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Link: #LD48_22_Post_Mortem

This is a Post Mortem of my LD48 22 Jam Entry - Node 2F40E

***** Warning: May Contain Spoilers *****

[Video of Play Through Game - Coming Soon!]

What went wrong?

Follow up:

So I stayed up late to get the theme announcement "Alone", it popped up there and I was WTF! Then I couldn't seem to get any solid ideas or get just sleep on it so I brainstormed some ideas on paper got a great concept then still couldn't get to sleep.

Finally got to sleep and by the time I woke up half a day was gone!

But I had this great big SCI-FI concept!

So think of most great SCI-FI films and at some point they log onto a computer to progress the plot/storyline.

Day 1: I wrote a log script that scrolled up the screen with nice little beeping noises. Maybe I could have focused on the game!

Day 2: The Log Script boots up the games Operating System, wrote a GUI for the OS (using EZGUI). Ditto!

But got the first puzzle of the game working but that's time up for the LD48 entry, so Jam it is, started working on the game proper!

Day 3: Got the level loading system working for Level 01 play tested the level then integrated the level with the puzzle and GUI, now this was showing up my fast hack GUI OS codes weak-points and my lack of up front design or game centric design process.

What went right?

The SCI-FI concept/storyline I came up with based on the games theme is good, and something I will work on further.

I just ploughed through it, solved problems as they arose and stayed focused on staying true to the concept/storyline.

Keeping the artwork/graphics and sound effects as basic as possible, actually the concept was you wake up and your only interface is a command prompt that hints at your situation then tells you not to panic and powers up this Viewport OS - STAY CALM AND SOLVE [TM] when it can't connect to anything else.

The first puzzle is you have to hack into the only comms system you have access to, now the idea was some kind of 3D hacking competition game against the system your accessing a la Paradroid, but after a day on the Viewport OS I realised I needed something much simpler.

The hacking puzzle as your trying to login to the connection on comms 3 you are using a 3 digit [0-9] code and each failed attempt appears in the 3D grid in the background.

Now if you hack it you are probing the 3 digit X,Y,Z possibility space, yellow cubes indicate you are near to the access code and when you hit the access code it's green.

It worked well as it was simple but frustrating.

From the ground up I wrote a simple level loader based on a text file, tested it and integrated it into the game alongside the puzzle, you solve the login and the level appears.

Keeping the level to simple cubes and spheres allowed me to get it working quickly even adding working doors, switches, and 'plasma coils'. And a lift square although I ran out of time before that was implemented, but I did have the text file for level 02 done!

Summary?

Yet again an enjoyable weekend of challenging myself to create a game.

Node 2F40E was created over 72 hours.

Contains:

• Atmospheric Console Log
• Viewport OS v0.1 - STAY CALM AND SOLVE (TM)
• 3D Cubetastic Passwork Hacking System
• Level 01 with Switches, Doors, Droids, Tiles, Fragile Tiles, Power Coils and an Out of Order lift!

But I probably did put the cart before the horse!