Category Archives: Ludum Dare

Obvious games I don’t want to see in Ludum Dare 24

The final theme for LD48 has not yet been decided, but I thought I would take some advice from a Ludum Dare winner:

“Throw out your first idea. Unless you’re a mad genius, your first idea for the theme is going to be the same damn idea everybody else thought up. Toss it, it sucks.” – Chevy Ray

So I went through a bunch of the top themes and pooped out the first thing that came into my head. I really don’t want to see any of these obvious ideas made into games, unless you put a insanely good twist on it.

  • Abandoned – Depressing game that is a metaphor for how alone we all are in the world.
  • Survive – Running away from zombies.
  • Curiosity – Some sort of “don’t press the button” situation.
  • Afterlife – You are a ghost who lives in a house, and you have to discover how you died.
  • Tunnels – Train simulator.
  • Creation and Destruction – Two player Angry Birds.
  • Castles – Two player Angry Birds.
  • Companion – 2d platformer where you have a little floating friend who gives you your power, and shows you what to do.
  • Don’t Go Outside – Because there is a flesh eating hoard of zombies.
  • Secret World – Crappy platformer that has a dark and scary theme.

Feel free to comment on any other “obvious” games from any of the themes above, or from any theme I missed.

LD 24 theme voting game ideas

As I anxiously await the start of Ludum Dare #24, I find my brain firing off in all directions with game ideas, art styles, programming techniques, and mechanics etc. So thought I would give my brain something to do, and jot down some game ideas based some of the interesting themes from each voting round.

Round 1:

All the themes I voted on this round seem related: Dim LightsGhostsNightSurvive, and Trapped in Another World.

Light the maze

Place a limited number of lights throughout a maze to light the way. You must light the entire path continuously from the start to the end. You could be a player running around the maze with a small lantern, placing torches on the walls. You can pick the torches up again if you like. Maybe you are lighting the maze for someone else to get through, who will start walking after a time limit. If they walk through the dark, they might get lost and attacked by ghosts.

Round 2:

AbstractCompanionCreation and Destruction, Secret World, Self Destruction, and Symmetry.

Split identity

Start by controlling a character through a level, then when you get to a point, the screen splits into two. Now you control both characters, but with exactly the same controls, but each is in a different level. It could then split into four and maybe more. You would have to get all characters to the ends of there levels.

Round 3:

Antique, Colony, Confined, Explosion, and Parallel Worlds.

Steamcopter

You pilot a steampunk helicopter that must use a dangling rope to hookup parts to assemble something. You can then equip the thing you just built, and use its ability.

Phase

You can phase between two different worlds that share similar structures of the level. Enemies can only exist in one of the worlds. Your gun teleports them into the other world. You must solve puzzles in both worlds, so make sure you don’t teleport too many enemies to either of the worlds. The gun could actually just stun the enemy, but also make a copy of it in the other world, so the more you use the gun, the more enemies that will be waiting for you in the other world.

Round 4

Break the Rules, HopelessInevitability, Plague, and Wilderness.

Possum control

There is a virus outbreak in the possum population, that can also spread to humans. Use any means necessary to wipe out all the possums. The most effective way is to dump 1080 poison in the bush, but after the backlash of using it in the wild, it is in short supply. You must also balance other methods, such as controlled bush fires, hunting squads, traps, and releasing predators. You goal is to destroy every last possum, without causing too much damage to the environment.

I will continue updating this post as more voting rounds happen.

Planning for Ludum Dare 24

Just decided today that I am having another go at this weekend’s Ludum Dare. I really need to redeem myself after my last miserable attempt. I am still not aiming for greatness, but will be happy if I just get something playable. If it is fun, then that would be an amazing bonus.

I think I had quite a good concept last time, but just didn’t plan my weekend. I had too many other things on, and did not get into any serious coding. I hope this time I can get inspired by the theme, as I want to spend a fair bit of time at the start just circling ideas around, and letting good ideas bubble to the top. I really have to keep it simple to have any chance of finishing, so I need to eliminate anything that might not add to the game. I am really going for “biggest bank for my buck”.

I am hoping to use this week to prepare, and do a bit of practice before the starting gun on Saturday 1pm (NZ time). I don’t think I will go as far as making a warm-up game, but I will definitely be getting my basics down, and might even have a go at some libraries that might help me out.

I am going to try and enter this from a fresh start, with no preconceived game ideas. I am gonna try and let the theme speak to me. Lets see how that works out :)