I don't think it's true that if a computer game has bad gameplay that it's a bad game -- it just has a bad game.

Myst is a good example of this, from what I can tell. Rubbish and brilliant in equal measures.

Anecdotally, it turns out a lot of people misread the icons in Bomberman, but it doesn't matter because they're consistent.

I think the magnet is better the other way around, so it doesn't look like a smiley face. In general agj's icons are much easier to read. That inner stroke style of yours is pretty constrictive, I have to say.

Yay! Awesome news, well done increpere! Definitely well deserved, it's amazing to me that you put that together so quickly.

However, clearly the food category is the most important one to win! I don't see you on that list at all! D:  (I'm really glad to have got onto the food, journal and graphics top-5!)

I want to play this game, but can't play any games for a few days (I'm posting from the office on a Sunday at 9pm, which should tell you something). Please introduce gamepad support in that time!

This game is like when you're head cheerleader and you're dating Big Terry, the hottest quarterback in town. He's totally dreamy and you're, like, so in love with him, but... well, he abuses you. Every night you're doin' it, sometimes several times a night, but after a few minutes the rage always descends on him and before you know it you're lying in a bloody pulp.

The unspoken story of Corpus and Terry at Tigjam:UK... o_o

What option is that? I don't see it. And what's the difference between high-quality and HD?

HQ just improves the bitrate, but keeps the resolution the same.
HD makes it massive and take up the entire width of the screen, like this:

Someone once complained about the lack of tutorial for Tumbledrop.  I thought allowing the player to try the level, and succeed/fail based upon the very limited input options, was sufficient.

I like games that let you explore the controls in a safe manner and give you reason to learn the toolset before progressing too far. It doesn't need to bang you over the head though, and tutorial/messages can be written on walls for those people who are struggling to proceed because they aren't understanding the controls fully.

I like 'You have to burn the rope' (and many other games') approach of having text scroll past you in a non intrusive manner. This can be easily achieved in 3D space too.

This is the worst pixel art discussion ever.
Please stop talking about 'manga girls'.

...but I wasn't talking about 'high quality' mode at all, I was talking about 'Watch in HD' mode which was only introduced in December 2008.  -_-;;;

This has been in Youtube for months  .

If by months you mean two weeks, and previously only on selected videos.

Still not as high quality as Vimeo, but it's an improvement.

My source video might be to blame there. I had compression on pretty high since I didn't figure it would be visible very high res on youtube.

I just noticed that Youtube have changed their service to allow a proper 'watch in HD' option.  You can see it here on my Ludum Dare timelapse video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VIXWbK5JIAw
click on the 'Watch in HD' button just beneath the video, which used to just say 'Watch in High Quality'.

Youtube just became much more useful for developers wanting to share videos of their games... and I must admit, I go to youtube for info about games first these days, because seeing some footage tells me a lot more than screenshots and text do.

Congratulations on your release! I can't wait to take it within me!

Alas, I am at work all day today, so it'll be a little while until I have the pleasure. D: The yearning is great!

http://www.vimeo.com/2585118

It's a game called Dim Sum Robot #1.  I just finished map scrolling and made the people move.  You sell dim sum out of a food stand that turns into a robot, but you don't have a permit so you have to avoid the cops.  Or serve them really good dim sum.  And you fight competing food stands with a big machine gun.  It's a simulation game.

I love this! :D  Great premise!

I think you'd benefit hugely from a top-down lightsource for your tree. The lack of volume, and some peculiar upwards pointing shading, really make it look flat and fake. The underside of the branches should always be dark, and many of the branches are darkened by the branches above.

There are many ways to do it though, and you might have an easier time of it if you put less lighting in your tree rather than more.

...but then there's the whole drama of designers ignoring the input from the rest of the team! o_o

Good luck!
I want to belieeeeve!

Possible, I don't know anything about how mainstream games are made. I think they use 'focus groups' more than what I describe, though? I.e. I imagine (this may be off-base) they let people play their games and then ask them to fill out questionnaires, rather than just have the developers watch people play directly.

Actually, developers often get opportunity to observe play sessions directly, and sometimes videos are kept of how people respond. Depends on the scope of the focus group really. 


On the subject of playtesting, one thing I really want to introduce into all my games is some sort of detailed log of play. It will describe how much time was spent on each section, at what points when focus was lost (no input for a while) and for how long, and even logging the route through the level by recording the position every few seconds.

A fair amount of people who play games also make them, not the majority, but some.

In annnnny case, not every suggestion should be tossed to the side, sometimes you just might have not thought about, also you could lose a valuable playtester by ignoring them altogether on it. You're better off explaining why or why not this should be in the game.

True, but a large pinch of salt (a fistful, perhaps) is necessary when dealing with such things, and it's important that you understand the reason for the suggestion, or at least define a new reason for its inclusion, and consider the alternatives to achieve that same result.

All game suggestions need to go through a lot of consideration from you, just as your own ideas should also go through a long process.

The main focus is always to focus on identifying the problem.

Great advice being shared here. I'm a pro, and it correlates with experiences with testers... and we get the more extreme example. Whenever a tester is proactive in making suggestions (because they are wannabe games designers) it is more often a nuisance than a help. Some go as far as to skirt around the problem to focus more time on their 'idea' for the game.

...and yes, more often than not, 'removing' rather than 'adding' solves a problem.

I had a great in-person experience recently when making a game for Ludum Dare. It had player oriented vehicle controls, much like 'Micro Machines', and I watched a friend of mine come over and she wasn't able to control it at all.  I immediately decided to change the camera to follow the player, Katamari style, and people enjoyed the game a lot more after that.

I made a snake clone in C++ and Allegro today. It took me about 2 hours, maybe. It looks cool. It may or may not work well on your computer. I blame my hacky way of regulating speed. Get it here. It includes the source code.

Very nice! I like the sparkly trail.

I like the idea of making a tiny game in just a couple of hours. I should give that a shot one of these days. :3