By Kieron Gillen on August 26th, 2009 at 7:59 pm.
I always like this kind of community experimental games compos. RPGDX have finished their 48 Hour RPG competition, where developers attempt to do everything on a small game in 48 hours. They’re voting on the results now. The theme this year is “side-scrolling”. I haven’t had a chance to play them all, but the pair which are leading the voting – Ham Sandwich RPG and Feyna’s School Project certainly are impressively completely envisioned. Also, one stars a Sandwich, which is making me peckish. Others look fun – the more unfinished Jade Figurine – pictured – is actually impressive in looks, and its Golden Axe/Barbarian approach one I think pursuing. Well done everyone. Find some videos of the games beneath the cut, or follow the links to see more.
Ham Sandwich RPG speed run:
Which, I guess, is some kind of fast food.
Also, the Jade Figurine:
Fancy.
I wonder – what sort of game would you try and make in 48 hours? Assuming a bare minimum of coding and developmental ability, ideally what you do possess (i.e. I would probably mod something. Or do something in hyperbasic).
If I had to make a game in 48 hours, a RPG wouldn’t be my first choice… For reasons illustrated in the entries for this contest.
That being said, there is plenty of cool 2 days compo, Ludum Dare being a good one (I mention this one because it happens this weekend!)
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Hadn’t heard of this compo. Don’t forget that Ludum Dare 15 starts Friday I think. Couple of good games came out of the last one, including the excellent MindWall. Also the TIGSource Adult/Ed compo voting ends this week, though I figured you guys would mention it again.
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I’d make a HL2 map where the player is given a shotgun and told to kill the zombies spawning continually from multiple entrances all around him. Ammo and health are laid out on the ground and on various raised platforms. There is an exit door at the highest point that is only reached by a complicated series of ladders, slopes and platforms.
The twist is that after the player kills a couple of zombies, the light goes off and the screen goes entirely black, including the HUD. Can the player locate his enemies through sound alone well enough to defend himself, and can he remember enough of the escape route to climb all the way to the exit door before the zombies get him?! ONLY TIME WILL TELL PERHAPS.
Would be awesome to randomize the platforms on the way to the escape route, and the location of the exit itself, so that it’s different each time, but I dunno how to do that.
Erm, assuming thats allowed. I haven’t heard of this compo before.
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If I had 48 hours and was forced into a side-scrolling theme, I think I would do something along the lines of a Tales game, not worry so much about hit detection, but rather work it into a percentages game. Hit detection is quite a pain (especially as the user dealing with shoddy detection), especially when the numbers can figure it all out for you. All you have to do is set up the maths, and then plug in the numbers, associate them with basic attributes (48 hours doesn’t allow for a lot of depth), and so on.
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Re: Jade Figurines: That’s an impressive amount of graphics to have done in 48 hours. And the comic-book speech bubbles are great.
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Let’s save us some WORLD!
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Yeah looks like they spent the couple of weeks before prepping for the 48 hour comp.
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Mattias Gustavsson (the guy who made Jade Figurines) used prefab 3d models he’d purchased online, and arranged/animated them in Poser. I have no idea how long he spent preparing in advance of the contest, though.
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