The basecode I am using for the Ludum Dare 48 Hour Game Programming Competition #18 is largely the same as the past two three four five six seven competitions. I haven’t made any changes to it since the last compo. It’s Java based and initially came from the Killer Game Programming in Java book that I bought a few years ago. Since then, I’ve added a bit to it that I found I was redoing over and over again.
Goals this time around:
- Hand-drawn art style. I sketch things out on paper and scan them in to colorize. Bold colors and gradients.
- KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid! I’ve had my best luck when I keep my game simple and try not add too much complexity.
- Make useful additions to the basecode that can be used in later competitions. The screenshot stuff is an example of something I did previously that helps out a lot.
- Finish most of the work by Saturday night so I can spend Sunday polishing.
- Don’t run into dumb problems that eat up eight hours.
Tools in use:
- Java 6 SDK (though last time I included a version for JDK 5)
- Eclipse IDE
- Photoshop, maybe some Illustrator
- DrPetter’s sfxr for sound effects
- Audacity on my Mac, plus Rockband USB microphone
- HP OfficeJet 6450 All-In-One for scanning doodles
- Everlasting Gobstoppers
- mIRC for chattery
- Killer Game Programming in Java and the base code I mentioned above.
Looking forward to the compo!