gamedevpapers

[gamedevpapers]

So this one, unlike my other posts about the theme votes for the 34th Ludum Dare, I am writing several days after the competition is over.

One use only: Similar to previous ideas, don't know if I want to try it or not.

Break It: No.

Lose abilities as you progress: It's been done, but not that much, and I'd like to see what I'd come up with.

Control the environment: I don't know. I really don't. Could be cool, could suck.

Growing (which was chosen!): Yea sure, I'd like to do something with that swarm idea based on population / you are many / whatever those other related ideas were.

One massive enemy: That grows? Hell yea!

Generations: Again, with the idea of controlling a legion of yourself, and maybe you can spend upgrade points, or maybe there's evolution in how new copies are created, and you control various actors which may have slightly different characteristics.

Death is not the end: Yes it is, go away.

You are many: To do with generations / growing / whatever, yes yes yes I have some ideas I really want to try! Think Lemmings!

Only 3 Rules: May be cool, may not be, easily exploitable. :/

Stick Together: No, it doesn't work well. xD

Strength in Numbers: Voted for this because it goes with those other themes I really liked.

Isolation: Yea sure, why not. I could make an artsy fartsy game about others hating you or something.

Two button controls (which was chosen!): Yea, let's see what shit I come up with based on this. Turns out it was a spaceship based on opcodes. Thanks to someone in the Ludum Dare IRC who mentioned the idea of opcodes.

Colony: Again, the whole multi-character swarm thing I keep thinking about, yes, yes, yes!

Four Elements: And then alchemy to make other shit, sounds like fun.

Unexplored: Nah. I mean, that's just a fancy way of saying exploration, and I'm already gonna do that somehow probably.

Build your weapon: All about the crafting systems, baby. I figured it's about time I try one of those.

Nonviolent combat: Maybe.

Journey into the unknown: Nah, it's just saying exploration again, which I kind of take as a given.

[gamedevpapers]

More Ludum Dare Theme Voting

Round 3, and my opinions are...

Things you can't see: Don't care. Too difficult. Would look buggy instead of as intended. Maybe I'm taking this too literally.

You are your own enemy: No.

Broken Path: That's like the standard mechanic of anything puzzle-where-you're-going-somewhere.

Can I trust you?: No you can't. Also how do I turn this into an idea? Have some character ask that? No.

Reprogrammable: Okay, this is something I've been wanting to do for a long time. Yes yes yes!

A new method of travel: ...

Colony: I say yes because it's making me think about the whole multiple characters you control at once thing.

Navigation: ...? Could be interesting. In fact, I'm imagining now something similar to a project I'm already working on involving carefully tracking and analysing signals to figure out what's what in space.

Worlds within worlds: Sounds fun.

Day and night: Come on, really? That's been done.

Replication: Again, I'm thinking about multiple playable characters that you play at the same time.

No Main Character: Well..if you have multiple, it's pretty easy to have no "main"..but .. eh.. I don't know really.

Necessary Evil: Eh? shrugs

Evolve: Been done to death, and while I'd love to do it again, I think the other similar concepts are better as a theme.

You are the world: Kinda like the "you are the level" idea, not really my thing.

Same item, multiple uses: So..a standard item?

Behind the wall: I don't care about what's back there.

You don't control the main character: This could be interesting, but I'm not voting for it.

Climb to the Top: Doodle Jump, but with climbing mechanics? No thanks.

You can only take one: Could be interesting, I am not voting on it.

[gamedevpapers]

Ludum Dare Themes ..1

Turns out I didn't quite miss the first round of voting. This time, no screenshot. (I'm lazy, and didn't like a lot of these.)

One use only: Lots of items with multiple uses, but some may be needed in a specific way that makes things harder or easier depending on how you choose to use them.

Break It: Uhh..okay, same thing as "One use only" in a way, cause you break it when you use it. I just don't like this one.

Control the environment: That's what we do in every game.

They are watching: And they are called YouTube. Or Twitch. I don't care if they're watching, I'm playing my game. (Okay, I do care, I do run a YouTube channel after all.)

Not Enough Time: Been done.

Deep Space: I am so into this that I voted against it. I want Ludum Dare to take me out of my comfort zone, not keep me boxed into physics/space sandbox ideas.

Growing: Maybe, kinda relates to other themes and ideas, but I don't like it on its own. I like the idea of controlling multiple characters at once, or other forms of "growing", but this specifically as the theme? No.

One massive enemy: I like the idea of slowly chipping away at a behemoth. Maybe it's a government (or army). Maybe it's a giant meat monster. I don't care, it will be interesting to see what people do with this (and what I might do with it).

Companion: Cliche.

Generations: Falls along with the idea of growth in my opinion, and spawning characters. I'm thinking about Rogue Legacy, and other games with generational mechanics.

Death is not the end: It's a game, it never is.

You are many: This is the same as the multiple characters idea. (So I like it.)

Expanding World: Eh.

Death is useful: Well..yeah, it's a game.

Can't stop moving: Been done.

You don't want THIS power!: More useless superpowers? No thank you.

Transformation: I will fail at this, so no. I like the idea, but no vote.

Crumbling world: ..like expanding..no, but .. no

Only 3 Rules: Well I can right 3 rules that encompass a ton of stuff by making them very wordy..so no. This just can be twisted too much in my opinion.

[gamedevpapers]

Ludum Dare 34 is getting ready to go at the time of writing (but I will not post this until during or after). I missed the first voting round, and this is the second.

I think I'll tell you what my initial ideas were upon reading each of these prompts:

Stick Together: Cliche, don't care.

Strength in Numbers: Control multiple characters at once, try to avoid obstacles. You will lose some, keep as many as you can. Hell, I'll make a basic version of this even if it isn't our theme.

Break one Physics Law: Interesting, but I'm not sure what I'd choose (maybe a gravity game? I've done that too many times though. maybe thermal dynamics? I don't know enough physics to do anything interesting here)

Connected: No, been done, fuck you.

Isolation: Cliche.

You are the level: Interesting concept, except I'd fuck it up.

The Butterfly Effect: I love the idea of making one small change and seeing how it all plays out. I'd like to make a strategy game where you make one tiny move, and everything else is based on a set of rules, so you have to design the whole game from the start.

Underground: This, combined with the "dark" theme suggestions gave me a simple Amnesia-like idea about having to find the light. ..actually, it was just the dark ideas, fuck this one, I don't need underground to have darkness, and I don't want "underground" as a theme.

You are the power source: Your life bar is power. It goes down slowly, or when you use it to unlock something or whatever. Maybe abilities use power at different rates. You need to progress through the level to regenerate your power. Nothing works without you powering it. Maybe I'll make a basic computer thing you have to power. I've been wanting to toy with assembly lately.

You are not supposed to be here: Interesting concept. Maybe a dreamscape game. Maybe not.

Two button controls: I like this one a lot, I want to come up with various ways to combine two buttons (timing, how long you hold them, order of presses, etc) to do interesting things.

Darkness is your friend: see "Underground"

Nothing left: see "Isolation"

In the Dark: see "Underground"

Life, Death, Rebirth: been done, but I want to do life-sim stuff

Useless superpowers: No, because then I'm just making a generic game of some sort with useless bits tacked on. (I'm not very creative.)

Nobody can see you: Intrude on others' lives, I like it. A bit OP, but whatever.

The only way is up: You want me to make a Doodle Jump clone?

Fragile: Do things with physics that will break you. Fuck why did I vote for this I can't do this.

The Great Machine: If you haven't heard of The Great Machine, check it out. Maybe this isn't The Great Machine they were thinking of..but it's the one I am. On a completely unrelated note, Jonas Kyratzes is an amazing developer.

[gamedevpapers]

Mr. White was a professor at my college, who taught life drawing (at least I think that's what it was called). We started drawing skeletons, eventually we would be drawing nude figures. I stopped before then.

Mr. White was a good professor. He taught us that you need passion to be an artist. I do not have that passion, so I quit. I quit that class, I quit drawing. The only drawings you'll see from me are technical in nature, or shit (or are from before that class..and shit).

Annd since I seem to be posting this first, welcome to a new blog. Hopefully it doesn't die like my others have. (I will be bringing them back too! Hopefully. There's a reason they died that I don't want to talk about.)

This blog will be about scanned in papers of ideas and designs I've had for games (and other related things). Basically, I have too many ideas and am too incompetent to ever see them realized, so I have to do something to let my mind rest.

Welcome to my idea dump. Feel free to steal, but please be nice about it.