I'm excited to take part in yet another LD and this time around it will be my fifth. I'm in Sweden so I'll be heading to bed now setting the alarm for 2:30 AM so I can get ready for the start at 3AM.

This time around I will go 2D for the first time (I think) so my primary tools are: * Unity3D (2D) * ProCreate on Ipad Pro (sketching) * Adobe Illustrator with Wacom Tablet (sketch --> vector art) * Photoshop (may not be needed) * Steinberg Cubase + a bunch of VSTi for music * SoundForge

My backup plan is Blender and 3D where I'm more familiar.

Check out my previous 4 LD-games, there are full timelapses from the making of them too https://www.imphenzia.com/ludum-dare

Hey all,

Hope you are all having a great time with LD40! I thought I'd spend a couple of minutes to send out a progress update.

I started with a sketch of the concept: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKSip3Fge84

Maybe not the most original, but I wanted to make a 2D game this time around so I went for it. I sketched out the main characters on my Ipad with ProCreate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD_T-pPkWJA

I then used Illustrator and a Wacom tablet to make it into vector graphics.

Now I'm in Unity making the game itself and this is what it looks like 12 hours in (I had to use my Mobile phone to record since I'm capturing for my TimeLapse + PostMortem too =)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSn6C1nPSi0

Priority is given to the police eating donuts!

Happy fragging everyone :)

My 5th Ludum Dare is now in the books and this was probably the most fun one to make. I had a game plan quickly and this weekend I could dedicate most of my time to making the game.

For the theme I made a classic 2D platformer and the more coins you collect the worse it is in terms of slowing you down. Your money bag grows as you collect coins and it may prevent you to dodge cops and clear important gaps.

Here's a video of the gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0vPY5k_tIs

Menu screenshot:

...and the game URL: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/40/robby-coppy

Full Timelapse & Post Mortem will follow.

I guess you could also say "The more [bullets] you have [in you] the worse it is" =) but that's not the actual theme of my game :) Off to bed now, I have to take the kids to school in... less than two hours, huh!

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/40/robby-coppy

With this being my first 2D game I had to get a somewhat speedy workflow for the art. I ended up sketching in ProCreate on the iPad and then transferring the sketch to Illustrator to make it into vector art. I found sketching to be faster on the iPad than in Illustrator but I have yet a lot to learn. It was a fun process though. I think the sketches took about 15 minutes and then I spent over an hour to make it into vector so there is still much time to be gained in future LDs.

This cop is eating donuts and taking care of business. Use keys AW and SPACE to avoid this happening :)

I'm looking for feedback to improve playability of platform games. Drop a comment and I'll play and rate your game too!

You can play Robby & Coppy here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/40/robby-coppy (Browser/WebGL and Win versions)

Will be posting a timelapse with postmortem narration tonight too.

It took some time but I've now put together a narrated timelapse where I describe the though process, decisions, tools used, and challenges when making my LD40 2D platformer game "Robby & Coppy".

I also included webcam footage and captures while drawing on the iPad this time. If anyone counts how many times I say "I ended up with" - you get extra credit! =)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXS9gZ671sY

This also acts as somewhat of a postmortem but I may add one in written form too.

Please play and rate here (web browser version available): https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/40/robby-coppy

Today I sketched out new characters for the game to expand on the idea of just having a robber and a single police.

When I had started I couldn't stop so I sketched another 14 potential characters before heading to bed =)

Testing to turn the new post-compo character sketches into vector art and prototyping them with the game backdrop. Each character takes about 15 minutes to sketch and about 1 hour to turn into vector graphics in Illustrator with separate body parts so they can be animated.

Some of the new characters have been vectorized. Sketches about 15 minutes each and "vectorization" with all limbs as separate objects takes 30-60 minutes based on character complexity. This repetitive work in Illustrator is really effective learning of Illustrator which I've struggled with in the past (now I finally feel comfortable with the pen tool =)

For Ludum Dare 39 I tried to hide away in my sound effect recording room over the weekend so I could test one LD with full focus. Only a few hours in to the event my kids found me and that was the end of that :) They found it even more exciting to run in and out of there compared to where I normally sit so needless to say I'm not bothering to set up my gear in that room for any more LD events =)

Only 20 days left to LD41 and I am starting to get super excited :) Part of me wishes LD ran more often but it's probably the perfect frequency with 3 per year to build up energy, motivation, and excitement. My personal goal for LD41 will be to TRY to focus more on original game design. In the past I have fell more into clones with a twist and I really want to come up with something more original this time. We'll see how that goes =)

This will be my 6th consecutive compo event and my previous entries from LD36 > LD40 have been:

LD 40 - ROBBY & COPPY

LD 39 - ROBOT POWER

LD 38 - PLANETARY REMAINS

LD 37 - SPACE JUNK

LD 36 - ANCIENT TECH TO RETURN

A few tips for those of you who are about to enter your first LD, a couple of days prior to the event: * Ensure your game engine and software is running well (no required updates pending) * Avoid software updates that can introduce bugs or change features so you are not familiar with things * Spend some time in the software/tools you intend to use - I do prototyping in Unity and model/skinning/animating in Blender for 4-5 days before LD starts to keep the tools and workflow fresh in my mind * Consider implementing stuff like game states and menu screens fairly early because if you leave it to last minute it is likely to introduce game breaking bugs or push you past the deadline.

Whey all - only two days to go and I am super excited for my 6th consecutive Ludum Dare!

I compressed all my previous 5 Ludum Dares timelapses into a single 3 minute video - hopefully it can assist you in getting in the mood for the weekend ahead of us =)

https://youtu.be/ozeyRXo5a70

(Long versions (some of them narrated) of the timelapses are available on my channel)

So, this will be my 6th consecutive LD but it'll be a tricky one. I have been sick for the past couple of days with stomach flu and my three kids are all ill at the moment with the same thing at various stages. On top of that, we are renovating the house which has "forced" the entire family to squeeze into two rooms, one of which is the computer room where I intend to do LD in so it's packed with boxes and boxes from a torn down kitchen and other areas of the house. Finally, it's my wife's birthday on Monday that I need to prepare for somehow.

But! I am still super excited and will soon head to bed so I can sleep for a few hours before LD starts. I'm in Sweden so the alarm will be set for 2:50 AM so I can make a coffee before the theme is revealed.

My weapons of choice will be:

• Unity3D 2017.3
• Adobe Photoshop CC
• Blender (if I end up going for a 3D game)
• Adobe Illustrator CC (if I end up going for a 2D game)
• Steinberg Cubase 9.5 + loads of VSTi
• Sound Forge 11 for Sound Effects

I will most likely use my little handheld Sony PCM M10 recorder to get raw material for sound effects when I'm out of the house.

Here are screenshots from my previous 5 Ludum Dares squashed into one mosaic. Check out my previous post for the timelapse =)

I wish you all the best of luck and have an amazing event =)

I'm nearly three hours in now, the last hour I have been sitting with my son who also caught the stomach flu so this will indeed be a tricky one (I have three kids, all three of them are ill in various phases of a stomach bug). This is like a boss fight of LD jams for me :)

In the hour and I half I did manage to put in I've got my golfer modeled and rigged, so hint for the first game genre is sport. I'll leave the second genre up for guessing for now =)

Keep on developing everyone! Good luck!

Ok, I thought that theme would win since everyone seemed to hate it =) I thought it was quite a fun theme and before long I came up with "Granade Golf". Here's a short video of today's progress. Wasted a few hours on some stupid bugs, I had a collider set as trigger, haha. Tired now 24h in so I'm off to bed.

Try to complete the courses while under attack from zombies. Modelling and animations in Blender - game is being developed in Unity3D. This is the progress 24 hours in.

Tomorrow I will have to put the game state machine together, make at least 9 holes, create menu systems, music, sound effects, and polishing. Will still be tricky to complete as I have other things I have to tend to tomorrow as well.

https://youtu.be/WpX32YIMbJ8

With an hour and a half to spare, Golf N' Granades is now finished. Win and WebGL builds run so I'll be submitting soon. Phew, this was one crazy dash for two days.

Now Golf N' Grenades is fully uploaded and submitted. Play 9 holes in WebGL or WinBuild. Unity3D project also available.

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/golf-n-grenades

Some screenshots:

Video and narrated timelapse will follow, but not tonight. 3.21 AM and I have to bake a birthday cake for my wife who has a birthday tomorrow! Hope you all managed to get your games in and that you had a FUN experience!

Hello all! I put together a video to showcase some game-play from my game entry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epsdrbSEAp4

(The music is the soundtrack included in the game)