Over the last weekend was Ludum Dare #29. This was the first time that I participated in Ludum Dare. Ludum Dare happens every four months where the goal is to create a game in 48 hours. The theme for this Ludum Dare was ‘Beneath The Surface’. I created a game called Beneath The Game.
I made Beneath The Game to go with the theme of this Ludum Dare. I done this by giving players the ability to go beneath the surface of the game (e.g. change the properties of objects in the game). The player then could use the manipulated objects to kill the enemies and change the level environment.
Beneath The Game is a puzzle game where the goal is to find the lost key within the allotted time. This is done by maneuvering Wizard Wade through the underground passage whilst avoiding the enemies and obstacles. Some obstacles’ properties can be manipulated by clicking on them. Use this ability to kill the enemies if necessary.
Overall, I only spend around 12 hours making this game. This was mainly because I was busy over the weekend. I am not really happy with my final product but in the 12 hours I did learn a lot. For me, this was a successful game jam because my goal is always to try and learn something during every game jam I participate in.
One of the first things I learned during this game jam was on how to create and have more control over procedural generated content. I was really happy how good it turned out and I will definitely try and improve on this in further games. Another thing I am proud of is how much I have improved of my understanding of color theory. As you can see from this game and my last game, Arena Hunter, the colors I have been using look much nicer and go with each other a lot more than my prior games. Hopefully my understanding of color will continue to improve and I will be able to design some beautiful looking games in the future.
I also managed to create a story to my game. The game story is about a pacifist wizard called Wizard Wade. One day Wizard Wade found out his magic key had been stolen. Following in the footsteps of the thief it led him to a underground passage. Now he can’t see the culprit’s footprints and he is lost in the underground passage. Help Wizard Wade find his key before it gets dark.
Beneath The Game is also my game for May 2014 for One Game A Month.
Click here to download the game. The Ludum Dare page for my game can be found by clicking here. I hope you enjoy it.