Hi, I'm from the team Banana4Life (we made "Where is Mommy?"). Until now, I have been the one in charge of packaging the game and making it available to the world. @jqnas in the meanwhile makes the submission post for the game.
From our previous 6 game jam submissions and a lot of hours playing other submissions, I have collected some experience when it comes to submitting the game.
When to start Exporting?
Unexpected problems during the export process can easily delay your submission process beyond the submission hour. Depending on your internet connection, uploading the files will take another chunk of your submission time. We make our games using Unity3D since the last few jams (libGDX and other Java-based frameworks before), which makes exporting to various platforms very simple, but there are still a few gotchas like stray imports that cause compilation errors due to missing references. Most of the problems can easily be googled and are fairly easy to solve, but this all takes time. Many of the problems can be detected and prevented early on. So the punch line really is: Start testing your build early as if it was already submission hour.
Which Platforms and in which Form?
Short answer: All the platforms.
Generally more supported platforms means more people can play your games. In addition to supporting platforms, it should also be as easy as possible to run the game on every supported platform. An easy to start game would be a single executable file that can be executed from a graphical desktop. An hard to start game would be a huge number of files that require various other things to be installed beforehand.
In our libGDX days, we build a multi-platform self-contained JAR and a Windows executable wrapper using Launch4J. This worked ok, but still required to install a Java runtime and usually a shell on Linux desktops. libGDX' native components also limited the support beyond the common 3 operation systems and the x86 processor architecture. While it does support a web export using GWT, it was usually too time consuming to setup and keep working for our game jam projects.
Unity3D supports a lot of platforms, usually a lot more than the game will ever be played on. The best thing however: All platforms are supported natively and are easy to export to, including the Web.
So now we usually build Windows and Linux versions for play-testers, because this are the platforms we develop the game on and they are fast to export in Unity. For the submission we go with dedicated exports for Windows, Linux, MacOS and the Web. Native versions are great because they typically run smoother and they can be stored by the users for later replaying. A Web version is great because it runs everywhere, where a WebGL-capable browser can run.
Web versions are also the easiest to play, because LD users will already using a browser and it is most likely capable to run the game. This is good, even if it performs sub-optimal. If web version can generate enough interest in the game, a player will probably download a native version (if available) to get a better experience.
So my recommendation is: Export at least for the Web, but if your game performance intensive provide native version as well. Today ther are quite a few options to get your game into the browser like GWT (Java) and emscripten (native), so get familiar with them.
Where to Host?
Hosting the game is the last step you have to figure out, since ldjam itself doesn't provide hosting space. There are a lot of options here as well, some nicer than others. As a user I prefer to download games from sources I know and trust, so more common and well known the better. I also prefer to know from what the binaries were built and the possibility to build it myself, even if I rarely do that.
We in our team heavily use Git and Github. We develop all our games in the open with the code and assets on Github and the process live on Twitch. Many people here are familiar with Github, which does provide two very valuable features: Releases and Pages.
Releases are great because they allow you to directly link a source code state with the binaries built from it. New releases will not replace old ones, will coexist with previous ones.
Pages are nice, because the hosting is free and versioned through git just as everything else. This is perfect for the web version of your game. Just create an empty branch called gh-pages and put your web version into it. As soon as it's pushed to Github, it will be available at https://.github.io//, which can be linked from your release description.
Where you host is your choice, but you should prefer places, that are fast (can take a lot of downloads) and will stay for the future. Github covers that well while being free for open source projects.
How to Post?
There is a lot to say about good and bad game posts, here just a few things about mentioning your game release. You should mention all supported platforms explicitly, so the user can directly see if he can play it and sites like Feedback Friends can determine the supported platforms for filtering purposes. You should also make it clear, if certain builds of your game are not tested, you can even ask for feedback from users on these platforms.
TL;DR: Make the game playable in the browser or at least don't forget Linux!
PS: Play our game on Windows, Linux, MaxOS or directly in your browser:
Hey fellow gamedevs,
We are a team of four german students. We name ourselfs “Banana4Life” and have developed the game “Legendary Legionnaire Winter Massacre” for the third ludum dare we took part in. I (Jonas) made a quick LetsPlay of it here:
http://youtu.be/P8tznk-l52E
You can rate and play our game here: Legendary Legionnaire Winter Massacre
But now lets get to the post-mortem. Like last time we didn’t have huge problems and got even more stuff done than last time. But lets start with what went right.
What went right?
- The game was playable and apparently fun to play.
- We all met up at one place and were really productive.
- We developed a cool idea during the game. Things like unicorns and aliens were spontaneous ideas.
- The graphics were developed steadily parallel to the code and thus weren’t a product of the last minute.
- We implemented our core gameplay first and after that improved upon it.
- We partly had a lot of features that we wanted to implement, but cut the right features at the right time.
- We slept a reasonable amount of time (and weren’t completely destroyed after the weekend).
As you see the most important parts went right and I think we did a pretty good job developing the game this time. But we had some small problems anyway.
What went wrong?
- We didn’t have the final idea from the beginning on and had a hard time with the theme.
- There were a few graphical features I wanted to implement, like random props(grass, stones, …), that I did not have time for.
- Not all of us could work on the game for the whole third day, because they had to go to university.
- The rendering of the walls and floor tiles could have been solved better.
Most of the “What went wrong?” stuff could be solved with more time and maybe some more structured code on my side rendering the wall and floor tiles. (But it worked anyway)
What we want to do better?
- Think a bit more before writing code. (maybe, maybe not)
So I think we have an action plan for the next time.
- Try long enough to come up with a good idea.
- Make the game.
- Play more games.
- Enjoy the internet fame.
I hoped you liked our short writeup.
Greetings,
Team Banana4Life
P.S.: Play and rate our game please.
Hey guys,
5 hours left and I am streaming how I create the sounds for our game.
http://www.twitch.tv/bananafourlife
What sound does an unicorn make if it dies :/ :D Greetings!
Stream: http://www.twitch.tv/bananafourlife
Hey Guys,
I am really desperate. Could someone tell me why I have in one post a cool media inclusion and in the next it won’t work. That’s really really annoying. :(
This time it was a challenge for me to create music which fits in the theme. But finally I am finished!
https://soundcloud.com/rahtainka/legendary-legionnaire-winter
Now I will focusing on the sounds and maybe stream a little bit.
Our stream: http://www.twitch.tv/bananafourlife
Greetings!
Hey Guys,
here an update. Our game has an name: Legendary Legionnaire Winter Massacre
Story: “A legionnaire had build a snowman.
Suddenly aliens destroy it.
Take your revenge!”
You could hear the beta musicversion on our stream: http://www.twitch.tv/bananafourlife
Previous screenshots:
Greetings :)
Hey guys,
we are back and our stream is online: http://www.twitch.tv/bananafourlife !
Greetings form Germany,
Team Banana4life
https://soundcloud.com/rahtainka/ludum-dare-31-061214-2126
First snippet of music but i think i couldn’t use it… sadly :(
But it doesn’t fit to our theme. Next try…
Live Stream: http://www.twitch.tv/bananafourlife
Hey guys,
We are four students from Germany. It’s the third time we join the contest. Our last game at Ludum Dare 30 was Disconnect: http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-30/?action=preview&uid=41477 . This time we will use following tools and technologies:
Programming Language / Engine: Java / libgdx
IDE: IntelliJ
Version Control / GUI: git / SmartGit
Graphics: GraphicsGale
Sound: Garageband
Streaming: OBS
Our stream will be in german language. You can find it at http://www.twitch.tv/bananafourlife . We have a shared twitter account https://twitter.com/bananafourlife where we will post when we will stream. Just follow us to see the hottest news about our streams.
Have a nice Ludum Dare 31,
Team Banana4Life
Hey fellow gamedevs,
We are a team of four german students. We name ourselfs “Banana4Life” and have developed the game “Disconnect” for the second ludum dare we took part in. I (Jonas) made a quick LetsPlay of it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-To3KiIhNrA
You can rate and play our game here: Disconnect
But now lets get to the post-mortem. We didn’t have huge problems this time, after we spend half of the time developing a game that we threw away and started over last time. But lets start with what went right.
What went right?
- The game was playable and apparently fun to play.
- We had a cool idea from the start up and didn’t change it later on.
- The graphics and music / sounds were developed steadily parallel to the code and thus weren’t a product of the last minute.
- We implemented our core gameplay first and after that improved upon it.
- We partly had a lot of features that we wanted to implement, but we cut the right features.
- We slept a reasonable amount of time and weren’t completely destroyed after the weekend.
As you see the most important parts went right and I think we did a pretty good job developing the game this time. But we had some small problems anyway.
What went wrong?
- We spent a lot of time working on collision detecting fixing it over and over but it never really worked.
- At the end time ran out and the one level we had is pretty short.
- One of our developers worked remote and wasn’t in one room with the other people which made communication harder.
- Not all of us could work on the game on the third day, because they had to go to work.
- The rendering of the walls could have been solved better.
- Again the collisions were really annoying. Especially with syncing the player positions.
- We didn’t play enough games
Most of the “What went wrong?” stuff could be solved with more time and maybe some more structured code on my side rendering the walls. (But it worked anyway)
What we want to do better?
- Meet up all in one location
- Maybe implement a little framework for the collisions or use an existing framework, because that would be a huge timesaver.
- Take a day off the next day so everybody can work on the game the whole time.
- Think a bit more before writing code. (maybe, maybe not)
- Play more games
So I think we have an action plan for the next time.
- Prep a bit more by chosing a physics framework or something like this
- Try long enough to come up with a good idea. (Like we did this time)
- Make the game.
- Play more games.
- Enjoy the internet fame.
I hoped you liked our short writeup. Greetings,
Team Banana4Life
P.S.: Play and rate our game please.
Hey guys,
We are a german team consisting of 4 members. We just submitted our game “Disconnect”.
You play two players that are in two different worlds, but were connected by evil scientists. Now they can only move when the other person can move too. They only have a disconnector that allows them to wander around independently for a short time before the energy goes out. You need to find the endless powersource, developed in the same lab, to be able to disconnect and free the two forever. But be aware of the guards walking around.
I (Jonas) made a short made a playthrough of our game for you to watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-To3KiIhNrA&feature=youtu.be
Have fun with our entry,
Team Banana4Life
Twitter: @bananafourlife
Hey folks,
We are streaming at jonasdann. At the moment its painting some graphics. Later down the line we will stream some dev.
Greetings,
Team Banana4Life
Hello Ludum Dare folks,
We are four students from Germany. After entering Ludum Dare 28 with a slightly other lineup, we are now back in the game. Last time we submitted #YOGO Platform (The theme was “You Only Got One”). This time we will use following tools and technologies:
Programming Language / Engine: Java / libgdx
IDE: IntelliJ
Version Controll / GUI: git / SmartGit
Graphics: Photoshop
Sound: Garageband
Streaming: OBS
Our streams will be in german language. You can find them at jonasdann and pschichtel. We have a shared twitter account where we will post when we will stream. Just follow us to see the hottest news about our streams.
Have a nice Ludum Dare 30,
Team Banana4Life
