So this weekend was Ludum Dare 48. This is a game jam where the goal is to make a game in 48 hours based around a theme. The theme for Ludum Dare #28 was ‘You Only Get One’. I started by thinking of ideas on what to create my game about. I wrote all the ideas down and then I chose to go with my favorite idea.
The idea was where the player has one life and would need to get to the exit. But they don’t know where the exit is and they only have one life. Once they die, they would have to start again. This meant the game was related to theme as the player would only have one life. To keep the game interesting, I was going to use random elements that would change every time the player played the game. This would have been kind of like a rogue-like game, but not as complex and with as many features you would expect in a rogue-like. Because this would have been the first time I made a rogue-like game, I started to plan out on what I wanted. After half an hour of planning, I figured out I was being too ambitious. So I decided to think of a new idea.
My second idea was where the player is a sniper who is watching over a random city. They would have to watch over everyday citizens and try and take out the terrorist before he explodes the bomb. To keep it related to the theme, the player would only have one bullet. This meant they would have to make sure they know who the terrorist is before they take the shot. However, after spending a few hours developing the game I asked myself “is this fun and would I play it?”. The answer was no. I think this was one of the hardest themes I ever come across where I could not even think of one feasible idea.
This meant I had to give up. These were my two ideas but because one was too ambitious and the other I found boring, I decided not to participate in the Ludum Dare #28. I wish luck to all who continue to develop their games and I cannot wait to play some of the finished versions. As for me, I am going to continue developing Nameless as that is something I would play. Watch out for my development log video soon which will showcase what I have managed to do so far. I will also be waiting for the next jam in April 2014 so that I can finally participate in my first Ludum Dare.