Last time I got into a real game jam it was for Ludum Dare 33 "you're the monster" and it got me to start Super Intern Story, a game that I eventually published on Steam & Nintendo Switch. What will this event bring to me this time? :)

I'll do the solo jam for the first time, with my own 2D engine (c++) + Reaper (with a NES vst) + Paint.net.

Completely unplanned, blindly excited, somewhat unhinged… Oh what the hell, Im in! Stretch and hydrate, people. Let’s make some games!

Or at least ability to change volume with +/- keys or any other. Cause it is quite painful to play games if you are on Discord with people at the same time, sometimes games can be too loud.

I want to preface that I most of the times do not do this, but saw a post about it here and I do believe its a small thing that improves a lot in game quality. So I set upon watching a few tutorials that I will link here that I thought were at least a good starting point.

Unity: https://youtu.be/YOaYQrN1oYQ?si=UTTPC3nRhyQaF8Um

Godot: https://youtu.be/aFkRmtGiZCw?si=uaKVPwqDcmw1KiVE

Unreal Engine: https://youtu.be/6No5rKgU4Wo?si=of4ep7GiJCqH2d-o

For sure if you know of another one please comment it.

EDIT: OOops thats what I get for posting fast and during my lunch break, thanks everyone for the tips!

Looks like the automatic YouTube embeds aren't working as intended. I checked the markup and looks like the URL search parameters are being put in the wrong order. Maybe @pov can take a look at this?

Changing it to the correct format allowed the video to play:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/YOaYQrN1oYQ?autoplay=1&t=877s&ab_channel=Brackeys

Hi everyone! I'm a Sound Designer and Composer looking for a team. I've tried a few game jams before, but never had a team that actually finished something.

If you've successfully completed game jams in the past and need a dedicated sound/music person, let me know.

Check out my work samples at https://stephencshapiro.com/

Hi everyone!

It's been 5 years since my last ludum dare, and a few things have changed! I'm planning to join the upcoming edition with a couple of friends, but they aren't registered and are asked to enter an invitation code.

Can anyone help me figure out how to generate it, as I haven't been able to find information regarding it?

Hello again! My last LudumDare entry was an attempt at a "chill" LudumDare, and while it was only mostly "chill", it was a very successful weekend and I think I made a really wonderful little game. I'm hoping this time around goes just as well. I have more time this weekend, too, so I am very hopeful!

And, here again, is autumn. I usually talk about how great autumn is in this section when LudumDare falls in the, eh, fall, and this time is no exception. Man, I love autumn... I'm going to try to do more baking this season, and maybe finally works towards finding the ultimate vegan candy corn recipe... Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and a great LudumDare.

Favorite tools list:

Engine

🌰 Construct2: HTML5 game creation software!

Graphics

🌰 Aseprite: Pixel art program!

🌰 GNU-IMP: Open source image editor!

Sound

🌰 LSDJ and bgb: Authentic Gameboy synthesizer and emulator!

🌰 Chiptone: 🆕 Superb sound effect generator/creator!

🌰 FL Studio: 🆕 Classic versatile music software!

🌰 Audacity: Open source sound editor!

Hosting

🌰 itch.io: Storefront/games host!

Because some people will be playing your game on itch, some on ludum, some will download, and the one very important button that is needed for your core mechanic will be forgotten. It happens every jam that I play some game and can't figure why it is so bad until I notice that there's some action I can do that was only referenced at itch.io.

• If you update you build you WILL forget to update control at some place

• Don't you want you game to be preserved for the future players? If you make a nice game some people may notice it way after the jam and maybe download it to play later. Why would you want them to no know control then...

Just enabling some UI on top of a game when pressing F1/Esc is enough. Or show them in game menu/start screen. Show them in game somewhere, please :)

Super excited to jam!! Engine: Pico8

Hey there, fellow Ludum Dare enthusiasts! I'm excited to dive into a topic that has been on my mind lately: music creation and automatic generation for the Ludum Dare Compo.

Having participated in numerous Ludum Dare events, I've realized it's high time I reevaluate my approach to crafting game music. While I can handle programming, art, animation, writing, sound effects, and more, music has always been my Achilles' heel. It feels like my ability to create original music is hovering around zero, and the thought of composing solo makes me uncomfortable.

The Dilemma:

So, here's where I need your help and insights. I see a few potential ways to bridge this gap in my skillset:

1. Sample Loops: One option is to work with pre-made sample loops. These can provide a quick and easy solution, but I wonder if it's a tad too easy. Is it fair to use these loops in the Compo? https://www.looperman.com/loops

2. Music Generators (e.g., Wolfram Tones): Another route is using music generators like Wolfram Tones. This used to be my default solution in previous events. This, however, was before the boom of AI generated content, and I wonder if using it still has benefits. If you're also going to use a tool similar to Wolfram Tones, please let me know what you are going to use! https://tones.wolfram.com/generate

3. AI-Generated Music: Lastly, there's the world of AI-generated music. To be honest, I know very little about this option. Does it feel fair and respectful to everybody who will be participating in Ludum Dare? And if it does, what are some tools/services that you would recommend me checking out?

Seeking Your Thoughts:

I find myself at a crossroads, unsure of which path to take. Each approach has its own set of pros and cons, and I'm curious to hear your perspectives. Have you faced this dilemma before? If you plan to create music for Ludum Dare Compo, what approach are you leaning towards?

I hadn't thought about LD for a while and when it crossed my mind, I realized it was 10 days away. I took that as a sign to at least try this time. I did a game for LD48 and attempted again at 51 or something but failed in that one. So this is going to be really low pressure and if I don't make it it's alright. I'll be using the Eclipse IDE to write in Java and it's built in libraries via the Eclipse Temurin OpenJDK to construct the engine because that's how I role. I know it's kinda unconventional but it works for me. And I'm too unmotivated to learn SDL or any other C/C++ related frameworks right now. (I don't like using engines that much) I don't really know what I'll use for sound or anything, maybe GarageBand bc I'm on Mac this time around. If I manage to keep up in my studies this weekend and finish a game I will be very impressed with myself. Good luck!

ALSO: a question regarding the COMPO: Would it be against the rules for me and a friend to work solo on our own projects but in the same room and conversing about our progress and ideas? Or do we literally have to be like alone? lol

Me, mommymephala, and xdcloudy teamed up for this jam. We are game design students, and we've participated in a few game jams before, but this will be our first one in a while. We will do our best.

Hello fellow pumpkin spices!

My name is Erik and im a solo-developer from northen Sweden, where the trees slowly getting naked as the leaves are turning red! Last time i joined Ludum Dare and made it through was a jam game for LD 52! This LD is not problem free unfortunaly. I always forget to check if LD is coming up and gets booked up with other things haha! That hasn't stopped me before, so if there is time I can surely make something small for jam, depending if i like the theme! I hope we all have a wonderful time regardless!

I always do a list like this telling you the stuff im using, here it is:

🍂 GameMaker Studio 2: Gamemaker is game engine i’ve always used, and love it dearly!

🍂 Aseprite/GMS: When i need to animate something with many frames, i use Asprite! Or GMS built-in sprite editor!

🍂 BeepBox: I make music right inside there, in that little spot right there!

🍂 Bfxr & Audacity: With these, i make sounds effects that go beep and boop, pong and poik and clap and crash!

🍂 Google Drive: Here i write down my game ideas and to do lists, using the PC or phone, documenting my progress!

🍂 itch.io: This is my go-to place when uploading my games, very nice!

Have a wonderful Ludum Dare y’all! I’ll be posting updates here if i have anything exciting to post!

I have attempted a last couple few so far, and haven't really gotten far on any. But I always try. Between kids, minimal free time, etc. I will be aiming for Extra to have time to build something. It is not feasible for me to do Compo or Jam because I would at most have 3-4 hours total.

We shall see if I get any good results. I will probably be using Godot, Unity, or Heaps. Not sure atm, will be testing some more tonight.

Was there anything posted to explain why we now only did 2 rounds of voting?

I'm joking btw. This won't be my final vote but folklore will get a +1 from me for sure.

I'm pretty excited for this Ludum Dare! It feels like forever since I've done a game jam!

My tools and resources

For this time around I'm going to be using my stdlib: - Godot (4.1.1-Mono) - C# - Krita - LMMS - (Various SFX libraries I've found on Itch)

A new addition to which will be a custom Godot framework I've been developing rather actively that I call Squiggles Core 4X (SC4X). It's a fairly robust framework that is free and open source and it sits inside of a Godot project (crucially not as an addon) and provides a ton of extra functionality such as accessibility settings, menu management, and configuration of many different sub-features.

https://github.com/QueenOfSquiggles/Squiggles-Core-4X

If you're worried about that being against the rules, both Jam and Compo allow you to use any tools or libraries. And this framework is much like a library in many ways. Also it's not like it's a private framework, anyone else is free to use it as well if they so like! I've even gotten a documentation website up and running for it with some basic info.

Wanna play a game?

A little tradition I've made for myself is to come up with a particular "bonus challenge" for myself. The first few times I did Ludum Dare the challenge was "be reasonably healthy while competing" but now that I'm more experienced I've focused this challenge for the actual game.

For this ludum dare I'm taking the challenge of making my game 2.5D. I've only ever done one 2.5D game before, and that was many years ago and in Unity on top of everything.

Closing

I hope everyone can have fun this time around! I'm really excited to see what everyone makes! Good luck to y'all!

It's not a good theme. I'm begging.

It’s a banger theme. I’m begging.

If you twisted my arm and made me rank the themes, I'd say:

1. Signal
2. Overgrown
3. Absorb
4. Strange machines
5. Salvage
6. Tiny Creatures
7. Shelter
8. Sanctuary
9. Limited space
10. Paths
11. Folklore
12. Locks and keys
13. Underground
14. Reflect
15. Keep the light on
16. Break the cycle

Though (happily) I don't even mind if 16 wins, so... hyped for LD54!

It's an average theme. I'm begging

I tend to prefer more gameplay focused themes, but I'm curious to see what people do with a more narrative focused theme, so doesn't suit me but I'm interested. Very much on the fence with this one

At the risk of being potentially bad luck, I've changed my mind on a few things: narrative-heavy games deserve their time in the sun, and games writers deserve to have a jam where they feel like an essential part of the team. With that in mind, let's go folklore! <3

Me, mommymephala, and xdcloudy teamed up for this jam. We are game design students, and we've participated in a few game jams before, but this will be our first one in a while. We will do our best.

For this year LudumDare I will be participating with my team @Vakarsson and @poshaus and @Gabexiii

I'm striving in the Compo again for this LD. My usual tools -- with a new one, thanks to the folks on this board that pointed out Beepbox. * C++ with SFML 2.6.0 (in MSVC) * GIMP for the graphics * SFXR givin' the sweet sound effects * Beepbox because I always try to push into something new during Ludum Dare * Trello for keeping organized

A few changes happened since my last Ludum Dare. I updated SFML to the latest stable release, and am really enjoying the library. Also, I have been trying to study and improve my pixel art, and forcing myself to restrict my palette to a maximum of 32 colors. The final theme will determine what palette I choose. Here is a rich gallery of video game pixel art palettes and color theory: https://lospec.com/

We've had fifty-four consecutive Ludum Dare jams where writing and narrative have been treated as an afterthought relative to the other parts that go into making a game. How about we throw our community's narrative designers a bone for once?

Unless you guys would rather play through several hundred games about absorbing things or locks and keys for some reason.

Obligatory I'm In post!

• Code: THREE.js / Bitecs / Rapier.js / Netlify
• Content: Blender / beepbox.co / Audacity / Krita

• Family / kids / obligations :soccer: :martialartsuniform:
• Finally decent swell in the water :surfer:

Here are my ideas (so far) for each theme. I have at least one for every theme except Folklore. I'm still not entirely sure what to do with that one. If Folklore wins, I'll probably just use ideas for another theme and apply folklore creatures to it.

Feel free to use any of these, since they're just basic ideas, and even if multiple people were to use them, the execution would be very different.

When I make my game, I'll probably end up combining multiple ideas, maybe even from different themes (but obviously focusing mainly on the actual theme).

• Get to a shelter before night
• Defend a shelter from waves of enemies

• Complete the same set of challenges in a loop, but keep certain abilities from your previous run

• Survival game where you must live only in resources found underground

• An interdimensional portal that brings monsters into the human world
• Collect strange machines and use them for combat

• Choose from multiple branching paths, each of which has different pros and cons

• Follow the signal - if you lose track of it, it's game over

• The enemies are plants that became sentient and turned into monsters
• The player is gigantic
• The enemies are gigantic

• Basically the same as "Shelter", so any Shelter ideas would apply to Santuary as well

• Survive only from remains
• Craft from parts of broken down machines
• Use scraps to keep a fire lit

You have no weapons made for offense, you can only defeat enemies by reflecting their attacks * Enemies can transform into a clone of the player in their current state

• I would go with the same ideas a "Paths", but require a key for each path, adding an extra choice of whether to go back for another key or choose an inferior path

• Use items you find (around the world? from enemy drops?) to create electricity and keep a light powered - if it runs out, you lose

• You play as a tiny creature in a world that looks gigantic, and must defend yourself against insects who are the same size as you

• The playable area continously shrinks and you must hurry before it eclipses the exit

• You regain health and/or stamina by defeating enemies
• You absorb the power of plants

It's a pretty good theme, but could be better. I'm begging

Tools:

1. GameApi Builder (meshpage.org/meshpage_4)
2. meshpage (meshpage.org)
3. SDL (www.libsdl.org)
4. libfreetype (freetype.org)
5. tinygltf (github.com/syoyo/tinygltf)
6. emscripten (emscripten.org)
7. stbimage (github.com/nothings/stb/blob/master/stbimage.h)
8. glew (glew.sourceforge.net/)
9. php (www.php.net)
10. C++17 (bjarne)
11. chromium (www.chromium.org)
12. docker (www.docker.com)
13. ubuntu (ubuntu.com)

-

I'm in after a long time away. Will be crash coursing Godot as I depart from using Unity.

Engine: Godot 4

Language: GDScript & C#

Art: Krita and Blender

Like many of you I will be using Godot to learn it. Not coming from Unity, mostly JavaScript, Pico-8, Scratch, Python, Twine.

Will probably be using Krita and/or Shimmy for graphics (https://dethe.github.io/shimmy/).

Haven't done one of these for a few years, will be good to get the dust off my coding fingers.

Here's how I voted this LD. I hope one of the themes I liked wins, but I know I'll hate it if it does anyway!

Hey guys, it's been a while!

I see there have been some changes left and right in how the site operates. Been fortunate enough to get a team together for this edition so I'm pretty excited too! I see that new accounts now require an invitation code in order to register but so far have no idea on how to generate these for my team so suggestions are welcomed.

Other than that I look forward to playing everyones entries!

I'll preface by saying I doubt Folklore is going to win. and personally don't care if it wins.

I am, however, interested in dispelling fears that you might have for game/mechanics

The following types of games can be folklore

Counting-Out Games (Eeny Meeny Miny Moe)

Clapping Games (Pattycake, Stella Ella Ola, Quack Dilly Oso)

Playground Games (Hopscotch, Squid)

Knife Game

All the games I list above have elements of folklore in them, often passed down from person to person, and we don't know the exact origin, only estimates. They often have variants of the game and if you look for an "official" rule, you can't find one. The only official rules are the tradition you carry.

Notice, a lot of these game are children's game (besides Knife Game). they fall under the category Childlore, a subset of folklore.

Also, by Squid, I'm talking the game used in Netflix's Squid Game.

chat we really gotta come up with some better themes

voting for strange machines so i have an excuse to make a mascot horror game

Excitred to join the game jam! Engine: Unity (keeping it for the familiarity for now)

Code: C#

Game Engine: Gamemaker Studio 2

Image Editor: GIMP, GMS editor

DAW: FL Studio

I do hope everyone enjoy making your games!

Tools for the game dev planned so far * Godot * Blender * Krita + paint.net * lmms, audacity * OBS : stream, gameplay recordings

Have fun guys..

To think of it.... Tiny creatures was the idea I suggested :)

I have a friend who would like to team up with me but he doesn't have an existing account. I also don't see any invitation buttons on my profile. Is the system in place yet, anyone know?

Of course, we can jam together regardless. But it would be nice for him to be able to participate in rating and feedback.

w/ a team for the first time

It's quite fitting that two weeks after I finish bringing my previous entry to Steam (and soon Xbox), LD is happening again!

I'm still on Unity, but my aim is to get a bit competitive with jamming again and I've got 10 years full time experience with it. I haven't really been competitive for a couple of years!

My tech stack is: - Unity - Gimp or possibly some Adobe InDesign - some sort of algorithmic music generator like wolfram tones - not generative ai - a Unity skeleton that I'll be publishing shortly. It's got the annoying polish bits sorted like a menu, volume sliders, key rebinding, that sort of thing. - https://github.com/eriksk/googlyeyes - a must-include in all Unity projects, I usually delete the blender files and make some flat circles because I'm far more comfortable in 2D 😂

Cause' there's no "I" in team.

Looking to do something I have never managed before and actually submit a game for the Compo... my takeaway from LD53 was that my time management is awful, hopefully I will improve upon that this time, Good luck all!

I don't know it it's just me, but usually there are a few themes that tend to be a center of controversy (Folklore for example) where most of us either strongly want it to win or strongly don't, from all the posts and comments of people talking about those controversial themes and debating them you'd think that one group would overcome the others in votes and bring that theme to the table.

But what we overlook is the other.. I guess less controversial themes, which are too simplistic or don't get enough attention to be the center of the controversies.

What I'm trying to say here, is that those themes that are the center of our attention get picked by a group of people but also get downvoted by others who for example are bothered by how much people talk about them so we end up (in theory) with 50-50 upvote to downvote ratio. while the other themes that don't get the spotlights end up with higher upvotes because a lot of people don't.. I guess hate them enough to downvote so they are more likely to be either upvoted or neutral.

So in an indirect way the themes we talk about the most and give the spotlight to, are harmed by that attention as it creates separation between voters, and increase its chances to be downvoted.

Hope this mess makes sense, sorry I just woke up and you know when you wake up with a busy mind? and you find yourself thinking about all sorts of things on your way to the bathroom lol, welp that's where this all came from. I have no statistics or data to back this up so it's just a theory. but at least for me it feels like almost every LD an unexpected theme end up winning. maybe this is just one factor amongst many other psychological ones that I'm too brain-farty to even begin to understand, but oh well, thank you for listening to my TED talk fellas.

I fear this one the most honestly, I think people were upset about Harvest and Delivery being too similar. Maybe I'm not thinking enough on it, but I feel like it's super restricting. You need 2 things and they're both plural with "s" at the end lol. But I keep seeing people upvoting it, hope it doesn't happen but we'll see. I also feel similar about "Keep the light on", games might be too similar.

Last time I got into Ludum Dare it was for LD33 "You are the monster", and it got me to kickstart Super Intern Story, a game about being an unpaid intern who wears monster costumes. What will this event bring this time? :)

I'll do the solo jam for the first time with my in-house framework (c++) + Reaper (with a NES VST) + Paint.Net.

At first it looked like I won't be able to join (again), but my weekend plans have been cancelled and I can make a game instead! I'm so happy! :heart:

Usual tech stack: - Godot - Aseprite - Bfxr or something

I will be using Unity, Aseprite and Probably Audacity in combination with a piano

I'm in a bit of a pickle. I've gone from Unity to Godot 4.1 (made the change before the recent news) and am using C#, meaning I can not build for WebGL. I don't care about ratings, but I do want to see people play my game and give me feedback. What do you think? I could go back and make a jam version of the game in Unity for WebGL purposes.

(Don't want to use GDScript because I am too comfortable with my current architecture that uses Interfaces and I work a lot faster with C#)

Really have no idea on what kind of game I want to make yet. So this will be fun!

Will use Godot even though I definitely does not know enough of it yet. So the risk of not finishing anything will probably be 50-50.

Tools: - Engine: Godot 4 - Graphics: Photoshop - Music: beepbox.co/

• Are a games ratings across categories averaged or totaled or what? Another way of looking at it: how does opting out of a rating category impact your final ranking (if at all)?
• Can games be hosted anywhere? Can I put my game on itch.io, github pages, or my own website, and submit a link to it?

With the controversy surrounding Unity, I figure a lot of us are looking to learn a new engine this weekend. Excited to see what comes of that!

2 months before LD: I still have a lot of time to prepare and practice complex mechanics and shaders in a 3D environment. I'll start tomorrow...

2 days before LD: um... well, the clicker is also interesting

P.S.

Tune in to a good mood, then you will not be distracted often

• GML, Rust, C++, GLSL
• Aseprite, PS

I will primarily be using Game Maker Studio 2 for making the game and using Krita, SFXR, and likely other creative apps as well for making the assets.

Are you able to enter the Compo solo and then separately enter the Extra with a team (i.e. making two completely different games from scratch, one for each competition) or is it you can only enter one of the competitions period?

I'm in!

~~Almost forgot to mention that I'm in, not that the jam will be this weekend. Some of us have been counting down the days for over 3 months now~~

You now enter a world filled with adventures and tasks that even the most seasoned explorer will find challenging.

It is your destiny to follow dangerous 'Paths' through an 'Underground' world that, from time to time, will bring you to a place of of wonder. A venue where you may 'Shelter' from your daily trek.

Within this world you have only' Limited Space' to achieve your goals and must choose your trail wisely.

Ultimately, throughout your adventure, you will find mysterious 'Locks and Keys' that may open to you a world filled with light and joy, or one filled with evil, destruction and death.

Your quest awaits you brothers. Welcome to 'Sanctuary'

I’m joining this jam with a team of skilled individuals again: - Me - Voice Actor - Composer - Sound Designer

We are looking for a writer because a story driven game would be a good idea since we have a pro voice actor. Also we are looking for a GML coder who's experienced with gamemaker.

Here’s some games I’ve done in earlier jams:

Hello,

We are a team of 4 (2 devs, one 3D artist, one game designer).

We are looking for people to help us with audio (musing and sound effects).

Some of my previous games:

A test scene we made for practising:

Our itch.io pages: * EnverArco (dev) * Ieida (game design) * Me (dev)

Gotta Make Game

I'm in! As I have done the previous few editions, I will again hop into Twine to make a text-based game, and dress things up with HTML/CSS in likely minimal graphics. It remains to be seen whether I will throw my efforts at something systems-based or I'll head in a more in a narrative direction. I have no clear preference at the moment.

A lil' list of tools I expect to be using:

• :notepad_spiral: Twine
• :paintbrush: Photoshop CS6
• :musical_note: FL Studio 20
• :robot: ChatGPT (brainstorming, ideas, etc)

Wallpaper

Attention spans are short these days, get yourself a wallpaper to remind you what you were meant to be occupying yourself with!

Here’s a Zip file that contains HD and 4K versions

Let's Get Ready

This will be my 19th consecutive Ludum Dare game. My 18th game was pretty terrible, and I had planned to remake it with the lessons I had learned as a warmup this week. Two music deadlines unfortunately prevented this from happening, but perhaps I will manage to get some work in tomorrow.

See you on day 1!

I wasn't sure I would actually make it with the xbox, but I think I have enough of a basic library now to get started. Here's what the tools look like. Has to be run in an old windows xp virtual machine:

If I make it to actual models I'll be using Blender. If I have time to texture stuff I'll be using 3DCoat.

2D Stuff I usually use paint.net.

I have zero chance of having enough time for the compo, mainly because the overwatch league finals are on this weekend and I want to watch all of that live, so I'll be doing the extended time mode.

Because of that I might dip into some AI tools. I've got models for textures, icons, and voices if I get that far.

Time to start thinking about game ideas for themes! Have fun everyone! <3

Finally I caught the game jam before it started and I also have time to participate!

I'm going to be in a team with @bestegg, who's going to be doing the art for the game.

Can't wait to get started!

HEY YA BUNCH OF CUTIES!

I've been joining Ludum Dare for about two years now and I'm so excited to do it again! I love seeing what everyone comes up with. Truly some of my favorite weeks of the year! Also, I'll be streaming games, at twitch.tv/flyingkaida, throughout the game testing and voting phase. Those who vote and make comments on mine I will do the same for yours, and live! So lets all make something fun and beautiful and have fun with it! See y'all on the other side!

I've excited and nervous as this is my first Ludum Dare Compo, and my very first Game Jam! Thank you to my CS Professor for bringing this event to my attention! I haven't experimented with making a game since Senior year of Highschool, and that was on Code.org, so let's see what I can do with this new freedom! My plan is GameMaker being my engine and Clip Studio Paint Pro for my digital graphics. I'm not sure if there's anything else I need, but I guess I'll figure that out! You got this!

Switching the engine this time from GameMaker:1.4 to Raylib might use emscripten to get a web build.

• Graphics: Aesprite
• Audio: FL Studio

I'm in! Once again I'm going solo, using PICO8, which keeps ideas constrained by default. My last three entries were also made with Pico8 - I love using it in game jams, makes things easier. I'm really looking forward to a full weekend making a silly game!

See you there!

Obligatory - I'M IN!

Really not digging these themes, but I will say that I'm on team Folklore - LD needs a wrench thrown in it!

My Toolset - Unity 2023/Godot 4.1 (big IF on Godot) - Kritta and GIMP - FL Studio (maybe record some guitar and/or use the Akai MPK Mini that's been collecting dust) - BFXR/SFXR or something similar

I'd love to use Godot for the first time, but I haven't really gotten to a point where I feel super confident - so mostly likely going to be rolling with Unity.

Here's to having fun and getting shit done! :confetti_ball:

Upbge LMMS Krita

For me.

• Clean my desk

• A nice long walk

• Buy some energy efficient snacks nothing that will make me crash.

• Premake dinner so I can just microwave it.

• about an hour before start I'll shave and shower.

• lastly prepare a game dev playlist on spotify.

I wrote a big ol' blog piece full of my votes, game ideas/thoughts, and my hopes and dreams for which theme will win (along with the usual expectation that one of the themes I downvoted will win 🤣).

Note: these opinions come from someone making a tabletop game and entering the jam.

Always wanted to do one of these jams, never just got around to it. On a whim decided to try this time for whatever reason. Let's see how much I can actually get done with a busy weekend ahead. If nothing else, I'll learn how to use Godot more.

Hello everyone, I've just signed up for Jam taking place this weekend (my first jam). I will be able to practice Game Design.

I'm looking for people to create a game with them (PS: I haven't touched any game engine yet, for now I know GD, Level Design & Java).

Don't hesitate to contact me, I'd love to team up! 🤝

Gonna be trying something pretty different this time. For the past few jams I’ve been using pico-8 and it’s worked really well for me each time. This time I’m going to the complete opposite end of the game engine spectrum and trying out unreal.

My engine of choice for 3D games has always been unity, but for obvious reasons now I’m trying to evaluate other engines. So this time I’m going to attempt to use Unreal to force myself to learn it enough to see if I like it enough to switch.

PS. I can't get why you are voting for "Break the cycle". I already saw similar "cycle" themes in dozens of other gamejams. That's too boring and usual in my opinion

Last Ludum Dare someone made a strawpoll and it made pre-jam brainstorming much easier with focusing just on a selection of themes. I hope this is still allowed.

Strawpoll link

THEME POLL

Select which themes you voted +1 for and see the live results! This is just for fun and _usually_ doesn't predict the winner, but I enjoy doing it. It's a flawed system since it doesn't consider -1 votes, but again, it's just for fun.

Take the poll HERE

Can't wait to become a part of this!

Hey everyone! The official starting date of the event is the 29th of september, however the counter says it will start on the 30th at 12:00 AM CEST, and also the text below the counter says Saturday. So our question is which one is the correct one? We have prepared to start in 3 hours, but we have just noticed this inconsistency (because the previous Ludum Dares started at 2 AM CEST, Friday). So which is correct, timer or official date? Thanks in advace

I can't help but notice that most themes that made it into the final voting round are abstract concepts that can't easily be translated into a game mechanic in a way that makes sense. As someone who isn't that creative, I can't say I'm a fan.

Hey, I wanted to know if artificial intelligence (ChatGPT, DALL-E and others) is allowed for use in jam (especially in The Compo) and in what form. As I understand from the brief rules of the upcoming jam, they cannot be used in The Compo, but if you open the rules it says that they are allowed (and even encouraged lol).

So I'm a little confused, I hope someone can explain what's going on here.

Hey, I wanted to know if artificial intelligence (ChatGPT, DALL-E and others) is allowed for use in jam (especially in The Compo) and in what form. As I understand from the brief rules of the upcoming jam, they cannot be used in The Compo, but if you open the rules it says that they are allowed (and even encouraged lol).

So I’m a little confused, I hope someone can explain what’s going on here.

hey

I plan to use:

• Phaser HTML5 framework
• TypeScript / Visual Studio Code / Rollup
• Gimp / Inkscape with the help of 2DGameArtGURU
• Leshy SFMaker / Audacity

As is tradition for me, I am in and I bring with me a list of goodies! As I have collected all sorts of free software over the years to help me with game jams I figured it would be nice to centralise my knowledge for the newer jammers and even veterans.

Check it out!

I think salvage is a boring theme tbh I think out of order was a good one from the first voting block

Score chasers is a tournament where people compete to get high scores in games submitted to Ludum Dare. This includes things such as completing a game in the lowest amount of time, getting the most score in a game, or other ways a game can be competed in.

The tournament for this Ludum Dare will take place on Saturday, October 14, 2023 12:00 PM ET with this edition of the tournament being hosted by @ategon. It will be streamed over on twitch at twitch.tv/ategondev for anyone who's interested in watching it (or if a contestant wants to stream their pov you can watch them as well).

How to Join

Anyone is free to become a contestant! Free free to join our discord if youre interested in joining or watching the event when it happens. In order to qualify for the tournament you need to submit an impressive score for any one of the games submitted to the jam.

Which games will be played in the tournament?

Games are submitted to the tournament by contestants. Contestants will submit games they enjoy and then the submitted games will get voted on by all of the contestants to determine the ones played in the tournament. You are not able to submit your own game for voting.

Hope to see you there! :)

I'm in!

Using Godot 3.4 Why? I've been using this version for 2+ years working on prototypes & 2d games and I'm the most sure of myself on this edition rather that the 4.1 which I'm still getting used to.

Let's see what the theme is going to be and give up then!

Stoked to try again, haven't had much luck the last few times to have time to complete. Trying for the Compo, probably using GMS2 but might try out Godot 4 depending on what the theme is. Audacity, FL Studio, luteboi.com for music? We'll see!

GLHF

Hello! I'm Maplewood! If you are in need of a chiptune composer, I'm your girl! You can find my previous work on Bandcamp!

Cursor Crypt OST - GBJam 11 maplewoodstreet.bandcamp.com/album/cursor-crypt-ost-gbjam-11

Just Beachy! maplewoodstreet.bandcamp.com/track/just-beachy

I also have skills in animation and some writing, but my main jam is music!

This will be my second jam, but I'm very happy to get started! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. 😄

Heyo! Given recent game development events (the Unity kerfuffle), I finished a project of mine that was long due: https://enginesdatabase.com.

It's a gameuidatabase.com, but for Game Engines! I'm currently listing around 150 Game Engines, and you can check on the filters which ones fit your needs.

I manage to finish the MVP before Ludum Dare, so hopefully it can be useful to other teams looking for a new tool to try!