LD47 Results/Postmortem
We Came, We Saw, We Jammed!
Ludum Dare 47 has concluded and the results are in! There was an impressive 2406 games in the Jam category and 3206 total completed submissions. Among those was my contribution, Debug Or Die.
Ludum Dare 47 Jam Ranking
Note: Percentiles are calculated based on the total number of ranked games in each category. A game in Ludum Dare is only ranked when it receives 20 or more ratings. Ranked data courtesy of @adroitconceptions.
Postmortem
The theme of this jam was “stuck in a loop”. Participants were given 72 hours to create a game from scratch that incorporated this theme. I thought this theme was one of the better in recent memory and brainstormed the following concepts and mechanics:
Player stuck with a hula hoop around body. Bounce through the level with the goal of removing the hoop.
Race around a track using timed button presses to increase speed. Reach the target speed to break out of the loop.
Bullet hell game with screen wrap. Dodge enemies/projectiles that loop across the screen and kill enough to break out of the loop.
Puzzle game with a programming mechanics. Break out of the loop by pushing around and aligning command blocks to satisfy loop conditions.
Runner played inside the radius of a large circle. Jump to avoid traps/enemies. Circle gets smaller the longer you play.
Hamster in a wheel. Didn’t think this one too far through.
I ended up going with the puzzle game with programming mechanics because I thought it was a good use of the theme and I’ve wanted to take a stab at something like Baba Is You.
What Went Right
The game was completed and submitted on time. As has become a running theme with my jams, the scope had to be reduced, but the end result was playable and functionally complete.
The level design came out nice. I was able to design levels with progressing difficulty that showcased the mechanics and challenged the player. I also included a tutorial level to introduce the mechanics which I felt would be especially helpful to those without programming knowledge.
The core mechanics work well. The grid-based movement made it easy to control/play. I incorporated break points, which are an obstacle that can be moved, and comment blocks which the player can pass through but command blocks cannot. If the player already had programming knowledge then it would be immediately obvious what each of the block types does, and if not it was easy to pick up.
What Went Wrong
Numerous features and polish had to be cut to finish on time. These included additional levels, multiplication/division blocks, additional environment affecting conditions akin to the door in level 3, undo functionality, sound effects, and graphical polish/animation.
No undo functionality. This was mentioned above but it was something that many players mentioned. It can be frustrating to have to start a level over after pushing a block into the wrong position when you’re already close to the solution. Again, this was a planned feature that didn’t make it in.
A couple of bugs made it into the initial release. On the plus side, they weren’t game breaking and it’s very likely they weren’t noticed as I patched them the day after submitting.
Conclusion
This was my fifth Ludum Dare/game jam. It was also the longest I’ve went between jams (a year) due to being busy with a new job. This left me with a bit of rust that had to be shaken off early in the jam that undoubtedly cut into my time budget.
There’s always room for improvement but I’m very happy with the results. It was overall my best rated submission and the first time I broke into the top 100 in multiple categories. I chose to go with while loops because I figured they would be the easiest for people without programming knowledge to understand. I kept the math simple so the gameplay wouldn’t be frustrating but still provide a level of challenge and engagement. I also recieved numerous comments complimenting the usage of theme, level design, and educational value of the game which is always wonderful to hear.
I’d like to thank everyone for playing and rating Debug Or Die (unofficially known as Baba Is Loop :P). It was great to get back in the groove and make a game I probably wouldn’t have thought up if it wasn’t for the jam. I had a ton of fun playing your games and I eagerly await the chance to do even better for Ludum Dare 48!
