Ludum Dare 24 Game: ‘Sprout’
Sep 30
2012
This was my third time participating in the Ludum Dare 48 hour game competition.
Theme
The theme this time was “evolution”.
I had a really hard time coming up with an idea for this one. I actually came pretty close to giving up and not making a game. I finally came up with the idea of a continuously growing plant that evolves and changes into other plants as it eats nutrients.
Development After the success of my last game, I decided to once again take the relaxed approach to the game competition. I got plenty of sleep, took a lot of breaks, and made sure to get out of the house a few times. This worked out really well for me again, and I’m convinced that this is the best way to do Ludum Dare. I did however come really close to the deadline this time, finishing with only 45 minutes to spare.
One of my favorite things about doing Ludum Dare is watching the timelapse of the game coming together over 48 hours:
Results
I’ve had really great luck with my Ludum Dare games. All three have come out really well. Although they’re not quite up to the standards of my other games, I think they’re actually quite fun to play and could easily be fixed up into great games with a little more work.
In Sprout you guide the growth of your plant by moving the sun with your mouse. The sprout always grows toward the sun. As your plant consumes nutrients, it evolves into different types of plants. My favorite thing about this game is the neat swirling patterns of vines you leave behind as your plant grows.
I didn’t realize it as I was developing the game, but Sprout actually has a lot of similarities to my first Ludum Dare game Spawn. Both games have the main character centered in the screen, with the world swirling around them as you move. And both games have a creature that needs to consume nutrients to produce new life forms.
The Ludum Dare community seemed to like this game a lot. Out of 1000 entries, Sprout was rated #14 in Graphics, #16 Overall, #22 in Innovation, and #30 in Fun. Those are my best scores so far.
Take a look and see if you like it:
