So I don't want to tell anyone what to do, I just want to share my opinion and personal taste towards LD themes.

I love themes that are as ambiguous as possible and as broad as possible. Themes like "darkness", "sustainability" or "Out of scale" are really good. These can be used in so many ways in either gameplay, visuals or story. For example, "darkness" can play with literal darkness, where you play in some gloomy environment, or you can use it for a horror story. Or it can be a game mechanic where darkness is used to kill enemies with, or be killed by it. Or it can go even deeper like having darkness in your heart or soul, writing a story about depression or sadness.

No matter what theme, I know we will all have a great time next weekend!

It's a stupid question, but I kinda forgot my theme suggestions. Is there a way to see them?

TL;DR - HAVE FUN

Hello Jammers, I don't consider myself a veteran, considering the fact that LD has been here way longer than my first jam (this is my 8th LD jam), but I still feel like I can share some useful information to either newcomers or those who just like reading things they already know to make them feel better about themselves (humor mode activated). I prepared some general tips which may be obvious to some, but maybe others don't even think about them. So don't expect something like "Plan your project with bullet points.... work on your code first... create assets later...". So here they are:

• Don't stress yourself. Just enjoy the event, it's not about winners anyway. It's about everyone having a good time.
• Don't compare your game. You sure find many games that will look like some AAA titles made by 20 professionals and you can't just believe some people made such a game in 48 hours. Believe it or not, even professionals like to enjoy some Jamming, so don't feel bad that your game doesn't look as cool as some guy's, and just think about your game as an unique entity not a competitor.
• Check LD page feed often. With the previous point, you now have the mindset of not-envious person. Therefore go ahead and enjoy all those screenshots and videos people post (literally) every minute and get inspired and feel the vibes of the community!
• Eat. Don't forget to eat and drink. Sometimes when you are too excited about the work you may feel like you don't need to eat or drink, but you do. It helps your brain function better, therefore you will enjoy the workflow even more.
• Don't over-complicate your game. A game jam is often characterized by short and rather simple games. Obviously, when you have only 48/72 hours. However, sometimes jammers like to overcomplicate their game and not always they manage to finish their product properly, ending up with a barely playable prototype. Long story short: It's much better to play a simple short game, yet polished, than some overcomplicated Stellaris-like strategy that is completely unplayable.
• JUST HAVE FUN! Try something new, learn how to do art, sound effects, music, new code mechanics, do some crazy funny game that will be fun for you to create. Don't be afraid to try things you haven't tried before, as well as get rid of the mindset "what if people won't like my game". Some will some won't, but that's not the point. You joined this jam to have a good time, not to win a prize. That's why it is such a great event, because there is no winner getting money or something, so it is basically a cheater-free zone, and the whole weekend is about having a good time instead of competing with each other.

just floating by...

So naturally, as probably all of you, I am hyping. To ease my hype I decided to do a short brainstorming for each possible theme:

(note: my games are story oriented, therefore most ideas are focused on the story, not game mechanics)

1) Dreams - A guys has been having weird dreams about him dying. In the end it turns out he is already dead. (cliché?)

2) You are the power source - You are a powerful wizard living in his tower/castle, and other less powerful wizards are coming to you for help. You need to distribute your powers (fire, ice, arcane...) effectively in order to complete quests.

3) Turn a violent genre non-violent - Horror game in which zombies tend your garden and you need to take care of them.

4) An abandoned world - Woman wakes up in the deserted land not knowing where she is. The main point is to find out what happened and where you are.

5) 1 minute to prepare - You are a general in a huge battle. You need to align your forces properly before the battle. You have (you guessed it) one minute for it.

6) Decay - You are a king, your land is slowly dying. You need to help your people any means necessary.

7) Side effects - You are an alchemist mixing and selling your goods on the market. Each customer demands certain potions and you need to mix them. However each potion has a side effect and you need to make sure that it is always the least bad thing.

8) Fragile - Your daughter is dying, you need to find cure for her.

9) Outdated technology - It is 1990's. You are working in an old IT store and your job is to fix other people's computers.

10) Ruins - Can be similar to the Decay theme.

11) Momentum - Honestly have no idea about this one.

12) Automation - You run a store/warehouse and you boss your employees around. There will be a couple of tasks to do and you need to find the most effective way to do them.

13) Keep it alive - Similar to Fragile maybe...?

14) Garden - A detective story. There is a monster in your garden that eats your vegetables. You are investigating this crime in order to find out who or what did the mess.

15) Connections - You are a merchant/taxi traveling through galaxies, creating this connection, trading goods, flying people from A to B, etc.

I hope I have inspired someone :) Have fun guys.

So I just woke up (Central Europe) to check the theme, seeing that people are having prototypes already, haha. Better start... The breakfast

Could have done more, but there is still tomorrow. Good night everyone.

Short point and click adventure (with slight strategy elements). You play as general Sir Gorham trying to defend the keep from approaching enemy army. Will you keep the royal family and everyone at the castle alive?

LD page - https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/$181717

DL link - https://digital-mosaic-games.itch.io/last-hope

(Extra note: I just realized this is my 10th Ludum Dare event I attend to! Sounds symbolic, I better make it good.)

Inspired by @kuro 's post about his process and thoughs during the event, I decided to do a similar thing and maybe these posts will inspire both new atendees as well as some veterans.

0) Pre-LD Mindset

Before I start the event I already have in mind a picture of the structure of the game. Well, it is easy for me because I make only point and click adventure games. So I know that my game will be an adventure. I also know that my main focus is always graphics and story. I don't try to make any revolutionary mechanics, nor I try to shock people with some out-of-this-world gameplay. I simply want to deliver an interesting story with a couple of puzzles and most importantly fitting mood. So maybe this can give you some ideas about how to approach the progress. Maybe you can decide up front what genre you want to do no matter what theme wins.

1) Theme handling

I almost always use the theme for story purposes, not gameplay mechanics. This gives me a looot of freedom to make something interesting with it.

2) Step by step process

• I start with a very vague idea (Story about and old man going shopping and something happens along the way)
• I start making graphics (characters, environment, items...) and because it takes a lot of time to make these pictures, I use this time to think about all the dialogues and the story details on the run.
• Then I write all the dialogues and story I was brainstorming during my graphic sessions.
• In the end I just glue everything together.

3) Polishing

Now that I have basically the whole game finished I check for bugs, polish some dialogues, add some minor details and that's it. I know it sounds easy, because it kinda is when you are making adventure games, in comparison to someone working on let's say an RPG fighting game, but that's just how I do it.

So I hope you got some ideas for your own working process now. And don't forget, LD is not about winning, it's about the experience and fun!

Each Pre-Ludum Dare wall is filled with hatred towards the themes. Let's be more positive this time and let's all appreciate that different people have different opinions and let's respect those who just happen to like something we don't.

PS: don't hate repetitive themes, because when someone suggested a theme, they couldn't affect that someone else had the same idea.

So, enjoy the event no matter what and most importantly #donthatethemes #loveforLD

So this time I decided to be more positive and downvoted only those themes I really couldn't agree with or were too strict/specific. Like "Star Wars" (seriously?)

Still have many to go.

savethethemes

Minimalistic LD Wallpaper for those who like retro art :)

Simple question: How do I search/add a friend?

Thank you.

Ok I just woke up, 7:30 AM, Central Europe, barely read The theme with my eyes half closed. So many people already got plenty of stuff done!

The theme is probably the least favorite, but I even managed "combine two incompatible genres" So I will manage this bad boy too.

Good luck boys and girls!

My game called "Unscripted" is getting its shape. I hope I will manage to code everything tomorrow!

It is a traditional point and click adventure game with (hopefully) interesting story.

I am finished!

• Millenia after human extiction, robots have evolved into a society. You wake up with deleted memory. Your job is to… well that is actually what you need to find out.

• Short point and click adventure game for Ludum Dare 47

LD Page: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/47/unscripted

Download page: https://digital-mosaic-games.itch.io/unscripted

Some relaxing picture