Hey Crew! I did it, I got through a Ludum Dare! I've been wanting to get into one of these for at least a year and a half, I didn't have the chance, mostly because they happen right in exam season, but I done graduated!
The theme was "Exploration", which isn't much of stretch for Video games. It got my imagination rolling. One thing that my mind grabbed on was Lewis and Clarke, probably because I listened to a pod-cast on the death of Meriwether Lewis on the way home on Friday. I wanted to make a game with some historical roots, other thoughts are a 'space exploration' or something more abstract. But my mind kept returning to the idea of the famous western explorers and their adventures.
I set the game on an island because thats an easy way to create hard boundaries. I wanted you to be able to find new and interesting flora and fauna, name them, and sell them to distant aristocracy for exorbitant prices. But I could only manage the unfettered expansion of your settlements into the island itself, turning its tranquil simplicity into a criss-crossed bustling seaport.
I named it after the first lyrical part of my favourite Decemberists Song "The Island". The idea of an untamed island untouched by human hand, explorer expeditions venturing into its untamed wilds, finding riches to bring back to the empire. That idealistic Romantic idea struck me and I ran with it.
What went right-I like it! - I am proud of what I made, and it's fun in a relaxing way.
-World Generator - I wrote this in the first half, I'm really happy with how the forests came out, they feel really organic, the scalability is excellent as well.
-Wagons and roads - The most interesting part! I'm really happy that the roads run and can check their distance from a dock or town, I also like that the wagons follow their paths correctly. If I had another hour, I would've made the wagons adjust their path if a faster one becomes available.
-Flixel rocks socks - I feel more confident in my flash game crafting then before!
-I am excited for more game making! - Got me out of a funk I've been in a while.
What went wrong-Inconsistent Art - I tried out a couple different things. So the character is an bizarrely coloured and abstract, the sea is WTF, and the rest is stylistically ripped from the first 2 Civilizations.
-Shallow game-play - There isn't any challenge, and there isn't much to do.
-No sound! - This is really lame, I just ran out of time.
- Ran out of time - I didn't really plan on what I wanted to do, I winged it from start to finish, I came up with the ideas and came up with too many, got stuck doing things that I should've not attempted. Oh well!
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