Postmortem (Are You?)

Are You?: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-27/?action=preview&uid=25461

When I was actually able to hit submit on my game it felt good to have finished something I started. Here is a look at some of my thoughts after the fact.

The Good:

1. The Story. For the most part, I was happy with how the story came together. I thought it was engaging enough have people see it through to the end.
2. The Art? I honestly didn’t have much of a skill set to work with when it came to the art. For the competition, I tried to do something simple that wouldn’t detract from the story I was trying to tell. I think the black and white pixel art was able to do that. The character art was a challenge, especially trying to show the passage of time, but again I think it ended up working okay.
3. Pacing. I thought the story moved at a good speed, and I am happy with the things I cut out to stop it from dragging to much.

The Bad:

1. Interactivity. The biggest issue with the game so far is the lack of player input. It’s a short game, but giving the player 1 choice does seem a bit lacking. This was never going to be a “choose your own adventure” style narrative, but I do wish I had worked in little ways the player could have interacted with, and colored the world along the way.
2. The End. From my perspective, the final choice seems like an easy one to make. When I started out on this project, I didn’t want that to be the case. Which leads into…
3. Character Development. In order to make the final decision more difficult, I think I need to flesh out characters more, and allow the player to interact with them. I also wasn’t super pleased with the way my main female character’s story developed once she moved into the apartment. It felt rushed, and didn’t fit 100% with how I wanted her to be portrayed to the player.

What’s Next/Next Time:

1. Moving forward I want to work more on this game. I want to tell this story in a better way. Adding in more ways to interact with the world, and giving the player ways to change how their view of the story (and ending) is #1 on my list.
2. I am definitely going to participate in the next Ludum Dare. The time crunch forced me to start and finish a story, instead of obsessing over every little detail and never finishing. Next time I would love to try making a game with a group for the Jam. That, or maybe try the 48 hour again, and make a better game in this style with all the things I learned this time around.

Thanks,

Dru