Postmortem 48 Hour Game Competition

I must say, that I did much better this time than in the prior 24 Hour Game competion. The extra time was just what I needed. I actually got something playable finished this time. I also liked the theme a lot better.

The Good

Scale / Simplicity After I signed up for the competition, the main thing I told myself was to keep it simple. This meant no scrolling unless absolutely necessary, I wanted to keep everything on one screen. It also meant no 3D. I also told myself that just because the time was doubled, I shouldn't even think of trying to make a more complex game than I could have tried in the 24 hour competition.

This also meant I had to take out some features that I liked. Originally you were going to be able to move shields around on the freighter. I trashed it after I decided time was running out and that it would make the interface clumsy. I even did a cheap and dirty trick for my help and intro in-game screens. I spawned notepad (or your registered .txt file viewer) via ShellExecuteEX instead of trying to get in-game screens going.

First things first I was able to get started on the most important things first. I made sure I had a shooter before adding the freighter and I made sure I had the freighter before adding on-screen status displays and I made sure I had a title screen and pause before I did sound which I hacked in during the last 30 minutes or so.

Familiarity I made a game similar to this one once, so I knew basically where I wanted to go as I was doing it. It is good to make a unique game, but it is also good to know where you are going. Besides, my game is a bit unique even if only it is only a twist on a theme.

Framework I used the same framework that was made available for the first competition again. It is quite nice and runs fast too. It is nice to be able to have your program crash and not take down the machine like Direct-X can. I think I have gotten a bit better and a little more consistent too. This also means that it should be easier for someone to download and compile. NOTE: I never did get the game compiling in release mode. I wouldn't try it if I were you.

Time Tracking The time-log was a great idea. It kept me more focused and allowed me to plan ahead in a more concrete way. That and it is great fun reading them online.

Web Site / Interaction The new screen-shot and file uploading parts to the web-site are super. I loved being able to go and look at other peoples progress from time to time. It wasn't just fun, it kept me motivated. The new stuff also significantly eased handing in the final product. Last time hotmail screwed up my email with my final project. My only problem was that I spent too much time looking at other peoples stuff.

The Bad

No Preparation The last competition saved me here. If I hadn't done that I would have been totally out of practice. I didn't make up my mind to participate until the last minute. On the plus side however, it kept me from straying from the theme too much. I could pick out screen shots from others during the competition where their game seemed to be a mutant hybrid of the theme they wanted and the one they got. I did that last time too, this time I just wasn't prepared enough to do it.

Interaction I didn't join in on IRC and I feel I missed out. It did help me stay focused a bit more. Some people were saying they spent too much time in IRC in their logs, but I think I should try it next time. I found a link to a log of the IRC session, I am going to read through it.

STL I keep trying to use STL and I always end up throwing it out after giving it a go. Last time I did it because none of my class heirarchy had zero parameter constructors, and this time I threw it out again. My STL book is old and wasn't much help. I might have been able to get it to work eventually, but it just ended up being a time sink. Not only that, I don't think I learned my lesson, I plan to try it again next time.

The Ugly

Originality My biggest complaint with my end product is that it is a whole lot like a game I did a couple of years ago when I was trying to learn directX. It started out as a star-field and ended up as a 2D vertically scrolling shooter. I think the hero was even the same color (I'll have to find it so I can compare the two). Of course, what's more depressing is that my 48 hour game is not only more fun, better organized, and has more features, but it is almost as fast too.

Computer Problems My computer stinks. It is at least 4 years old, and I run it with the cover off just so it won't crash. I need to buy a new one. My computer may hinder my ability to try all of the games. My computer crashed or just became heavily unstable many times. I have nobody but myself to blame for this.

Time Management In a bone-headed maneuver, I forgot to adjust between Mountain and Eastern times and I ended up short-changing myself of two hours of the competition. Yet again, nobody to blame but myself.

A big thank you to www.ludumdare.com, the host of the 48 hour game competition. It was a lot of fun, and I look forward to the next one.