Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Yeah, Notch’s game got a mention on its own, because a big name is a good way to encourage those who otherwise wouldn’t be interested to take a look at the many splendid things created as part of the twenty-sixth Ludum Dare global game jam. It is very important to reiterate, in this case via the medium of a post (and in addition to the one below singling out The Unseen), that you will be generously rewarded for looking at LD anyway, regardless of whether or not anyone you’ve heard of is involved. Ludum Dare – and many other speed-development events across our blue’n'green marble – is the bleeding edge of game-making, where ideas and pure talent hold far more sway than fancy graphics and big-budget explosions. It is ur-game and omni-game, a wild, wonderful badlands for all the potential that software holds.
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We’ve already hosted a brilliant collection of Ludum Dare games but Indiegames.com have spotted another that I feel compelled to share. I know there are probably hundreds that I’d feel compelled to share if I played them all but sadly this is the first Ludum Dare for ages that I haven’t been able to dig into properly. On to Project M though, which is a fairly lengthy point and click adventure about mad science and not-dead detectives. Grab the competition version or an enhanced release with tweaks and soundtrack here.

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Ludum Dare returns tomorrow but there’s still time to influence the global gamejam, with voting on the theme ongoing at this very moment. There are some excellent choices, with a sprinkling of the lost and the lonely, including ‘ruins’, ‘deep space’, ‘end of the world’, ‘trapped in another world’, ‘tunnels’ and ‘abandoned’. There’s also ’1000 kittens’, which I definitely didn’t just give a ‘+1′ to. Voting isn’t the only way to involve yourself. You could also make a game, either right there at your computer or at one of the gatherings listed here. Keynote video by Seth ‘Dink Smallwood’ Robinson and more details below.

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Ludum Dare is the gift that keeps on giving, the jam that keeps on jamming. The latest jar full of sweet goodness to spread all over your monitor is Gravity, picked out by the observant folk over at IndieGames. A tiny island floats above lava, which is rather silly of it, and blocks slowly fall from above. If they hit the island, all life ceases to exist immediately and the final score is tallied, which is what happens when you die. A leaderboard appears. At least here the objective is clear; survive as long as possible. This is achieved by shooting the blocks and either deflecting them into the lava with your bullets, or shoving them off the island once they crash. They’re heavy, you see, and they’ll drag you down if you’re not careful. Play in your browser now.

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Game jams are proving to be one of the most fruitful phenomena of the current era of gaming. Ludum Dare constantly throws up a bunch of fascinating stuff, and it’s tough to keep track of it all. So much of what is created – the window for making is just 48 hours – is so small and unassuming that it is likely to be missed. Tinysasters is one such microcosm, but it’s a beautiful, perfectly formed gem of an idea: terraforming an 8×8 tile based grid, while natural disasters roll in every thirty seconds to undo your work. Worth a look, if just for a moment.

I’m playing as many of the Ludum Dare games as I can before I do a full roundup of my favourites. There are more than a thousand though, which is a strong indicator of the spirit of the global indie community but a terrible thing for me because I can’t possibly play them all or I’ll wear my fingers down to nubs of bone. The theme was ‘Tiny World’, rich for invention, and I have to declare my love for one entry immediately. Memento, by Sébastien ‘deepnight’ Bénard is a beautiful miniature point and click adventure about memory. Visually, it’s like peering into the rooms of a lovingly crafted dollhouse. If you’ve seen any spectacular entries let me know in case I miss it and I’ll take a look.

The venerable 48 hour game design competition/jam that is Ludum Dare always manages to tickle my curiosity bone but that’s usually when hundreds of games suddenly sprout up across the internet, as if some manner of imagination/caffeine downpour had filtered its way through the digital dirt. This time around, for the 10th anniversary event Ludum Dare 23, I’m writing before the theme has even been announced. It all takes place this weekend, beginning in just over 12 hours, and there’s an interactive keynote to introduce the concept, energise the participants and demonstrate the basics of iterative design.

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There’s always something unexpectedly brilliant brewing in the indie community and when an event like Ludum Dare actually challenges all the talented designers out there to produce playable snacks at a rapid pace there’s an overwhelming amount to keep up with. That’s my excuse for missing the two winners of Ludum Dare 22 during my two previous pieces on the competition. Didn’t play them, didn’t notice them. But now I have, because they have been crowned and even I am not shortsighted enough to miss a coronation. If you are utterly myopic, however, you may not have played Frostbite or Midas yet. Read on!

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The great thing about the aftermath of Ludum Dare is that there are so many games out in the wild, just waiting to be tracked down. While carting my blunderbuss around the steaming jungle that today’s expedition of Colonel Freekirk’s IndieToy Hunting Party chose to visit, I became aware of a rustling in the mulchy remains of a collapsed banana grove. Nudging a cluster of razor-sharp yet brittle fronds aside with the butt of my gun, I was startled to see Abandoned, a gravity-flipping box-and-button puzzler, feasting on a strange purple fruit. It ran as only an indie game can but I gave chase, bagged it and present its trophied face for your appreciation.

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