The game will be about a deep-sea diver, but an unusual one... and his arms will be special too)

Ludum Dare 57 News reports that I finished the game! Hooray! Uploaded it just 5 minutes before the jam ended and went straight to bed. Didn't even have time for a post.

So, I wanted to make a game similar to Flash games from 2008. That's how this idea was born: You play as a swimmer who wants to set a record for the deepest dive... but into the ground! Yep, there's no water in this game. Instead, there's plenty of humor and epic bloody hand-shredding action. Too bad I didn't have time for deeper mechanics.

Enjoy the game! https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/record-depth

Fixed some bugs in the game, but wasn’t sure where to post about it—so I’m announcing it everywhere, even as a standalone post! :)

What were the issues? Basically, two things mentioned in my game’s comments:

The swimmer could start digging mid-air;

The TV sound was way too loud.

Both are now patched! I didn’t touch anything else—playing by the rules here!

By the way, here’s the game: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/record-depth

I decided to share how I arrived at the final version of the game.

The Idea:

I struggled for a long time, thinking the theme was too weird and that I wouldn’t come up with anything. And it’s true—after three hours, the only idea I had was a swimmer digging through dirt with his bare hands. Honestly, I wasn’t unhappy with the idea, just frustrated that I didn’t have multiple options to choose from... Oh well. I immediately imagined a lot of blood and the vibe of those old Flash games from 2008-2010. And I thought, Hey, this could actually be fun.

Graphics:

Since time was limited and I didn’t want to use AI, I went for a simple art style that matched the absurdity of the concept. I think the visuals turned out pretty good... but that’s just my opinion, lol.

At first, I sketched the main character with different arms, then redrew everything piece by piece—so the style ended up inconsistent.

Humor:

At some point, I realized that coding and game design would take too much time, and I got into game dev mostly to draw. So I decided to focus all my effort on humor and visuals. Honestly, those random news channel cutscenes came to me by accident, but they ended up creating the game’s fun atmosphere. Although, the death screen in a hospital room with sad music also makes you smile in a weird way.

Game Design:

When I first came up with the idea, I considered making it a standard mining game. But that wouldn’t have been funny—just another clone. Yeah, the game lacks mechanics now, and that’s a downside. But within the time limit, I wouldn’t have been able to polish them well anyway. Instead, I focused on art and humor. I think it’s important to play to your strengths.

Code:

I made everything in Construct 3. While playing other Ludum Dare games, I mostly saw Godot and Unity... Where are my fellow Construct devs? Am I the only one? :)

Final Thoughts:

That’s about it. Unfortunately, because of the blood, I can’t really publish this anywhere else, so I won’t be polishing it further. But I really enjoyed making a game from scratch with my own characters instead of cloning popular mobile titles just to cash in on the web market (what can I say, a guy’s gotta eat). Maybe I’ll participate in Ludum Dare more often now.

Actually, my first game was made in a team four years ago—also for Ludum Dare—but I lost that account, and I was just the artist back then.

Anyway, thanks to the organizers—it was awesome!

By the way, here’s the game: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/record-depth

Hey everyone, this isn’t my game, but it hurts to see how few ratings it has. Such a great horror game, yet it hasn’t even reached 20 votes... If you’re unsure what else to play—give this one a try :)

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/blind-abyss

This is my second Ludum Dare. During the last one, I spent so much time sitting at the computer that I developed hemorrhoids.

Since then, I've been trying to manage the condition, went on special diets, but in the end, I couldn't work properly for six months.

So yesterday I went and had surgery. In 10-14 days, I'll be able to sit in a chair and make games.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to miss the long-awaited Ludum Dare. So I'll take my laptop and my XP-Pen graphics tablet and do my best to make a good game while lying in bed. Construct 3 will be my helper.

Although tomorrow I also have to go to a birthday party... I hope I can finish the game.

Good luck, everyone, and take care of your health

When I found out the jam's theme, the first thing I did was remember my long-standing dream to create my own Pokémon. But I immediately came to my senses and realized I wouldn't have time to make something like that. Then, the idea of stealing underwear accidentally popped into my head. It seemed funny, but weak.

I went to bed, and the next day, while coming up with various ideas, I realized that the one about the fetishist/underwear thief had really stuck in my soul.

But there was also an option to make a game about fishing. After asking my channel subscribers, the idea emerged to combine stealing with a fishing rod.

At first, I thought about having the option to simply steal underwear for a collection. I drew 28 pairs of underwear... I felt like a lingerie designer :)

But I realized it would be cool if you could put the stolen underwear on your head. So, on top of that, I drew 28 variations of the main character's head.

I made the mechanics quickly; the bigger problems were with storing the underwear data and checking which ones had already been stolen.

I also thought that comics of him sniffing the underwear were needed. Why sniff clean ones? Right, no reason. So, I made it possible to sniff 2 dirty pairs of underwear, which can be stolen from the laundry hamper and the trash can.

I didn't have enough time for the final picture; I wanted to draw the main character in a bathtub made of underwear, lol.

But instead, I drew a cover that I absolutely love.

First, I made a sketch of the pose. I used some promo for a fishing game as a reference, lol.

I thought about having underwear on his face, but my subscribers voted against it.

I added shadows, hair, and moved the hook to the left side so it would be visible.

I added sharpness. And it was ready.

This is my 4th jam in my entire life. And I see that with each jam, the games get better and better.

Play it, have fun :)

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/58/steal-the-panties

Hooray! First place in the humor category!

I was hoping to make it into the top 10, but it turned out even better.

Next time, I'll have to aim for victory in other categories, but that will be more difficult.

Until the next Ludum Dare

It’s sad to realize that LD will end without ever reaching this fun number…

In the last LD, I took 1st place in the Humor category. Now I’m wondering what’s better - to make another game aimed at winning this category again and become a two-time humor champion, or to start making more serious games and compete for a spot in other categories?

Good luck to everyone at LD - I’ve been waiting for it more than my own birthday :)

I run a gamedev blog and motivated 118 followers to take part in LD. Many of them are joining for the first time. If every creator encouraged their audience to participate, LD64 could reach 10,000 participants… or is that never going to happen? 😄