Ludum Dare #29 ran from April 25th – 27th, a 48-hour jam where people build games centered around a single theme. Unlike the Global Game Jam however, it’s common to work solo.
With this year’s theme “Beneath the Surface”, I set out to make a game about a giant monster lurking in the depths, part sandworm from Dune, part Moby-Dick.
I started with building a little drivable boat: you sail around collecting treasures drifting on the water, while the monster tries to swallow you whole. The game takes place at night, hoping this would cover up any art assets that look too rough around the edges.
By Saturday afternoon a rough version was playable.
Because I began late on Saturday, it became clear I had to cut features.
Enemy boats and weapons were stripped out first. Different collectables became simple survivors adrift with safety buoys. Meanwhile, the monster stalks the player, waiting for a chance to gulp down the ship with as many survivors as possible. Why does the monster favour the ship over the survivors? Ships have more fibre.
To keep players from wandering too far (or running into the edge of the game world), I added a fuel mechanic. The tank refills when you return home, perfect for dropping off rescued survivors at the same time.
By Sunday night the game took shape with colourful graphics.
I finished work around 3 AM on Monday morning and submitted the build, just under the deadline. I’m happy with it. There are a few minor bugs and plenty I could improve, but that’s the charm of a game jam.
The game runs on the Unity engine, with all of the game code written in C#. For the 3D models, I used Blender, and generated all the sound effects with BFXR.
So far the reviews are very positive. You can download the game and check out the source code on the Ludum Dare entry page.