Also with compelte solution:

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

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/keep-it-alive-7

Screenshots:

Here you can see some more Games im creating :) * Instagram

A good friend and I also have a group called ZRGames where we create all kind of apps and games. Each one works on his own project and post it inside our group :ok_hand:

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

Hi ho, a couple of years ago there was a list with streamers who test our games. Will there be something this year?

I found one list from jupiter hadley. If you find some more please let us know :)

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdD0HE14strHGlyHdADSCZq5-MISVIZ7sBrFlTyitfeaWw5Bg/viewform

Thanks everyone for your support :D

To the game: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/keep-it-alive-7

1. Don't make a game to complicated/dificult. I tryied to balance the low ammount of levels with dificulty. But it seems to be too frustrating and make it more anoying.

2. Feedback, feedback, feedback... A sound to know if a object is working as it suposed to do... Not only a sound for success, but a sound for error... dragging... etc. An enemy blinking after a shot makes you know you hit the target. Make the player understand the game.

3. Don't make a player start from zero. In my game you have to start all over again. Specially in parts where you have only one chance to think fast it is frustating to figure it out in the next complete run. This can done by save points, quick save or dividing the game in sections.

4. Rewards . Our brain loves to be rewarded. Really 😅

5. * Have fun * . Seems to be obvious and everyone says "i have fun". To be honest, i started the first time with the thoughts of become the next "indie game the movie" actor. What i mean is that i thought how great it would be to became famous with my own creation. This time i just coded having fun without thinking of any reward and for the first time I created a game which i really like. Coding even went easier. 😊

6. ~~Write a text to have a reason to post your game again~~ Just kidding. But oviously here my game if you want to frustrate yourself 🙃 😵

~~Frustation~~... I mean game ➠

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzY01bLjjTg

*My game *

PLAY CANDYFACTORY

Game testers are very important. I had tested the game with my mouse setting. But I'm used to having my pointer sensitivity set very high. When I gave it to my wife to test it, she was a bit overwhelmed with the camera. If I had more time I would have included a slider for the rotation speed.

I would like to add a slider because many people cannot play the game because of the sensitivity of the mouse. What do you think? Does it count as a necessary adjustment that is allowed? Or should I not change it to keep it fair?

At first I wanted to invent a profound story about a burning forest. But then came the sobering reality that compo doesn't give you much time. So now it will be a small blueberry that can grow plants and thus reach the platforms. The goal is to find the way to the village and deliver the message.

The poor blueberry seemed like something out of a tim burton film. So I thought to myself, a giant head as a blueberry would look cool. I photographed a few twigs, leaves and tree trunks in the garden for the textures and the little guy's belly is really a hazelnut.

Here a bit of the gameplay: https://imgur.com/gallery/FaEqgfo

To all developers who are currently on the road in Ludumdare. Good luck and enjoy. I know i do !

Preview

*NVM, i forgot to press "Compo"! Sorry * My game status says "unpublished" game. I have added the game as a google link.

Link https://youtu.be/_Pt3O0j9mBY

https://youtu.be/efzVlZg19Ec

1. When you make a game, the focus must be on the player.##

Feeling great because you've built a sneaky level is only fun for the developer. The player will put the game aside in frustration.

2. Help your player understand the game.##

Write clear explanations of how to play the game. I have just experienced in this ludumdare that players were confused because my plants were not placed in camera direction but in player direction. We as players are used to using the camera for directions. After I explained that the player character decides the orientation of the plant, the players had more fun and enjoyed the game.Link to the game

3. let's be honest... the bitter truth: Few people reads what the controls are like on the Ludumdare site :D##

We are in a hurry to finish our game or play through tons of games. Yes, we are sometimes lazy, but that's why it's sometimes better to put all the necessary info directly into the game. Be it via a tutorial or just by flying text infos in the game.

A lot of people like to think "if I come in first place, I'll be a famous game developer", at least that's what I thought when I first heard about Ludumdare.

But what I have learned over the years are two important things.

1. every time I finished the gamejam, I had a game to build on afterwards. I have never finished a game except the ones from Ludumdare.

2. you get so much knowledge from the feedback you get from all the game developers who are also game testers. Things like how to make a camera better, game mechanics that need to be balanced more fairly etc.

When I look at my beginnings and compare them to now, a lot has changed. For which I have to thank 90% of ludumdare.

Portalshiift

Portalshift was the first game I made for ludumdare. And therefore also the first game I finished. I was so proud of the game that I had to remake it. https://youtu.be/Uh8ek5fTqwM Game Link

Alone in the Dark

Alone in the Dark was my second game for Ludumdare. Here I made the mistake that the most important element, the hamster, only spawned once. This meant that the opponents were far too overpowered. The game balance was not right. You had no chance to survive for long. You could only lose and be frustrated. Game link

Pay the door

Here I had planned the time wrongly. I never finished the game because it was implemented in a heartless way and I didn't like the concept from the beginning.

Candy factory

I really liked implementing Candyfactory. However, there was a big problem here... The controls were simply crap. Where the camera looked, the game looked. If you wanted to shoot something with the laser pointing down, you had to know where you were shooting, didn't you? That means I would have had to make the camera detached from the game. The game testers emptied me of this. Game link

Keep it alive

Keep it alive was one of the games where I had to learn that you have to help the player to understand the game. I had hidden different elements to flip switches. A puzzle, yes, but there was no visual feedback so the player knew what to do. It felt like a jumbled arrangement of different elements placed randomly. "Because yes". The players never played to the end. https://youtu.be/XKyhOjQm_lM Game Link

This year, I have made it my goal to pass on tips that have helped me as much as possible. That's why I take every game seriously and write a thorough review (constructive criticism of course, we want to have fun and get better).

That's what bothered me about some of the game testers on youtube who just quickly rattled off the games and skipped when it got too hard. I will take the time to play through the games.

And don't get me wrong. I am not a streamer but a developer xD

So if you have games you want me to test, write it here in the comments. I will try as hard as I can. And i'm far from being a pro myself, so if you want to rate my game i'd love to. You could exercise full criticism (if it's constructive it would be better of course :D ).

And finally my current game derry.
I have already made new experiences here. Feedback not only from game testers but also from the game itself. Here, graphics are seen first, then the UI. That's why many people thought you could only collect one seed. In the game a seed appears, yes, but in the UI you see that the count goes up. But I still had to communicate it explicitly. I tried as best as I could to explain to the players how the game works. After that, the feedback suddenly improved because I was able to give the testers the chance to play the game to the end. https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/53/derry

And sorry I didn't mean to spam all over the page. The blog post turned out to be longer than initially planned.

Hello folks, I have a quick question for you. What do you think is better? One long level with checkpoints or rather several small levels? (Platformer)

I like to learn how to improve my games and workflows and would like to know the general opinion.

I have been made aware of this in my game and I think it is justified to make small levels. But I would also like to know the pros and cons.

Congrats to all who finished on time! To those who didn't, keep going! Remember, setbacks are part of the journey. Embrace the lessons learned, stay determined, and continue pursuing your goals. Success isn't defined by a deadline; it's the result of resilience and never giving up.