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Blog: Ludum Dare 26 - Minimalism
28 April, 2013
Today I finished my entry for the Ludum Dare 26, a 48-hour game development competition thats held worldwide.
Ludum Dare Background
I remember when I first started out doing the Ludum Dare. My entry was overwhelmingly difficult, I didnt even get close to the target, and I felt terrible afterwards, knowing that hundreds of other developers succeeded where I failed.
Since then, my skills as a game developer, and as a developer in general, have vastly increased. I'm able to quickly prototype, keep on target and track my progress to make sure I know what the blockages will be.
Wandering Darkness (This years entry)
It started with being completely stuck for ideas, and then I stumbled across a concept while out for a walk. Just over 28 hours later, my game is complete! For the first 5 hours I was relatively low on motivation. The theme was "Minimalism" and for me that meant a particular type of design and artwork. Those that know me, know I am not good at artwork.
The game concept I came up with allowed for some light mechanics to work as the discovery mechanism, and it retained the minimal artistic style by being black and white. This worked well with the concept behind the game.
The concept is that you're in a dark environment with a light surrounding you. You're only able to see the immediate area around you. As such, you must carefully explore each level to ensure you don't fall off the platforms into the abyss below.
One of the mechanics I like about the game I produces was that the controls are relatively responsive. Theres a touch of momentum on the player, and as such you can't always dash backwards away from a ledge. This provides the player with speed should they need it, but it puts the control in their hands, meaning they need to restrain themselves if they want to ensure a safe traversal of each level.
Download
Downloads for Mac, Windows and Linux.
A note for Linux users: I've had varied success with the Linux build from Unity3d. Please let me know if you have issues with it, and I will see what I can do to assist.
If you'd prefer to play via your web browser, you can check it out here.
Thoughts
I'm extremely happy with my effort on this game. The concept was simple, remained simple and the resulting game is both challenging and rewarding.
I’d appreciate any feedback, and of course, welcome any votes on the Ludum Dare site when the time comes!
Good luck to everyone still working hard on your games!