/r/ludumdare

Photograph via snooOG

Ludum Dare: all about the Internet's oldest, longest-running game jam, in which participants develop an entire game in one weekend from scratch.

Please assign your user flair ↑ For example, "Unity Developer," "8-Bit Composer," and "Pixel Artist" are all welcome titles!


Ludum Dare 41: April 20th-23rd, 2018
Ludum Dare 40: December 1-4, 2017
Ludum Dare 39 ended on July 31, 2017


The Ludum Dare is widely considered to be the first game development jam ever hosted in history, originally by Geoff Howland in 2002. It is also the longest running jam, as it has been managed by Mike Kasprzak (@PoV) ever since.

Participants develop games from scratch in one weekend, based on a theme suggested by the community right before the jam begins. Community members then play and rate the games according to several categories:

Overall Fun Innovation Theme
Graphics Audio Humor Mood

There are two divisions:

Jam Compo
Any # of devs in one team, 72 hrs One person, 48 hrs, must share source code

Build jam teams in this subreddit!


Related subreddits:

/r/ludumdare

7,136 Subscribers

2

Making A Multiplayer Game In Under 72 Hours - Ludum Dare 56 Devlog

Like I did for Ludum Dare 55,

I released a video about our Ludum Dare 56 experience.

Check it out: https://youtu.be/xcwwcRheq8E

https://preview.redd.it/gbnv59sse93e1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=879158fce0ecd4a8a495d7e20656cd869bc2e129

0 Comments
2024/11/26
14:53 UTC

4

Is there any way to get the older ludum dare games to show up in 'my games' section?

I had participated in ludum dare long ago, on presumably the same account but I know there was a big change/refactor of ldjam. Are those games lost to time or is there a way to hook them into my account still or even find them?

2 Comments
2024/11/22
01:02 UTC

4

Poppet v1.2 Update... Collision Fixes, Fullscreen, Linux and MORE!!

Poppet version 1.2 is now available and comes with a number of quality of life improvements​. We have also provided a Linux build for the hotfix and 1.2 versions of the game. Thank you again for all of the love and support for Poppet. ​We really appreciate all the feedback received over the jam period and hope that players will continue to enjoy Poppet outside of LD56.

Read Patch Notes

Play Poppet v1.2

LD Page

https://preview.redd.it/sxju2pmb3lwd1.jpg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df0f086b84523cb5bdcb7cb7fc9e3dc83809dc3e

0 Comments
2024/10/23
22:41 UTC

6

Just posted the first development log for our Ludum Dare 56 entry we plan on sinking a LOT more time into, let us know what you think!

0 Comments
2024/10/15
22:27 UTC

2

Post-mortem for Play With Me

Game

https://i.redd.it/gpej55yq4yud1.gif

Play With Me is a Tamagotchi with 3 monsters you can play with and feed. They each have their own minigames.>! One of the monster is jealous of others and kills and replaces them when you are playing with them. !<

So this game has horror elements.

Development story

I’d normally participate Ludum Dares as a solo dev. I wanted this to be different than my usual, I started a “looking for artists” thread in the unofficial Ludum Dare Discord server and met Merulon there, whose artworks I admired. She had the idea of a Tamagotchi with multiple monsters and maybe like >!Doki Doki Literature Club!<.

We developed this idea further. And a game much more successful than my solo entries was created during LD 56.

What went right?

Most of it :)

  • Game was well scoped. There are a few things that can be added or fixed, but in the end it was “good enough” when I reached exhaustion on Monday.
  • It attracted great attention for a jam game. We have over +5K plays right now, it even got featured in Itch’s blog page. Players got surprised by its twist and they liked it. There is a “Warning: Horror Elements” text at the beginning, I’m glad that our twist still worked despite the warning. Such a warning is completely necessary for a cute game like this by the way, it’s a matter of player consent.
  • The “jumpscare” was liked as well. I especially worked on avoiding the jumpscare playing instant and loud. Instead, the volume and sprite alpha fades in. I personally despise loud and sudden jumpscares, they are cheap.

What went wrong?

Only a few things.

  • The story ended abruptly and vague.
  • The game can be controlled either with ZXC keys or simply pressing Tamagotchi’s keys. I thought the entrance Tamagotchi screen was prompting ZXC (intended controls) good enough. As far as we watched people play, nobody used ZXC at the start, and almost nobody noticed game could be played with keyboard.
  • Not everything could be finished. We had the idea of robotic speech in the style of FAITH (who can ever forget “MORTIS”?) in certain parts. I learned it can be made with “SAM Software Automatic Mouth” easily later.

What’s next?

We have some ideas for the post-jam version of Play With Me.

0 Comments
2024/10/15
16:24 UTC

2

Ludum Dare may lower my rating or remove it because I rated less than 20 games. Are there any other conditions I should to know?

Is there any other conditions? I have to get at least 20 ratings and give at least 20 ratings. Anything else I don't know about? 🤔

6 Comments
2024/10/13
15:03 UTC

7

I made an LDjam devlog!

0 Comments
2024/10/13
12:45 UTC

7

I made a devlog

0 Comments
2024/10/12
04:56 UTC

1

Half Way There

Thanks to everyone who has already checked out the game. But we are halfway to 20 reviews. Please help me out and go on and Check out Perdita Creaturae I would greatly appreciate it.

Play the Game Here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/56/perdita-creaturae

0 Comments
2024/10/10
13:42 UTC

2

ZIB ZAB ZOUB !!! Our entry for Ludum Dare 56, made on Unreal Engine

ZIB ZAB ZOUB !!!

1 jam, 2 days, 3 Zibbies !!!

Here you can see the ludum page of the game, and rate it : https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/56/zib-zab-zoub

ZOUB your way between the eyes of the ugly Bouzs, while tossing ZIB and ZAB to distract enemies, open doors, and make your way to the tower were your friend ZEB is detained ! 

You will play as ZOUB, a big, green and wobbly creature who is helped by his tiny friends ZIB and ZAB ! 

ZIB ZAB ZOUB was made during the Ludum Dare 56 Game Jam, by a team of Game Design Students and helped by an artist friend. 

The subject of the game jam was "Tiny Creatures"

Here you have the itch.io page : https://swag-lazio.itch.io/zib-zab-zoub

0 Comments
2024/10/10
11:55 UTC

2

Hey, check our game too :) For everyone who likes cruelty and the sea, also i love to rate your projects

0 Comments
2024/10/09
05:09 UTC

0 Comments
2024/10/08
19:12 UTC

9

We Finished Our First Game for Ludum Dare!

We are thrilled to present our game, Through the Leaves, created during this Ludum Dare! 🌿

In Through the Leaves, you will embark on a heartfelt adventure as tiny critters with unique abilities journey through dense forests and magical landscapes. Help them solve levels, switch between characters, and navigate obstacles as they search for home in this vibrant, nature-filled experience.

Thank you for your support, and we can’t wait for you to play and share your feedback with us! Please Rate our Game!! 🎮

https://preview.redd.it/7rgtfgh7khtd1.png?width=256&format=png&auto=webp&s=4d432f67363b985355ffe8274535ec230dbe399a

0 Comments
2024/10/08
07:37 UTC

6

Sky Rats!

We submitted a game to LD56 about seagulls — the rats of the sky! In South Africa, it’s quite common for these tiny creatures to swoop down and steal chips directly from your plate, or see them scavenging for scraps on the ground. They can be quite a hazard at times! 🤣

2 Comments
2024/10/08
00:55 UTC

5

Perdita Creaturae

Finished my second game jam ever. Would love feedback on the game and what I can seek to improve. Please go check it out. https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/56/perdita-creaturae

https://preview.redd.it/jejd5jxj2ftd1.png?width=1919&format=png&auto=webp&s=c908d51b88908fa2abc16fe6b182f2b9b8ab32d0

0 Comments
2024/10/07
23:13 UTC

12

Finally, we've finished our game!! It was tough, but we enjoyed it!

HELLO!! :D

You can try our game at -> Tiny Titans

1 Comment
2024/10/07
20:39 UTC

6

Hey guys, how can I fix that?

Failed to read the 'serviceWorker' property from 'Navigator': Service worker is disabled because the context is sandboxed and lacks the 'allow-same-origin' flag.

5 Comments
2024/10/07
15:29 UTC

6

Help on Publishing Game for Compo

Hello everyone,

This is my first Ludum Dare, and I have submitted my game to the website.

But, when I look on the games page, I don't see it.

Any ideas on why that might be? Thanks!

4 Comments
2024/10/06
14:24 UTC

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