This is the first time we do a post – mortem for Ludum Dare . We hope to be able to inform what is necessary about the experience gained during this Jam , and how we got it .
I Trigueiro Neto , am participating for the fifth time in the Ludum Dare, but only two games have been completed : Find the Rat , made in LD28 , and Catacombs , in the LD29 . Paloma Guimarães participated for the second time ,in the same games mentioned .
In this LD we decided to do something different : just the two of us composing the team for Catacombs .
The Game
Story : With the theme ” Beneath the Surface ” , our brainstorming was somewhat filled with games and various style options . But what attracted us most was the idea of telling a story that takes place in the famous catacombs of Paris. The player assumes the role of Steve Fortaine , a young descendent of a famous thoroughbred French family, which for two centuries , mysteriously lost their entire fortune . Because it was not resolved, the case was eventually filed by the local police , and was never heard of again. But for Steve , his curiosity went beyond . He was determined to understand the mystery , and initiated a series of related searches. As a result , he found that one of his ancestors , Baron Condregore , had also disappeared in the same period that the family wealth did. Your journey then begins with the search of the corpse of the Baron in the French Catacombs .
Aesthetics : We try to throw in a bit of the beautiful aesthetics presented by Pixel Art , taking the game Sword and Sorcery as a reference. We tried . Unfortunately , all the art was done by a programmer , and the result ended up not being as satisfying as we wanted it to be .
Mechanics : We used the little time we had to introduce simple mechanics both in character and the enemies. No complex artificial intelligence system was implemented . For a game made by two people , complexity and reduced time do not match .
Technology : We used Construct 2 , a simpler engine compared to the others, but very powerful . It was enough to meet the needs we encounter in developing Catacombs .
So , in these three days of development, what did we learn ?
First, game development is not an easy task . It requires dedication, knowledge ( knowledge aggregated to continuous dedication ) , love for what you do and, more importantly than all that, working as a team . Of course, these points are not the only ones , but they are critical . And to associate this to the time we have in a jam, becomes even more difficult. However , all this served as experience. It was really fun to develop Catacombs , put our ideas into practice , and to see the final result … I , in this issue , had contact with the artistic part . I had never done assets or characters , and I’m terrible designer, but I felt excited while doing the sprites and other game elements . With this experience , I affirm that no process of developing a game shall be lightly esteemed . Everyone has their proper complexity , and are of fundamental importance . To conclude , I wish to congratulate everyone who participated in this edition , and urge them to continue participating . Ludum Dare is an experience of unparalleled importance . We are all warriors o/
