I am 12 years old and this is my first Ludum Dare. I have been programming since 3rd grade. The idea of the game is not original but I thought it would be fun to tag along in the compo! I had already been creating a snake game (I started over entirely for the compo) and I thought the idea was not too overwhelming and so I started. Eventually, I hope to put this game on my retropie arcade machine!
This is very cool! I'm 14, and this was also my first Ludum Dare. This is, as the title implies, "Classic Snake," so there isn't a lot to say about the game play: it's classic. This is a very cool take on it though! The controls were mostly responsive and the game felt good to play. The simple art style was also very appealing. I was making NOTHING like this when I was 12, and I've heard Java isn't the easiest language to learn, so well done :)
Good job! Congrats on your first jam! I wish I had started gamedeving when I was 12 instead of my late 20s. Jams are a great way to learn different aspects of development. If I have any advice it's to get into art/music as well if you aren't already. It's super useful both as a solo dev and when working with other people to have well-rounded knowledge. I kinda went the other route, I think I started with music when I was 11-12 then got into art and finally programming in the recent years.
Congrats on making a game! I hope you stick with this and learn a lot! As a suggestion, try Unity3D! It's a lot easier to learn on because of the community being so helpful! GREAT JOB!!!
Very much just snake, but I can appreciate putting in the time to actually enter something. I too started programming from a young age, though I made the interesting choice to start in C++... Anyway, I would recommend not spending too much time doing low level/boiler platery stuff. Definitely try writing your own engine/framework atleast once (I did and it was valuable, especially to understand what goes on under the hood of modern engines like Unity or Unreal) but don't make the mistake of continually writing engines if what you want to write are games.
Wow, you made a game at 12 years old! I'm impressed! I wish I had done game dev when I was that age. It's not a big game, but it's complete and plays well. I really hope you stick with it, because one your graduating high school you'll already have a job secured in the industry. Well done!
I hadn't thought about it, but snake fits the theme very well. I think if you wanted you could make it even more about running out of space by making the walls close in as well. Nice work on your first LD!
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