Ludum Dare
Ludum Dare is a game jam held multiple times each year where participants create games in a single weekend based around some theme. I participate in the "compo," which disallows teams and mandates that every asset and line of code be created within 48 hours. Each submission is rated and ranked by other developers. Here are my entries:
An easygoing train puzzler. Link the tracks together in just the right way and with just the right timing to get the red train out first. Pretty easy, except for the very last level which pushes the mechanics to the brink of solvability. Very happy with the graphics and audio on this one. Give it a try — it looks way better in motion!
A rhythm/typing game. Strike keys to the procedural beat as it grows more and more complex. "Can you type in 7/4?" is the tagline I came up with, and it turns out that the answer for most people is "No!" It's very hard, especially if you're looking to beat my high score of 57. Made with vanilla JavaScript/HTML5. Music generated in real time using Tone.js and some unconventional scales.
Chessokoban? Push blocks to shift the battlefield to your advantage and capture the opposing king. Or simply CRUSH HIM! Features 9 levels with 3 difficulty levels each, plus an AI that makes pretty okay moves if you give it a sec to think. All that AI writin' came at a cost, though: the aesthetics of this game could be charitably described as "neutral."
(Echo)
A first-person platformer in the dark. Use your spooky sonar to not fall in a hole! I had to put a GIF here: screenshots of this game don't really look like anything. Quite pleased with how it feels, with its wallrunning and fancy shaders. I think you will be too, if you can get past its — typical of my work — inscrutability and crushing difficulty.
Factorio meets fruit — why didn't I name it Fruitorio? Math is involved. If that sounds good to you, give it a whirl. Otherwise, it may not be for you. Research enough different fruit and you can actually win the game! On the other hand, there's no save system, so do check out the cheats on the Ludum Dare page.
A hectic polyomino-building action puzzler. After LD52's Orchard Alchemy and 7DRL 2023's Feast or Fathom — complicated, mechanical games — I vowed to make something simpler. This game focuses on one central concept, with a rather default timed-arena implementation. Keeping the scope low allowed for plenty of time to polish (and to sleep).
A short 'n' spooky narrative puzzle game. Contend with an alien intelligence(?) and try to figure out what the heck it wants from you. An eerie, minimalist look combined with conlang voiceovers earned me my first ever trophy! Not a lot of content in this one: I'm talking literal moments of gameplay if you know what you're doing. On the other hand, I was pleased with the vibes, the character animation, and the ending... though most couldn't tell what was going on, I don't think. Lots of lessons learned here. Check the Ludum Dare page for hints in the likely event you get stuck.
An off-the-grid tactical roguelite. This was a tough one. I tried to replicate the free-movement/continuous-space battle system from games like Baldur's Gate 3 in two days. Well, it ended up taking more than two days: this was the first time I missed the 48-hour deadline and had to submit to the jam instead. After 13 prior successful compos! There are some neat ideas in here, but it goes to show that you can learn the complexity-creep lesson a hundred times and still not, you know... learn it learn it.
A fast-paced word game. Your bookshelf is overflowing with books — mash their titles up to make room for more. One of the more accessible and straightforwardly fun of my Ludum Dare games. Turn down the graphics settings if it performs poorly; this was the first 3D game I'd ever created and it is not well optimized, to say the least.
A pet-feedin' explore-em-up. While investigating a network of underground ruins, you've come across a strange creature. It’s friendly, it’s hungry, and it won’t survive long without your help! A simple game that still manages to be pretty hard. Features a procedurally generated hellscape that I stuck a poor, defenseless creature in. My first first-person game!
A dungeon-divin' Broughlike. Explore a demonic temple, facing enemies with mix-and-match abilities that produce surprising and exasperating combinations. Defeat enough of them and you'll learn some rule-breaking tricks of your own! Some nice ideas in here, but plenty of corners were cut in the interest of time. Like many of the others, it ain't easy.
A reverse-maze puzzle game. Rearrange the walls to keep the li'l guy away from the fruit as long as you can, but know this: he will have his lunch! This one is real simple, just the central mechanic with little embellishment. Wish I'd had time for more appropriate music. And maybe some handcrafted levels... the randomly generated ones will have to do.
A roguelite platformer. Climb a nuclear cooling tower, gradually losing abilities as your genes fray. Only by collecting uranium — exposing yourself to even more radiation — can you buy replacement genes that enable you to double jump, glide, teleport, and more. Like many of my jam games, it's too dang hard. I'm pretty good at it, though! Try to beat my high score of 1340 meters.
A visual choose-your-own-adventure game. Live as a wizard-in-training, making choices by sacrificing your most beloved possessions. I wrote over 7,000 words for this one, and designed and implemented a custom scripting language all in 48 hours. It was a bit overambitious, so it ends with "to be continued"... not very satisfying, but some people really liked it!