( FOLKS, I'VE SWITCHED THE SERVER OFF NOW! SORRY, BUT I CAN'T KEEP IT SCRAPING AND HITTING THE LD SITE INDEFINITELY :( THX TO EVERYONE WHO USED AND LIKED THIS GAME! )
REAL WORLD <-- connected --> VIRTUAL WORLD
Use arrow keys to pan, and + and - to zoom or use scroll wheel.
( Due to an interesting browser compatibility issue, the scroll wheel may be inverted for non-Mac users. Weird! Live with it ;) )
View and play Ludum Dare 30 games whilst exploring a nicely illustrated world map!
I track the games you comment on, and the players who comment on your game. I use this information to expose more and more of the underlying map to you.
(I scrape the LD website and don't want to to put too much load on it, so I'm not scraping very often. Rather than be impatient, go play and rate a few games and come back to see how the map progresses!)
I hope you find it fun, pretty and pretty useful!
Special thanks to Wombatica, who contributed some of the cool map illustrations. Its really worth pretending you live in some far-flung part of the world e.g. India in order to expose his handwork *hint* *hint* *cough* *splutter*!
Comments245
J
JNyknn26 Aug 2014, 06:10
This is amazing. It may not be a game, but it's still amazing! I did not know there are so many Ludum Darers on Europe!
Two usability comments: 1- For some reason, scroll wheel up zooms in the map and scroll wheel down zooms out the map - it feels like it should be the other way around.
2- Also you cannot drag the map around, only click to move it, which is a bit unintuitive.
Will - really, really good job... This should win I think, just for the sheer cheek of subverting the idea and pointing LD at itself, can see this becoming a favourite interface for LD in the future... very great !
Ooh, intriguing. It took me a little while to figure out how to navigate, I was expecting to drag the map rather than just clicking on it. But apart from that, great work!
You made playing games a game, that's a 5 stars on innovation, no doubt. Also, connecting the LD world with the real world... Another 5 stars for theme!
I don't know if this really qualifies as a game, but it's SO DAMN COOL that I don't even care. This is the best interpretation of the theme I've seen, and I don't think I'll ever see anything as good as this in the theme department ever again. Amazing.
Fantastic idea! I loved it. I'll certainly check here for my progression, and I'll probably vote this game as the 100th game if I ever make it that far, along with a screenshot link of course. :)
@MrTambourine, sincere apologies on that. Yes we do know our history, that's an artists'error based on rough-guessing geography without country borders on the underlay. As I said, sincere apols. Also, the hammer and sickle is intended as strictly comical / visual effect, no political statement.
Outstanding! Very well done indeed! At first I was like, "oh, just a map", but then you can expand the view by encouraging reviewing others, that's genius. :)
I appreciate the meta interpretation of the theme. Very interesting! Will look forward to seeing what happens with it. Plus, another new way of finding games to play..
Hah, that's awesome. It's a bit of a stretch to call it a 'game' but it's a brilliant idea. The interface could be improved if you went for a 'click-and-drag' sort of map rather than a 'click-to-move-here' kind of map. Also it would be nice if you could set your own location a bit more precisely.
Fun meta-game :) I'll be keeping this one up in a tab during the voting period. I've found several interesting games by trying to fill blank spaces of the map already!
You win Ludum Dare! This is absolutely brilliant. You took the theme to a new level, and it's great. And if you think I am only commenting so I can see your pin change colors... well yes, yes I am.
Wow, genius idea!! I can't use it at work because of a proxy, but it's okay at my home. It's a very useful tool to discover other entries, for example lost in the middle of nowhere. What a pity all entries at the same place are superimposed on the same arrow button. Good work!
This is an incredible take on the theme! It's really great to see entries that are so ridiculously out of left field. And promoting people to leave comments on games makes it even better.
That's super cool. Unfortunately after setting your point you can't change the position anymore...so now I'm from Algeria instead of Germany ^^ At least now my point stands out from the rest and maybe that leads to more people playing my game :D
Tons of possibilities for gamifying it. It might be fun to have quests where the player has to rate/comment specific people or x num of people from certain countries.
This is great! :D Right now I'm reviewing my whole country games now! XD Play & review is much more fun this way! :D I hope that in future editions LD implements your game by default! :D Just a little flaw, when you rate/comment somebody's game and they rate/comment your game back, the choice of colors doesn't seem to be quite right XD An image worths more than 100 words http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/my-eyes-are-bleeding-XDpng.png Please, add this to your css, for our eyes' sake XD #element { color: white; text-shadow: -1px 0 black, 0 1px black, 1px 0 black, 0 -1px black; } Great game anyway! Top score in almost everything! :D
@jjhaggar there's a long list of features and usability enhancements I'd like to fix but refrain from due to not wanting to go as far as a post-compo version; however, your shadow is perhaps minor enough emergency patch to be allowed through? Fixed.
I think this is a game, an exploring one. The moment someone picks a game to try based on clearing more of the map, or checks back to see how much more map they've cleared I think they've been gamed. And if you move your location to India just to see what's drawn there {hint} then you are cheating, which is proof it's a game in my book. I get why it's controversial, and it's a good thing to challenge the boundaries. It'd be a sad day if all entries were app-like, I love the straightforward games too. But for now I would definitely like to see more gamification apps entered, as long as they are cool and fun which I'm sure they will be:)
One thing I'd really, really like though: for it to open the game page of the person I click on. That would make navigating to proper games much easier. ...or there is such an option, and I somehow miss it? >.<
Ah, forget about it, I'm a doofus. Apparently I had to zoom in a bit (zooming was a bit counter-intuitive, since I learned to zoom in with rolling up and zoom out with rolling down; here it's the opposite) and then I could normally click and the link appeared. Thanks for making such an awesome thing. ^^
I think this is a great way to encourage comments on other peoples entries, as the feedback of other people is one of the things I really like doing Ludum Dare for.
_
_Rilem29 Aug 2014, 20:28
This is so cool :D It would be awesome to be able to check this every LudumDare.
Wow, very nice experiment! As I'm from Denmark I feel a little offended... Not that you named our country Legoland, but the fact that you didn't even put the sign in denmark, but just at the border to germany... -.- Haha cool "thing" though, 5 in Innovation and 4 in theme!
Wow this is awesome! Controls are kinda backwards though, the mousewheel should be reversed and it should be click and drag to move around the map IMO.
Actually, now that I think of it, it'd really be cool if the spots that aren't covered by any player in the regular area would be covered by the nearest player (or a group of nearest players, since there seem to be many people tucked very close to each other at some spots), thus making it possible to get 100% map coverage even if some places are sadly uninhabited, like, say Antarctic. I suppose in such case Voronoi diagrams would be a way to go...?
(yes, I'd really like to see how the whole world looks like...)
@sunflower thanks for the encouragement! The best thing about this entry has been the LDers who use it as a tool and keep playing and exploring the map.
Originally I was going to build a Risk-gsme using real locations, but infrastructure e.g. scrapers and servers took longer than I budgeted and I couldn't invent a fair feeling ruleset.
So it turned into this :). There is a long list of possible improvements and further games, and if approached by the LD organisers I could do a fancy version with decent scrolling etc and bells and whistles for general use for next LD.
This is a cool idea. My only concern is that it could encourage people to leave comments that are not helpfull at all...
Just look at the number of comments on this page that are only a few words! "wow", "awesome", "great", "this is cool" might be good ego boosts, but they are not constructive critisism. There is only a few people adressing the weird control with the mouse, or the fact that you can't reveal the whole map.
Anyway, you get the top score in innovation and theme from me :)
Entries like this are what make me really sad that community isn't still a category I can give you a 5* rating in. Well, at least there's the one for innovation ;)
This is so great I do not have words to express how good it is! A meta game in Ludum Dare!! That really encourages people to comment on other people's games and then check how are they doing on the map. Next LD this should be part of the official site. Amazing work!!
It's kind of like how the Ludum Dare website is the ultimate connection, connecting everyone's different worlds together. I had a similar idea, but I was going to have stats and crafting or...well, I dunno, I didn't have any time that weekend to make a game. Anyway, the point is, very clever idea. ;)
I already commented before with a few suggestions, but here is a few more suggestions from playing with it: 1- Remove all players so I can see the map in its glory 2- Filter players by has commentes/was commented by (so I only see the players I haven't commented yet, or vice versa).
One more tip: It's really hard to pick one name if there is more than one in the same city. Maybe if you can show a list of users when I click on a pin.
Hey, web admins! Integrate this map into the main ludum dare site! I can't believe this really useful feature isn't already integrated into the competition! Revealing the map is a nice incentive to try out games from different perspectives as well, more worldviews makes for more rounded individuals/game devs. Top notch.
Cool idea! I had some trouble with the controls though, the zoom feel inverted and I think using mouse drag instead of clicking would make the movement easier. The hitbox on the pins seems a little off as well. Really cool to see a meta game here though. For me it looked like you are super close to where I am, is that just the default or the weirdest coincidence(first pin I highlighted, haha)? I like the brute force approach to which you implemented this!
Great stuff! I much prefer finding games to rate through this method than Ludum Dare's own listings. Very creative idea with a slick interface. Thanks!
W
wombatica4 Sep 2014, 07:44
If this becomes a community app then artists among us should band together secretly with Will before the next LD and do a new map. This map was rushed for obvious reasons.
Gamification of the gamification could include a 'road trip' mode where you have to connect two locations on the map. Or a strategy game where you somehow invade, occupy and conquer locations like Risk.
This is really cool. I love all the little funny touches on the world map. Great idea and execution. My only complaint is scrolling with the mouse wheel is inverted from what I'm used to, but that's minor.
This is so cool! I liked how you drew stuff around the map! There is a bug where if you click on "Show me Ludom Dare", but that's not really a big deal, cause everyone here should know what it is. Either than that, awesome entry!
Meta is great! It took me a while before I got to place my own marker. I don't know why it failed the first time around. And it was sort of hard when there were so many other markers around... Really enjoyable gamification of rating and commenting on games. It would have been nice to have some stats about percent of world covered and percent of games played. Possibly also percent of markers seen within the fog of war of the games you've played.
Hi there, here some feedback about this experience.
What I liked : - Being able to know who made game near me a try more "local" games. - Overall view of jamers positions in the world - Right in the theme =)
What imo could be improved : - UI Juiciness. Make button move or play sounds when the are pushed. Indicate more precisely what button is for what action. To sum up : get some reads about UI good practices. Even if you don't do much UI, it's always worth knowing UI good practice for game design inspiration because there are lot of connections between UI experience and game experience. - Graphics. Hand drawing is ok but at least some anti-aliasing would help getting a smooth rendering. - Not a real game experience, but I'm not sure it could be improved in this case because it's more a service than a game, and I appreciate that. Gamifying is hardly ever making a better product.
Overall I enjoyed your entry as a gate to other games, you really created connections, and for that, thank you =)
Either you started scraping more rarely, or it doesn't work for some reason, since I still don't see area around the person I commented on a few hours ago. :<
Hell of a neat concept. Reminds me of something I built for a hackathon at work, actually! And it got me to go out and play more games, so it achieved its purpose.
I can only place the comments on the map for those who have told me their position. Currently about a third of players can be placed, and you commenting on their games will reveil on my map.
ETC (from Creative Sectors): It's an interesting take on the topic with a twist that amaze me how creative the LD community can be. It's a clever and brilliant idea.
I can't see any pins, just the blue background. The red section disappears after "I admit it." and "Cool! Let's Play!", but never gives me a login window, or the three icons in the screenshot. (on both Chrome and Firefox on MacOSX; Safari doesn't even load the background)
Is it broken?
Do I have to comment here BEFORE playing in order to unlock the login window?
Comments245
Thumbs up for innovation/originality!
Two usability comments:
1- For some reason, scroll wheel up zooms in the map and scroll wheel down zooms out the map - it feels like it should be the other way around.
2- Also you cannot drag the map around, only click to move it, which is a bit unintuitive.
But super awesome idea, have all my stars!
thank you.
(I needed to disable HTTPS Everywhere on GitHub, just for people for whom it doesn't work properly).
I'm gonna use it to play other games. By the way, I was located in Paris but I'm not there (I'm in Nantes), dunno if it's a bug or not. Well done!
Nice to see where other members are located.
Awesome job and thanks for encourage people to vote more!
Great work, I'll to be come back to play it and also I'm gonna check the source!
I like the 'capital of Iceland' joke, but you should move it slightly NW to my pin - that's where the actual capital is :)
Navigation on the map is little bit weird but I like the idea very much.
...and I see that we are 3 guys in the Czech Republic! :D
in my opinion was the game that best fit the theme
The interface could be improved if you went for a 'click-and-drag' sort of map rather than a 'click-to-move-here' kind of map. Also it would be nice if you could set your own location a bit more precisely.
Very nice idea. I can't actually see my name on the map where it's highlighted, but I suppose that's because I overlap with another user.
I'll be keeping this one up in a tab during the voting period. I've found several interesting games by trying to fill blank spaces of the map already!
-Flatgub <3
I can't use it at work because of a proxy, but it's okay at my home. It's a very useful tool to discover other entries, for example lost in the middle of nowhere.
What a pity all entries at the same place are superimposed on the same arrow button. Good work!
Anssi@MooseflyGames
Also, thank you for sharing all that cool stuff too! And sorry my bad english ^^
#element {
color: white;
text-shadow: -1px 0 black, 0 1px black, 1px 0 black, 0 -1px black;
}
Great game anyway! Top score in almost everything! :D
Lets see what it gives at the end of LD =)
Safari, Yosemite, OSX
Could some people move over to the oceans so that players would be able to get full map coverage, please? ^^"
...or there is such an option, and I somehow miss it? >.<
It would be awesome to be able to check this every LudumDare.
Great work!
(yes, I'd really like to see how the whole world looks like...)
Originally I was going to build a Risk-gsme using real locations, but infrastructure e.g. scrapers and servers took longer than I budgeted and I couldn't invent a fair feeling ruleset.
So it turned into this :). There is a long list of possible improvements and further games, and if approached by the LD organisers I could do a fancy version with decent scrolling etc and bells and whistles for general use for next LD.
Just look at the number of comments on this page that are only a few words! "wow", "awesome", "great", "this is cool" might be good ego boosts, but they are not constructive critisism. There is only a few people adressing the weird control with the mouse, or the fact that you can't reveal the whole map.
Anyway, you get the top score in innovation and theme from me :)
Somehow the scroll is inverted, but doesn't matter that much.
Really cool stuff!
1- Remove all players so I can see the map in its glory
2- Filter players by has commentes/was commented by (so I only see the players I haven't commented yet, or vice versa).
Cheers, and again, fantastic entry.
Thanks!
Revealing the map is a nice incentive to try out games from different perspectives as well, more worldviews makes for more rounded individuals/game devs. Top notch.
For me it looked like you are super close to where I am, is that just the default or the weirdest coincidence(first pin I highlighted, haha)?
I like the brute force approach to which you implemented this!
Gamification of the gamification could include a 'road trip' mode where you have to connect two locations on the map. Or a strategy game where you somehow invade, occupy and conquer locations like Risk.
What I liked :
- Being able to know who made game near me a try more "local" games.
- Overall view of jamers positions in the world
- Right in the theme =)
What imo could be improved :
- UI Juiciness. Make button move or play sounds when the are pushed. Indicate more precisely what button is for what action. To sum up : get some reads about UI good practices. Even if you don't do much UI, it's always worth knowing UI good practice for game design inspiration because there are lot of connections between UI experience and game experience.
- Graphics. Hand drawing is ok but at least some anti-aliasing would help getting a smooth rendering.
- Not a real game experience, but I'm not sure it could be improved in this case because it's more a service than a game, and I appreciate that. Gamifying is hardly ever making a better product.
Overall I enjoyed your entry as a gate to other games, you really created connections, and for that, thank you =)
The intro reminded me onjames bond never say never again table game with largo.
I can only place the comments on the map for those who have told me their position. Currently about a third of players can be placed, and you commenting on their games will reveil on my map.
It's an interesting take on the topic with a twist that amaze me how creative the LD community can be. It's a clever and brilliant idea.
Actually it lack of some score... ;)
Next time i will play to game of people near me.. that's really funny to imagine that someone is nearer than you think.
Best jam!
I can't see any pins, just the blue background. The red section disappears after "I admit it." and "Cool! Let's Play!", but never gives me a login window, or the three icons in the screenshot. (on both Chrome and Firefox on MacOSX; Safari doesn't even load the background)
Is it broken?
Do I have to comment here BEFORE playing in order to unlock the login window?
Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at ws://31.192.226.244:28283/ws-ld30. websocket.js:6
"websocket" "ws://31.192.226.244:28283/ws-ld30" "encountered an error:" error { target: WebSocket, eventPhase: 0, bubbles: false, cancelable: false, defaultPrevented: false, timeStamp: 1410802454997684, originalTarget: WebSocket, explicitOriginalTarget: WebSocket, isTrusted: true, NONE: 0, CAPTURING_PHASE: 1 } websocket.js:32
"websocket" "ws://31.192.226.244:28283/ws-ld30" "closed"