Ludem Dare

Every year there are several game-jams that I love to participate in, especially the Ludem Dare challenges. The rules are simple: create a game from scratch in 48 hours based on a theme that is announced at the start of these 48 hours.

Not all of my participations resulted in a finished game, but competing is more important then ending!

Ropes of Fire

  • Ropes of Fire

    Set 'em ablaze

    Theme:
    Keep it Alive

This game was not finished in time to be submitted.

I had a pretty decent idea in the end, but the scope was just too big.
Making the pixel-art character for the game was a pretty good exercise.

The idea for the game was that the player has to keep torches "alive" by shooting (fire) arrows, while waves of enemies try to put them out.
The twist for this game, is that the world is inside a circle.
As an option, other then walking around the full circle to (re)light the torches, the player can shoot an arrow which is connected with a rope.
This rope can, in turn, be put on fire to light the torches... or connected enemy.

Puny Parking

  • Puny Parking

    A high-density parking job

    Theme:
    Running out of space

This game was not finished in time to be submitted.

During this challenge I struggled a lot with the theme.
I started by making a plant-growing game where space for light would run out the bigger the plant grew, causing its own demise.
This didn't go anywhere, so I switch to another idea.

In the game you run the city's smallest car-parking service.
There is only room for few cars, so the player better prepare to gain some mad parking skills!

Panic at the Zoo

  • Panic at the Zoo

    Run a zoo for hyper-active kids

    Theme:
    The more you have, the worse it is

In this endless score-game your task is show kids around your small zoo.

The challenge in 'Panic at the Zoo' is to navigate the kids around the place in a smart way so they don't get stuck on eachother or obstacles. Push kids around to get them in line and drag others out of the masses that have already found their favorite animal.

The silly nature of bad physics and poor navigation skills of kids makes the game an amazing disaster of fun.

Sparm Rece

  • Sparm Rece

    Wiggle your way to life!

    Theme:
    Running out of Power

This silly "race" game lets the player compete in the battle for new life.

The core of the game is understanding how to control your sparm to get the best energy efficiency before you die. Wiggle to fast and you'll lose control. Don't wiggle enough and you'll end up late.

A really dumb - but working AI - makes the game fun to watch as AI sparms try to get to the top.

Asteroid Hotel

  • Astroid Hotel

    Under construction

    Theme:
    A Small World

This game was not finished in time to be submitted.

For this game I attempted to make another simple simulation game.

You have to build your hotel on an astroid by dropping in rooms from outer space.
Then you hire staff of varying alien races, which in turn help the customers with their needs.

For me, the game was a great feat in terms of design.

Cave Men

  • Cave Men

    Craft + Kill = Food!

    Theme:
    Ancient Technology

This game was not finished in time to be submitted.

This time I attempted to make a super small scoped game with only a few gameplay mechanics.
I only had limited time due to work so wasn't able to really get any gameplay done.

You would play a cave man that need to collect food to survive a night.
Scavenge for items to create a spear, kill a beast and cook it over a crafted fire.

The artstyle was, just like Dungeon Growth, isometric with pixelated graphics.

CatKoonBut

  • CatKoonBut

    Pixel-eagles, forever-fall

    Theme:
    Shapeshift

This ambient game takes the player to a forest of pixel-eagles and forever-fall.

The art-style of the game was very much inspired by Match, easy and effective.
Coming up with a cool gameplay mechanic was less then easy, causing the game to turn out as an ambient experience.

Even though I started late with making music and audio, adding them boosted the appeal greatly!
Due to this success I promised myself to spend time earlier making those.

Dungeon Growth

  • Dungeon Growth

    Growing hero-pest control

    Theme:
    Growing

This game was not finished in time to be submitted.

My goal for the game was to use isometric art and simple gameplay.

The goal is to "grow your dungeon" by replacing all wall blocks with floors.
This can be done by spending points which are earned by defeating visiting heroes.
You can summon minions which fight the heroes using a rock-paper-scissors mechanic.

Match

  • Match

    Drop the bomb, burn the forest

    Theme:
    You are the Monster

In this game, the player IS the monster.
You don't play it, you behave like one.

The gameplay is minimal and not fully developed.
So is the concept of spreading the fire is included but not visualized as much as I would have liked.

The art-style was one of the new things I wanted to try with a game.

The game was featured by the popular Dutch gaming news outlet GameKings.

Voice Blaster

  • Voice Blaster

    Scream to spin, spin to win

    Theme:
    An Unconventional Weapon

My main goal for this game was use the voice as a game-input.

The player has to scream into their microphones in order to make the drill spin.
Drilling down all the astroids will provide enough fuel for the charater to escape space.

Oven

  • Oven

    Wait for it...

    Theme:
    Entire Game on One Screen

I started out making a pinball game but it didn't feel right.
So I decided to start over, 5 hours before the deadline.

Oven represents the essentials of gaming: spending time.
I wanted to provoke reactions rather then making a fun game.

Connecting Worlds

  • Connecting Worlds

    Intergalactic bridge building

    Theme:
    Connected Worlds

Two worlds need to be connected by a bridge through space.
Prevent the astroid storm hurting your progress.

Hardcore when playing alone, great to play with a friend.
The post-jam version includes a versus mode, changing things around.

Graveyard Tycoon

  • Graveyard Tycoon

    Their loss, your gain

    Theme:
    Beneath the surface

This game was not finished in time to be submitted.

Graveyard Tycoon was an idea that I already though of before when brainstorming with a friend for a duo-project.
The theme for the challenge was just too fitting to not give it a quick try solo.

With the game being a simulation game, it required way more time then I had for the challenge.
It was a good exercise to see what had to be done for the bigger version (which is a lot).

Golden Arrow

  • Golden Arrow

    "The Midas Touch"

    Theme:
    You only get one

This game was not finished in time to be submitted.

It was build in XNA4, the engine I used before switching to Unity.
The idea for the game was simple:

You play a guy with the arrow of king Midas.
Everything it hits will turn into gold.
Enemies want to steal it for themselfs to turn you into gold.

This concept might be revisited in the future.