Like many of you, this past weekend I took part in the Ludum Dare 48 Compo. It was my first LD, and it was a really nice experience. Here's the sort-of-post-mortem for my game, "Depths of the Deep."

The Initial Idea

So the theme was "Deeper and Deeper." Of course, this theme was not one that I voted for. I thought about all the meanings of "deep," every game genre, different settings, and different stories for about 3 hours when I finally came up with and idea that I didn't hate. I was going to make a vertical platformer about being in deep sleep. There would be several different enemies, collectibles, and weapons, and a final boss. I got to work on programming, but after about 12 hours(and a nap in between!) I hated the idea. The scope was too big for me, I don't know anything about level design, there was too many assets that I had to draw, I didn't like the theme interpretation, and it didn't seem like something people would like. I wanted to restart.

To Restart or Not to Restart

On one hand, I had no motivation to work on that game and I wanted to submit something that I liked. On the other, there was only about 36 hours left in the compo and I didn't have any other ideas. I knew that I was not going to continue working on the original idea anyway, so I decided to restart.

The Final Idea

So, it was time to come up with a game idea that I liked, and could make in 36 hours. After a little while I thought of a vertical metroidvania, so I googled that to see if they existed. A photo of a metroidvania staircase came up, and with that the idea for "Depths of the Deep" was born. I was going to make a game where you would travel down stairs to access other rooms, and in those rooms you can find useful items. Through programming obstacles and lack of time, this idea developed into being locked in a basement and looking in rooms for items that can help, and all the items are puns about the word "deep." I wanted to use comedy to make my game fun rather than design or gameplay since I know nothing about either of those.

Development

And so I started development on my new game. Of course, I ran into a few bugs, mainly regarding the ladders(the original stairs idea evolved into ladders). With about 20 hours left in the compo, I mostly finished the programming and started on the art and sound design. I decided on pixel art, since that's what I'm most familiar with. I used Piskel for all the art, and I finished it in about 4 hours. Then I made the background ambiance/music, which I put together using sound loops in Beautiful Audio Editor. That took about an hour. After that I just finished up the programming, did some playtesting, and completed my game. I zipped the file, uploaded it to itch, and submitted my game at around 3 PM, or 6 hours before the deadline. I really liked my finished product and it's humor.

Final Thoughts

• I hate the game's art. It looks really repetitive and terrible. If I were to improve on this game, I would probably completely change the art style.
• Restarting doesn't always end badly!
• Game jams are really fun.
• I'm considering continuing development on this game and turning it into a full, finished product. I've gotten some good feedback, and I think it would be fun to improve it.
• The LD Compo is super fun! But maybe next time I'll do the jam and work with an artist...
• Why "Depths of the Deep," you ask? Well, when you play the game you are exploring the depth of the word "deep." Also, you are travelling deeper down and exploring the area's depths.
• Thank you for reading this! My game already has over 20 ratings, so prioritize those that don't :)

UPDATE - Results

So, the results have been released! My game placed 810 out of 3,866. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. But seriously, I think for my first LD entry, that's not bad.