Hi all!

Wanted to wish everyone good luck and hope the game jam gods are kind to you all, and you come up with a simple enough idea to finish it in the time limit!

Happy to finally participate in a Ludum Dare after much lurking. I haven't been learning game dev-ing for long, but I've got the drive and the passion. I do very much suck at art though, and usually relied on last minute asset pack to clean up my previous game jam entries, so this is gonna be... fun, yes, that's the word i'm looking for!

I love game jam entries as I find them always so much more unique and original than most released games. I can't wait to see what y'all come up with!

Stay healthy, take care of yourselves, remember to have fun, and LET'S MAKE SOME GAMES, YOH!

LDJAM 47 COMPO: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/47/newster-a-fantasy-social-media-sim

Newster is the new exciting social media platform, taking the world of Eias by storm. Elves, dwarves, goblins, trolls or even humans: you are all welcome here. Newts to your heart’s content!

Our most prominent users have navigated the platform expertly, sharing only credible, relevant content. To encourage this behaviour, we have included in the interface a simple score system that informs you of how credible you are. Now, you too can become a top newtser!

Lastest newts from our top users:

“I need to stop newtsing, I’ve been scrolling all day. My wife is pissed!“

• TomTheHappyTroll

“Dwarves, elves, goblins, trolls… It doesn’t matter. Be kind to each other. #WeAreAllHumans“

• WeAreAllHumans

“Day: mine. Night: drink. Repeat. #ItsAWayOfLife“

• UrR3gularDw4rf

So what are you waiting for? Go out and share the best Newts to become one of the greats!

Hi! This is my first Ludum Dare and 3rd game jam. What a rush!!! I'm really happy with the result all considering since I've never done art for a project before. This is a short demo for a social media simulator game. The sim aspect of it is limited in the current version (48h innit), and it's more of a text-based experience for now. I had to rush the SFX which I'm not fully happy with, but it was a lot of fun writing the 165 posts to populate the fake timeline!

Already have a lot of ideas on how this could be pushed further into a proper influencer-sim: managing different audiences, actual functionality for the Like and Dislike buttons, user profile, analytics dashboard... If I continue working on this, I'd say it'd work better as a mobile game like Reigns. We'll see!

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy my absurd attempt at humour! Let me know what you think, all feedback appreciated.

Hi everyone! Thank you all for the kind words and feedback on my entry Newster, I really appreciate it! I took a small break from rating and commenting on other entries yesterday to put together a timelapse video for my game.

First time using this format, so would love any feedback you might have. What do you look for in a game development timelapse, what can I do better for the next one?

https://youtu.be/J9BPnrJWeEA

I'll be posting a more in-depth devlog once the rating period is over (I want to get back to playing your games, yo!) but in the meantime, enjoy!

Better late than never... I've finally got around to finish the edit of the devlog for my Ludum Dare 47 Compo entry Newster!

Trying to get that Youtube channel started has been taking a lot of dev time away. I enjoy editing these though, and they say to keep doing what you find fun, so here you go!

https://youtu.be/OGrVEIOr_NA

Would love to hear your thoughts on the format and any tips or advice would be grand!

Thanks again for making my first Ludum Dare a wonderful experience, I'll see you all at the next one!

Beginning of April last year, I started learning Game Development with no previous programming experience. I was already obsessed with Ludum Dare devlogs and could only wonder fascinated at whether I’d be able to do the same one day.

One year later and I’m now joining my second LD, for the historic 48th edition nonetheless! It’s an incredible milestone for this jam, but also for me as an individual... to see how far I’ve come during this year, to see if I can now call myself a gamedev without feeling like an imposter.

Ludum Dare holds a special place in my heart as far as game jams are concerned. There’s just nothing quite like it, especially the COMPO. During LD47, I ended up having to really stretch my game design ability to compensate for my lack of art and development skills. And it was exhilarating. I ended up making a fantasy twitter game that I’m still incredibly proud of to this day (devlog below for the curious).

https://youtu.be/OGrVEIOr_NA

Maybe this weekend I’ll manage to have enough time to make music. Maybe. One can dream! What I know though is that whatever happens, I’ll make a game. I’ll finish it and submit it at any cost, even if I have to scrap half of my plans last minute. I’ll cut down the scope brutally and ruthlessly. What counts to me is delivering a complete experience by the end of the 48h. It might not be a great experience for sure, might be ridiculously short, yes, but it’ll be complete. What about you, what are you aiming for?

Stay safe and beautiful lovelies. I’ll see you on the other side.

Tools: - Unity - Krita - Ableton Live - Audacity

I’ll be chilling (aka panicking) in the Let’s Talk Game Design discord server. Come say hi, we’re a chill bunch.👌

https://discord.gg/GFrJtFBt

And when in doubt, remember...

https://youtu.be/A3Z9O59VYXo

Memories

Collect them to make the most out of your short lifetime. Some are light, some heavy, some more valuable than others. 🤷‍♂️

Inspired by

Humble’s The Marriage

http://rodvik.com/rodgames/marriage.html

and Kandinsky’s Composition 8

My artsy metaphoric entry "memories.io" is almost ready!

Coming along nicely, only a few more bits and pieces to close off before submitting.

Have I gone a little bit mad and created a gigantic pile of geometric garbage? Yes. Yes I have.

Play it here

Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna go to sleep before I start remaking this, but... NOW WITH CONCAVE SHAPES! wuuuuuut

Keep being awesome!

And by that I mean... I went deeper and deeper, trying to figure out how the heck I can convey meaning and philosophy through gameplay.

The game is minimalist, inspired by Rod Humble's The Marriage and Kandinsky's Composition 8. I wanted to keep it abstract to keep the player's attention on the symbolism.

Most of the fun comes from trying it out and figuring out the rules of the game, so have a go first!

PLAY HERE

Deeper and deeper

Each generation gives you hints at the structure of the game. Like the circle you play as, each experience makes you grow a deeper understanding.

So what the heck is going on?! Well... - you float around, at first aimless, then you find your own purpose. Life is short so you better make the most out of it. - the polygons are memories. They are of all shape and colours and they have a main affiliation to them. You collect them to earn points, but here score represents whether you've lived your life to the fullest or not. To feel more "complete" (aka get higher score, fine), you have to gather a wider variety of memories to have lived a diverse and fulfilling life. - the other circles are other people. We're not all born equal. Some have a head start. It shouldn't make you give up though. - the sticks / walls are obstacles along the way. Sometimes you can't get to that moment straight away, you have to find your way to it. - red squares are accidents, mistakes. It's okay to fail. It's okay to forget. Just get back out there and do the thing. - you can discard your own memories. Sometimes, it's better to let go and move on.

A bit of a weird one, but I'm happy with it. For once actually managed to do everything I had planned for the game. If you end up checking it out, let me know what you think!

Try it out and let me know what you think!

I've been obsessed by this painting of Kandinsky and have been wanting to make a game based on it for a while. So this jam, I went for it.

BEFORE

AFTER

How did I do? Let me know!

PLAY HERE

48h jam, amirite? :laughing:

PLAY HERE

There's not many game jams that feel as intense and powerful as the Ludum Dare COMPO. You truly have to give your whole, you're the most exposed you can be as a game dev. You've got no safety net, no shortcuts. It's you, 48h and a blank page.

So when I came up with the idea for memories.io, I really didn't think it was worth doing. I even had a major freak-out half-way through the first day that almost made me quit...

* "Why am I even doing this." *

"Who's going to play this?"

"This is so trash!"

"Who do I think I am?!"

I think most of us have been there at some point. Making a game is already miracle. Making one alone is a hot damn impossibility. To the 2,721 jammers here, you are heroes. To my fellow 1,142 compo-ers: you are freakin' gods. Be proud.

Regardless, I want to thank you all for taking me slowly out of the blues. For your kind and thoughtful comments on my entry that show me it was worth it, that I can do it. It means a lot, and I'll make sure I pay you back in kind as soon as I can.

Thanks again, stay beautiful. :heart:

... and now it's available as a music video:

https://youtu.be/xFxJM3Y9g7o

What the heck is going on?!

Play the Game here!

Chill vibes and deep reflections

https://youtu.be/xFxJM3Y9g7o

Also available on soundcloud with the ending removed for better looping!

Made for the COMPO memories.io

An abstract game about life and memories, and how they make us who we are.

This jam was an incredible experience and I never expected my experimental art game to get such good feedback.

In this devlog / post mortem, I keep going deeper and deeper into how I came up with the idea for the game, how I went around to making it, why I made the decisions I did, and how I dealt with a first day breakdown over deciding to make this game.

https://youtu.be/O0YTtjdOuJk

It would mean a lot if you could check it out and let me know what you think!

I still can't believe the reception on my COMPO entry memories.io - A Living Painting, especially in the top 10% for Audio and Mood!

I tried to really put myself out there and give my whole into this post-mortem video. I really wanted to drive home the point regarding Art Games: why they exist, why do we need them, how I came up with mine. And honestly think this might be my best devlog yet. Check it out and let me know what you think!

https://youtu.be/O0YTtjdOuJk

Come say hi and give me your opinion on games as an art form: would mean a lot!

This LD was truly special for me because I did not think my game would resonate with anyone. I never expected it to do well in ratings, but I'm happily surprised I hit the top 10% in Audio and Mood. :v:

I tried to make an experimental art game. You know exactly what it is: the kind of game that you think "alright, it's a thing, but hot damn that dev is pretentious." I wanted to make a game that says something without an actual narrative, I wanted a symbolic game where the message is conveyed more by its mechanics than by words or story.

I think I kinda succeeded? What I did succeed at is making a game that I consider finished, which is rare for a game jam. It holds on its own and found, even if meagre, some audience. I hope it inspires more people to try and tell stories via game mechanics and gameplay rather than relying on the usual narrative techniques from the other media. I think games are so unique in that they can truly be experienced. We have the chance of contributing to one of the youngest art medium, one of the most innovative and with so much room to grow and explore and figure out what games are. Let's not waste it, let's try new stuff, let's create and dream and continue to be absolute nerds about it all.

I especially wanted to thank the below for their support and their kind words. If you've enjoyed the game and want to support me further, please come watch the devlog and consider subscribing to my channel. It really does help.

https://youtu.be/O0YTtjdOuJk

@littlegamer - for sharing my game on the last day of ratings amongst their favourites. There were some truly amazing games in that selection and I'm honoured you included me. :star:

@judgezedd, @moski, @limbo, @tombuston, @not-as-artistic, @zhi, @c3ll256, @lelulagames - for really "getting it" and letting me know you did. i feel less alone now, thank you. :two_hearts:

@kevinworkman, @fatebreak, @goodwincek, @petrroll, @geckoo1337 - for your thoughtful feedback and observations. It means a lot that you took the time to dig and the care to help out. We need more devs like you. Thank you. :gift_heart:

@icoso, @giovannibarrottu, @rouge-dragon, @frogmen, @tauheed-game-dev, @felo07, @collin-visser, @woolchara, @wallkysek - I am pretty sure I owe you folks the Audio and Mood high rating, thank you. :heart:

@fictions, @liam, @zimny11, @virimine, @freezerbot, @the-neon-shark, @verygenuinecraze, @gao-ming, @phealsout - for getting lost with me in a sea of memories. Thank you. :heartpulse: