I sincerely expected I'd find work doing something web or browser related, or Linux/embedded/graphics/performance related by now. Between some work with Wayland/Mir, WebKit/Chromium/Firefox, tracking down a bug in AMD's RADV/libdrm Linux graphics driver code, to adding native support for ActivityPub (Mastodon) to Bluesky's PDS server (also ESM support and several other improvements), I thought I'd get someone to acknowledge my applications, but alas. :shrug:

While I can't currently afford to spin-up any new servers, due to the many stupid human rights and free speech violations going on in the world, its extremely important to me that we move our data and services outside of the US. The attacks against Steam, Itch, and others have also raise many concerns, and I want to be sure we ourselves can't be taken offline if one of our creators has "anatomy" in their game.

I haven't talked much about this, but I've been looking to rework/rewrite Ludum Dare's backend services in Go, and finish my TypeScript port/upgrade of the frontend. My work with the AtProto and ActivityPub protocols were extremely enlightening. There are many little interoperability things I'd like to toy with, just they're not exactly practical with our LAMP-like stack. I started building the current software nearly a decade ago, and soooo much has changed in how web applications are built since then (for the better).

Well, that was the plan; Find work so I can stop worrying about bills/debt, then find a rhythm where I can fix stuff.

Alas. :shrug:

So currently I'm at the mercy of potential employers. Not to mention, the game industry itself is in an extremely bizarre place. While I'm extremely grateful of everyone for their support (:purple_heart:), but even if I was better at running a business, I have doubts about the sustainability of game jams... unless we were to "sell out" to the latest trends (crypto, AI, etc), but nah.

I'm happy to keep things like Ludum Dare running, but for my livelihood, it's vitally important I find something to sustain myself. So until that's sorted, my sincerest apologies for my lack of focus here.

Returning to the LD Jam from I guess 6 years of absence since last entry! Glad LD58 will happen!

Hey, my name is Michael and I'm a university student looking to get into game development. Excited for LD58! (I'm not a bot, I swear 😭)

In what will be our 17th Ludum Dare (starting with Ludum Dare 30 in 2014), my team and I are looking forward to another good jam with everyone!

I'm not feeling super creative with my theme suggestions this time, so I went with some spacial ones.

My brother attended multiple ones, now finally my time has come as well. Happy to be on this journey together with all of you.

haven't participated in an LD since... i want to say LD28? it'll be a lot of fun 🌸

also posting to make sure my account is approved :)

Been keeping an eye on Ludum Dare since probably 2013, figured it's finally time I throw my hat in the ring!

Good luck all! Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

This will be my 35th ludumdare in a row. xD i started at LD24, hi. I’ll be using these this time:

IDE: Eclipse - Eclipse Foundation

Engine: LibGdx - Open Source, originally written by Mario Zechner

Graphics: aseprite/paint.net -david capello/Rick Brewster; Tiled - Thorbjørn Lindeijer; TexturePacker - main guy: Metaphore, also: tommyettinger, devjn, terafog, thefacecore, hangman and voidburn.

Fonts: FontForge - George Williams and the FontForge Project contributors

Sound: Audacity - Dominic Mazzoni and Roger Dannenberg

Music: Cakewalk by BandLab

Timelapse: Chronolapse - keeyai

Another great event with gen con at the same time. That means my game will be more art than code! haha. My Goal this time is to not get too frustrated and not get toooo stressed this time. :D

Going to use Godot 4.5 this time around, no SDL3 Framework so I can easily export to WebGL soon to be WebGPU.

Graphics will probably come from Kenney or Kit.

Music and Sound from Freesound probably

Im back for LD58 can anyone make a concept art of turbo-powered cow milker 0.1

Right after LD57 ended, I decided to further develop my boilerplate code, so other people can use it. I already got lots of feedback for that project, you can add some if you'd like. The plan was to release it right around now. However, life got in the way and I think I bit off more then I can chew. It's in a half broken state now.

The plan is to torture myself by developing it further while programming the LD58 entry. What could go wrong? Anyways, it will be released for testing and fiddling (either in alpha or beta) later this year :-)

~~Also I'm in~~

I can't decide if I am gonna try to create a game (for the first time) on Godot or if I will stay on classic things I like (LibGDX or PhaserJS).

Who knows.. We will see :smile:

By the way, here are my suggestions!

I'm so glad Ludum is happening!

I've gathered an awesome team once again. My second time going in with godot now 😎

Travel and family time allowed, gotta at least give it a go

This time I will accompany my SO again during the process. What will I be doing? While the programming is a no, everything else I can assist. I hope to assist with story, music and graphics fitting SO his programming style.

These be the themes I suggested! Elements: periodic table, weather, Avatar like, parts of something...

Lore: I love stories be it via mechanics, graphics , music, writing... However it seems that folklore has been struggling. Maybe too specific? So, what if we simplify it to lore?

i have started my game dev journey not so long ago and have participated in a small 3 day jam this summer, not expecting anything from myself on this jam, just want to experience it, good luck to everyone)

Hello everyone! LD 58 - I'm in! Here are my suggestions =)

Hey everyone, very happy to see that LD58 will be held as planed and we can be the part of our 5th LDjam with @greenpig. Here are our suggestions:)

Red Owl Games here, we've missed the last few jams due to personal life conflicts but this Oct we are ready to join! This year I'll be joined by my Son (Just turned 9) and we'll be using a custom built engine I work on in my spare time. The engine is written in C# using Raylib-CS (https://github.com/raylib-cs/raylib-cs) and an ECS (https://github.com/genaray/Arch). If we need physics we'll integrate Bepu with our ECS (https://github.com/bepu/bepuphysics2) though i'd really love to add Jolt (https://github.com/amerkoleci/JoltPhysicsSharp) and everything else has been hand built through trial and error making other jam games.

We look forward to all the cool games everyone makes and hope you look forward to ours!

Here are our theme suggestions:

Here is the standard splash screen we use if anyone else wants to use it!

I've participated in every one of these for the last 6 years. I am happy it's going again and I am in! Solo on this one. Cannot wait!

Can you see my post? I am a fish and not a bot.

Hey everyone! I’m new here and I’ve always dreamed of trying myself in a real game jam. Finally, I decided to take the leap and join the biggest one — Ludum Dare!

I’m really looking forward to learning, creating, and sharing the experience with this amazing community.

I wish all participants in this jam the best of luck. Let's make each other happy with some great games!

This is my first time participating in a game jam, and I’m thrilled and excited! Wish you all have a great time!

This is my first time participating in a game jam, and I’m thrilled and excited! Wish you all have a great time!

This is my first time participating in a game jam, and I’m thrilled and excited! Wish you all have a great time!

This is my first Ludum Dare. I have done 4 game jams prior to this! My theme suggestions are: Chaos, Rustle the Hustle!

Hey everyone! I’m new here and I’ve always dreamed of trying myself in a real game jam. Finally, I decided to take the leap and join the biggest one — Ludum Dare! ✨

I’m really looking forward to learning, creating, and sharing the experience with this amazing community.

I wish all participants in this jam the best of luck. Let's make each other happy with some great games 🎮

I am ready 8-)

@Pegasys and I are back for our 10th entry together. Who would've thought all those years ago in 2019 that we'd still be doing this in 2025. But here we are. @Ruslana is joining us for a second time and @theoconfidor a third for Art and Audio respectively. Glad Ludum Dare 58 is confirmed and looking forward to making and playing all the awesome games everyone created.

Our Tech Stack is the following:

Game Engine: Unity 6.2

Programming Language: C#

Art and Textures: Photoshop

Modelling: Maya

Audio Editing: FL Studio, Audacity

Audio Instruments and Tools: Focusrite Scarlett, East-West Sounds Composer Cloud, Toontrack Drums

https://doonutsaur.itch.io/bounce-bounce-goblin

The game Bounce Bounce Goblin was first created during Ludum Dare 55, and after about 16 months of development (with many iterations and wrong turns along the way), it’s now on Steam !

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3123120/KilltheBrickman/ I just wanted to share this info, since so many people encouraged me to turn it into a full game and it’s possible!

Big thanks to Ludum Dare and this amazing community! See you guys in Ludumdare 58!

This is my first time participating in Ludum Dare. I found out about it from streamer XK. I tried to participate in other jams before, but didn't have time to finish. This time, I'll try to make it. Good luck, everyone.

Just want to make sure this thing works haha..

Im a beginner developer and cant wait to try my first gamejam!

Just saw a YouTube video about villains and got inspired

Hello I came first

This will be my first time participating here. Before this, I had two jams in six months, and I didn't have enough time for them. Now I will prepare better for LD: practice creating games. Good luck to everyone.

I have come to share an important announcement:

I think plenty of people know what this means by now. (The giraffe is my way of saying I'm in)

Thank you for reading this important announcement.

Damn bruh it sure is something. One of the posts of all time. This right here? Easily in my top posts that have occurred. Peak existence, really makes you think about things and stuff.

I'm not a bot i swear pls let me in, thank you.

tap tap Hello? I'm not sure if its working but making another something post just in case cause i want in.

This time, my suggestions are kinda… thematically linked:

💡 Weak link
💡 Find the odd one

That said, I prefer the first one, as I think it could lead on a wider range of interpretations (each of the two words have several meanings, or, at least, several different contextual uses, which permit to break free from the common expression) - I suggested the second one for those who may prefer a theme more defined

It's great to see so many actual theme suggestions instead of game mechanic suggestions <3 Love y'all

Will participate for the first time. Kinda trying to jump in this part of game developers life Suggest themes. Looking for verification O_O

saying something

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuRmq2lphTU

And Timless has to win the theme vote :8ball:

Unfortunately I had to flag 4 of them.

I've been following LD since middle school, and now I've finally decided to make my own game: ) I'm already looking forward to the theme of LD58!

Seeing a lot of good themes and of course the ones that are now a meme they’ll never get picked… but I am totally prepared for something like “potion” or “huge monster”

Even when we have less than 1000 to check, there still are those annoying people who absolutely want to suggest previous LD's themes or reword them… I noticed near a dozen word-by-word copies, and probably trice of this reworded 😤
As I already said few times by the past: guys, if you want so hard to make a game with any of previous LDs themes, go ahead by now, you don't need to have it again in a new LD :sweat_smile:

Edit:

Aaaaaaand done got some really fun ideas and I broke my 50 likes rule cause there were 2 spooky options in the last 100

Some good themes this time. Honestly I kind of want Ludum Dare to win just to see everyones minds explode as we try and come up with an idea for it. Maybe some meta game about Floating folklore shelters?

As per tradition, for our "We're in" post: We are back!

For this next LD we are back with the Megajams, where we make a team of dozens of people to simulate what's close to an AA studio, gain a lot of experience and release a game for LD. We missed the last Ludum Dare but here we are again. And we are doing a Last Call (just 24 hours left) looking for a few positions to fill out spots!

Our last MEGAJAM team built: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3348650/StrangeNewTides/

For the first time we are doing 2 teams for the Megajam, with +30 people on each team already, and we are looking to fill out some positions, especifically: Artists, Audio, Coders, QA and Marketing.

Here's the application link: https://forms.gle/MZqXh2kxk9iS6yRi8

A disclaimer though: We are doing everything we can to make sure the teams succeed (Each time has an Executive team that was interviewed, and each department has a Lead with industry experience) but not responsible for the outcome of the teams, we can't possible manage every single one of y'all. We'll be offering support with team building and live-streamed events to guide where your teams should be, but if your team falls apart, that's on you!. So do your best to join for fun and experience, and be kind, patient, and celebratory with each other! ✨

The best and easiest way to get your game played and scored for compo is to have a web build.

You may not put malware or other malicious software in your builds but someone might, a web build negates a lot of that risk.

As per usual, I'll be making sure to add some Irish (Gaeilge) into the game as well!

First time, confused a little

I am sorry, i give up

只是随便说点什么……

感觉LD的网站有些难用hhh……

The sun looms in the horizon.

Filling the sky with hues of orange and yellow.

Its tentative rays shuffling my neatly organized leaves.

A schedule shaker. A routine breaker.

\

I get no time to prepare before I'm seized by the warmth.

Mesmerized, yet nervous of the consequences.

\

I look around me.

Sorrowful of the ones missing.

Yet new saplings sprout all the time.

And those who remain are just as amused as I am.

\

The clock ticks faster and faster.

Or is it my perception distorted by the now glaring sun?

I arm myself with coffee, stubbornness, and stolen sleep.

And I praise the sun!

 \o/
  |
 / \

Because I need to add her to the production staff. I'm looking forward to this game jam!

WHO WE ARE: 3 jam veterans (10+ jams each, 2 published commercial titles, multiple top 10% finishes + 1st place). We ship games, not dreams.

THE MISSION: Build a tile-drafting game prototype with commercial potential during LD58. If it's good enough, we're taking it to production and releasing on Itch/Steam.

WE WANT 2-4 APEX CREATORS: - Unity Engine Specialist (rapid prototyping god) - UI Artist - Technical (make complex systems feel effortless) - Game Designer (tile/board game experience preferred) - Audio - Technical (set the mood and delight the players)

WHAT WE EXPECT: ✓ Portfolio showing COMPLETED projects ✓ Autonomous problem-solving - we don't babysit ✓ Jam experience or equivalent crunch mentality ✓ Commercial mindset - this isn't just for fun

WHAT YOU GET: → Work with proven winners who know how to ship → Potential equity stake if we go commercial → Portfolio piece with serious production value → Zero hand-holding - pure execution environment

RED FLAGS WE FILTER OUT: - "I'm a fast learner" (we need fast executors) - Generic passion without proof - People who need constant direction

APPLY HERE: Form Link

We review apps fast. Strong portfolios get immediate Discord calls.

Ready to prove you're as good as you think you are?

I NEED U TO JOIN MY TEAM: https://forms.gle/QH9SNfePUVuHoCgN7

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They are extra lame this time around. Not just bad as always. But lame.

Super open one worders like heat, light, darkness, love, traces, and such.

I heard about this jam when I was a kid, but somehow I haven't joined until now. Anyone else new? If not, how long have you been doing this game jam? I hope it's a good theme, I'm looking forward to seeing what you all come up with :)

There are always a lot of opinions on if a theme is good or not, I am curious what criteria people use to call a theme "Good".

For me, there are a few criteria.

1. The theme needs to be workable for the following game archetypes: Platformer/Movement, Incremental/Factory, and Puzzle. This is important to make sure that there are enough ways to interpret the theme that people can make a variety of games. I also don't want someone who really likes making a particular genre feel like they can't participate.

2. The theme should be more than just set dressing. Some sort of concession should be made mechanically to accommodate the theme. It is fine if using it as set dressing is an option, it just can't be the only/primairy option. I want there to be pressure to make something with gameplay that is unique to the theme and just swapping out art doesn't really do that.

3. The theme should be simple, a common phrase or under 3 words. This makes it easy to convey and helps avoid the overly narrow/limited interpretation issue.

4. Not required, but gets bonus points if the theme has some sort of double meaning

I find a lot of themes are able to meet these rules, but some do a better job than others. Any genre specific theme is automatically out, and so are all the art only themes. What rules do you follow ?

New to Ludum dare, I'm joining along some friends. Wanted to ask how we can make a team

I’m a game development student from Asia, currently also working on my own indie game. This is my very first jam, I really hope I can make it to the finish line. Looking forward to the challenge!!! (This is the screen of the game I'm working on)

Just came back from a week of holiday and opened LudumDare. Under a thousand themes to slaugther?! Wow, I can actually finish this round 🤩

my first time join LD.Hope we can have fun!

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/58/$415770/seeking-ppl-who-want-to-join-my-team

i cant wait for minecraft live

I want to use AI but I'm not sure it is allowed??

This theme had me rolling :laughing: :rofl:

If only to see what this community would do with it. 😆

These themes were a weird bunch. I ended up saying yes to 50-60.

Still, I'm looking forward to participating! Music/sfx are my jam. Let me know if you need help!

I wish you the best for the 58th LudumDare event.

Je vous souhaite le meilleur pour ce 58ème LudumDare.

Вам желаю всего самого лучшего в 58-ом LudumDare.