rinevard 2025-04-07 03:11
It looks amazing—hard to believe you pulled it off in just 2 days! I think it depends on luck a lot, but still an awesome game. Great job!
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD57 → .
By protzz
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 137 | |||
| Fun | 137 | |||
| Innovation | 135 | |||
| Theme | 135 | |||
| Graphics | 137 | |||
| Audio | 135 | |||
| Humor | 118 | |||
| Mood | 136 |
It looks amazing—hard to believe you pulled it off in just 2 days! I think it depends on luck a lot, but still an awesome game. Great job!
super impressive job for a 48h jam. I thought about inscryption and balatro before reading that they were inspirations haha, makes sense. beyond impressed. like @rinevard said, it's a bit luck heavy, but it's such a minor thing in the context of the game itself and what you managed to create. love the graphics and mood - you should enable those ratings!
Thank you so much everyone! I already add a new ratings section, so if its no problem can you rate them as well please!
Definitely one of the best games on this Jam. It has a huge potential when will be published on Steam. Insane job to be done in 48 hours
As everyone pointed out the game turned out extremely polished. Good job, loved the atmosphere :D
The rules are a bit complicated, but overall it feels like a splendid entry! It's crazy to be able to complete this in 48 hours. Love the graphics.
Thank you so much!
I see a lot of work for making this game that looks very polished and professional ! I see also your inspiration from Balatro of course ! Love how you you put some tutorials to guide the player through the game (it was a bit hard to understand the rules at first but after a couple of games it makes sense!). Now some technical downsides which are totally forgivable considering that it was made in such a short amount of time : - the camera movement when your cursor is at the bottom of the screen could have been removed as it's more annoying than anything. - the rules when you highlight the deck are too small to be readable (even in full screen it's quite small), I think these texts could be bigger and much more concise! - the black border to pick where to place the selected card is not clear enough, selecting a card should highlight the selected target area and the other "possible" areas should also be highlighted in a more discrete way.
That's it, otherwise great entry, congratulations!
Fantastic job! So polished! Love it!
Definite Balatro inspiration here as others have mentioned :) I enjoyed figuring out the card puzzles to try and fit it all in. Minor bug though - for some reason the clubs are labelled "hearts". Also it would probably be good if the tutorial text when you look at the deck was either excluded from the blur effect or repositioned somewhere where the effect isn't so strong.
Love the art, well done.
The music and audio nailed the mood
One of the best graphics in the jam! And overall, the game is cool, but it seemed easy to me. Great job!
Cool art!
The mood and the graphics are great - well done!
Hey, this is a very cool game and I can definitely see where you drew your inspriation from. Good job, it's incredibly impressive what you achieved in this time!
the visual is nice and appealing! it's very interesting game for this theme. i really enjoy it. but the play card button doesn't want to be clicked most of the time, which makes playing real hard. the audio is also really nice, overall a wonderful game!
I'm beyond amazed you made this in 48 hours and solo, WELL DONE!
Very good job!
Remarkable! The graphics, art, and clean result are spectacular!
Looking forward to play it on steam one day.
I note that the game has a well-conveyed ominous atmosphere, as if I was about to be shot at. But I would really like a hotkey to play the card, otherwise I have to press the button 10 times. Good job!
@funbanan It seems you didn't read the tutorial :) you can do it with the right mouse button
@haokai-xu-1999 I also really hope so, thank you very much!
@daria-anosova omg thank you so much<3
@caffeinetrip I am happy you like it)
@yoav-kagan I know, it was really productive two days, thank you so much!
@kama thank you so much for your words!
I really enjoyed this game. The sound, art and atmosphere are outstanding. I've encountered a couple of bugs, but the game strikes me as very polished and responsive. It's very impressive for a COMPO entry, well done!
fun game, the controls could be improved I think, left click then drag with right click is a bit unintuitive I also died after restarting a 2nd game and managing to get all 3 screens right, not sure why Impressive work overall, congrats
Very beautiful game! Catchy gameplay too! Although I feel like some of the buttons and options could not be clicked or activated on the WebGL build...
Really nice job ! Played it on web and the controls (especially the click zone) seems kind of off, that's a shame. But other than that, it's a really impressive piece of work !
Really impressive, solo and in 48 hours!? There were some minor bugs, like cards displaying the wrong suit name and not always accepting mouse input, but otherwise fantastic job! It’s a great game!
The game looks excellent. The gameplay is intense—it makes you think about which zone to play a card in, or whether to discard the entire hand. Looks very promising!
I got a bug on the Rabbit Hole menu, couldn't select anything and got stuck. The vibe is great, and the gameplay seems fun, but couldn't play it longer beacuase of that.
Super impressive Compo entry! As someone who’s spent dozens of hours playing Balatro and Inscryption, I love seeing how this game taps into similar mechanics and ideas. And the vibe feels pretty solid already! I also can really empathise with the desire to create a cool Steam release. I think this game has a potential and given that you managed to create it in 2 days solo - I think it is really doable, keep it up!
@kamuniaft Thank you so much for your comment, I am really appreciate it 🙏
It's crazy you were able to pull this off in 48 hours. The graphics look amazing (probably the best I've seen in this event), reminds me of balatro, inscryption and buckshot roulette, all of which my favoriotes. I was playing on web build and I think the buy button in rabbit hole isn't working, also I'm sure someone's already mentioned it that some clubs cards are read as hearts in the game. Nothing you can't fix in a quick patch, seriously impressive entry. I hope you keep working on this and add more depth to the gameplay!
I have played and beaten Inscryption but I have not played Balatro. This definitely has that Inscryption feel that I like. Good graphics, good music and good art style to match the mood.
Unfortunately, there were some things that did not work for me. I played on a 21:9 widescreen and while the table works as expected, the UI elements get cropped and I have to exit full screen in order to click things away.
But the game breaking bug for me is that clicking on the top-most row in the level selector doesn't work, so I could never get to the last level. Or is this intentional and there is no last level? My point is that sometimes the level selector broke and I could not select any level at all and had to restart the game.
I also never saw the coins that you are supposed to use to buy things in the shop, and I didn't get what the heart rate does.
Finally, it would be helpful if you explain which cards every combination is. I am not familiar with poker and do not know what things like a Full House are, or that an ace is worth 20. I thought an ace is worth 1, but maybe it's just in this game. And it's true that the interface shows that it is worth 20, but I didn't look the first time assuming it was 1.
Good work! Keep it up!
It's so exquisite. I'm even more looking forward to seeing how this game will look after you polish it.
wow very nicely done. cool style.
Love this game! High degree of completency. Can't belive you made it by yourself within 48 hours! I can see some game mechanics from Tiny Pack. https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/56/tiny-pack
Very good game, somehow remind me inscryption by it's vibe) Nice atmosphere, but maybe it could have some bg-music?
The instructions are a bit complicated, but the game itself is really cool!
I found it quite confusing at the start, but it definitely hooked me. There's definitely potential here and I already enjoyed it a lot!
Feels like 3D balatro
I love the atmosphere and the idea, but I got stuck very early on: Zrzut ekranu z 2025-04-09 11-43-51.png - I assume I should either 1) draw the next set of cards (to get a Jack) or 2) put some other card there (since two challenges should be good enough according to the manual), but I don't seem to be able to do either of those. The slot doesn't get the outline like others when I try to hover over it with a card. And clicking the card, and then on the slot, doesn't work either. I don't know if I misunderstood something or it's a bug.
In any case, the art and atmosphere are great, and I'd love to talk with the Rabbit more and learn more about the experiment.
First of all hats of to you for creating this game in such a short time by yourself. Impressive!
I like the visuals of the game. The graphic style is cool and the rabbit design is well made. The sound effects underline the atmosphere. Just a minor thing: Calling the corporation "the FART corp" didn't fit in a game, which has a dark and serious atmosphere. And I can appreciate a fart joke. ;) Except from that the atmosphere is really strong. I like the little walking sounds when you progress to the next level.
As @pandalk mentioned, I also feel that the controls felt a little bit counterintuitive. Maybe just having a drag and drop system would make it smoother.
I like the level system and that you can upgrade stuff. The game loop was fun, which is really important. This game felt like a mix of Inscryption (as you mentioned) and the last years famous entry "TINY PACK." I think you will get a high place in this competition. Good job! :)
@thisyc Thank you so much for the kind words, I really appreciate it. Most likely, the issue in the shop was caused by not having enough coins I tested it recently, and everything seemed to be working fine. I’ll be releasing a patch soon to fix all the bugs. I’d love to keep working on the game, but for that, I need more ratings on Itch. So if it’s not too much trouble, I’d be very grateful if you could rate my game there as well it really helps boost its visibility.
@andriybyelikov Thank you so much for your feedback it’s really helpful. The coins were displayed next to the combo table, but no worries. I’d also like to apologize for the number of bugs there just wasn’t enough time to do so much in just two days. Everything will be fixed very soon, and I’m planning to release the game on Steam as well. Thanks again for your feedback! And if it’s not too much to ask, I’d really appreciate it if you could rate my game on Itch it helps a lot with promoting the project.
@shiheuan Thank you so much, I’ll definitely keep working on the game! And if you’d like to support me, please consider rating the game on Itch it really helps with the project’s visibility!
@lanalux Thank you!
@arthur-tang AHHH you got me) I love xk)
@librory maybe latter)
@axlplosion Thank you!!! And if you’d like to support me, please consider rating the game on Itch it really helps with the project’s visibility!
@tiar You had to pass before getting the Jack. But either way, thank you so much for your feedback I’ll be fixing all the bugs very soon. And if it’s not too much trouble, please consider rating my game on Itch it really helps with its visibility.
@lllarso First of all, you can drag the cards using the right mouse button it’s mentioned in the guide :) The button system was made specifically for mobile devices. Thank you so much for your kind words, I really, really appreciate it! And if it’s not too much trouble, please consider rating the game on Itch as well it really helps with promotion.
That's really an impressive game to be made in just 48 hours!! I almost made it out but I think the last RNG was what killed me, is there a check that given the correct choices every round is possible? Nevertheless you really nailed everything here, mood, art, idea - love it
Love the concept and visuals, So smooth quality for the compo game ! Thumbs up here! Amazing :heart:
@hope42morrow Thank you, so much my friend!!! And if you’d like to support me, please consider rating the game on Itch it really helps with the project’s visibility!
I loved the concept of your game, can't wait to see it on steam!!
@pechedodue Thank you so much, I’ll definitely keep working on the game! And if you’d like to support me, please consider rating the game on Itch it really helps with the project’s visibility!
@protzz I'll do it right away ;)
This is a really really solid entry, and it was made by only 1 person, within 48 hours? You've blown my mind, man, congrats!
I liked the concept of this, although I barely know how to play cards irl, but you made the core mechanics so easy to understand, even with me, so kudos for that! You said this merely a prototype showcasing how the original idea in you head would have looked like, but there are a lot of stuff in this already, so I can't wait to check out the final version in the future!
The only issue I noticed is just some typos and formatting problems in some of the texts on the UI, but overall, this is definitely a top contender for the trophies this time, astounding job!
I filled out the 6 cards and got 2 challenges done but I still lost. I thought it was enough to complete just one challenge but maybe I misunderstood. Cool style and gameplay was also engaging. nice job
Nice ambiance and good gameplay, Had a hard time using the buttons, otherwise well done!
- I like that UI is mostly intuitive with a few exceptions. Highlighting valid options is a very welcome thing. This feature allowed me to overcome stuff like "ODD" challenge when it actually expects an even number.
- The little details, like extra animations (e.g. cards folding) make the game look visually polished. I also see a good shader usage. Visually, this is probably the prettier game of this game jam
- The music becomes repetitive after 5 minutes, although it does create the atmosphere at the start. You probably wouldn't use a single track for the complete game, so for a jam it would be ok just to turn it off after 1 minute at the beginning of every run
- I have a feeling that the starting dialogue is being cut-off, I can only use 1 phrase, get a response and then there is only one option is to skip. Is there anything else to it? The skip button can change to "DONE" if user has seen all the dialogue, just to avoid confusion.
- The tutorial (6 pages) tries to be atmospheric (which is good), but unfortunately, it has tons of text (which is bad in general). Almost nobody will read through it. It's hard to make the good tutorial for a jam game, so I can only state that this approach is not the best one. It does have pics, which is good. If you could get away with 2 or 3 pages instead of 6-7, it would be good enough. A simple idea would be to show more tutorial pages after some levels were completed. Introduce new mechanics and their tutorial as the game progresses.
- I've tried to read the tutorial, but I still failed to memorize what different kinds of map tiles do (a rabbit challenge, test of luck, etc.). It would be cool to have a simple description somewhere on the screen when player hovers over the tile. E.g. "this is a shop tile", etc.
- The intro dialogue seem to be a bit off to me. I get the idea, but maybe it should show up after the player loses for the first time? There are two benefits to it: it reduces the amount of text the new player needs to read, and it also shows the second dimension at a more appropriate moment. It's still OK to show some intro text I think, but don't give it all away from the start
- The "space" button icon is very small on a "Pass" button. I would make it bigger, and maybe even would allow a mouse click for it. Also note that it requires continued press, which may confuse players as they would press space, get no result and think that they need to press something else. The progress bar for a hold state could be more noticeable
- It is easy to use a joker (green one?) on accident. I tried to read the description and play around, but it was used on accident
- Some text is hard to read due to the shader use. It's a stylistic choice, but it can hurt the readability. A larger text could help here, I think
- Gameplay-wise, it's a good game, but some of the matches felt weird. For example, you could fill 5/6 slots, but miss a required card. You can either fail now (because a six card is out of the deck), or you will win at the last pick since there is ~1 card that you need. This means pressing "pass" for multiple rounds without a gameplay. I don't know how to fix that. I think Jokers can help here, but I had a green joker for the main challenge, not for the side challenge.
- Taro is very hard to notice. I instantly forgot about it after reading the turorial. I would ask how many players (%) actually used it, maybe there is an issue with that. For the LD, this mechanic could be excessive, but I'm not 100% sure as I wasn't using it lol. What I mean by excessive is that the game is good as it is, even without Taro. The challenges are varied, there are Jokers, something related to the deck, etc. For a 10-min game (an avg. LD playtime) the Taro sounds like a ng+ content which is not for the start of the game (it's like in Inscription you don't use all mechanics from the start).
Great game, and incredible graphics and audio for the compo. Found it a bit hard to distinguish the spades from the clubs, especially when the clubs said hearts of xxx. Also seemed like I won sometimes when I didn't get the correct cards that was needed. But again really incredible done!
@protzz Yes, I can also rate it on the itch-page. :v:
When you use the arrows to change the cards, the sound sharply shrieks, I almost had a heart attack!
Игра визуально выглядит супер, +реп за обучение, т.к. сперва не понял, что класть карту на ПКМ :upside_down: Про баги писать не буду, тут наверное уже много таких комментов. По геймдизайну - сейчас играть невероятно просто. В том плане, что я буквально закрывал все испытания на мониторах без использования таких механик, как джокеры, таро и магазин. По сути, стандартной колодой 27 карт их все можно выполнить, просто правильно нажиная Пас, за что игра как мне показалось вообще не наказывает. Ещё я не совсем понял, к чему в итоге я должен прийти по мере прохождения (сорри, у меня просто сломалось отображение карты на третий ход). Я вроде ходил по разным клеткам, но мне попадались либо испытания, либо магазин кролика. Если в планах допилить игру до релиза в стиме, всё это обязательно стоит продумать имхо. А так, для двухдневной игры проект выглядит очень солидно, отличная работа!
Good game! A bit bugged, but it is a hard work to do something like this.
О, увидел, что ты русский ^_^ Немного забаговано, но вообще - круто, что ты такую большую работу проделал. Прям достойный наследник Inscription и Buckshot Roulette!
Very good and promising game, hope you'll continue to develop this game. Congratz !
There's some neat ideas with multiple challenges having to be satisfied by playing cards.
Drag and dropping the cards into the corresponding area would be a lot more clean in terms of the controls. It was pretty hard to click the play button which interrupted the flow of the game.
I would see if you can try to trim down on the amount of tutorial text that's needed for the player to understand the game. Cutting down on some of the concepts early on and then introducing them later would also help make the gameplay more digestible for a new player.
Super cool
Nice premise! Also kudos for making this in 48 hours, mad respect. I was not sure what controls to use and selecting with left click and dragging with right threw me off a lot, also, occasionally, input seems to bug out and locks me out of doing anything - happens most often in the shop. Still, even with bugs, this is amazing!
Strong thriller vibe, rules of the game was somewhat intuitive, it was easy to start play. I wish i could actually drag the cards to slots.
Loooove the take on the card game genre, looks amazing, the ambiance is on point, well done !!
Hello, i like idea of game, it very polished for a game made in two days, creepy, gameplay seems hard, but if just start to play, playing is so intuitive, it so cool and there few moments that can be changed to improve game experience
--- - ### Death happens so fast than i can react Im dead im moment, when last card is placed, not in the moment when numbers are calculated and i realized my mistake and the loss. It will be a lot better if in the end of each round there was a time for count points, you see numbers, relize your fault and then try again with learned lesson
--- - ### Tarot and jocker visibility Tarot was be better if appeared in start of round, on all window, bc sometimes it hard to see that tarot used and read so small text with post process on it
Screenshot_45.png Screenshot_49.png
--- - ### Also want report a bugs, this combos is considered incomplete street Screenshot_47.png Screenshot_48.png
Despite everything, it's a lot of work, go ahead and overtake Balatro and Inscription)
I love card games, I think trying to have every challenges cleared makes the game really interesting. Really cool game, great job!
~~Amazing! Serious inscription vibes with a little bit of balatro mixed in! Very dark atmosphere. I hope that this concept will be developed further! I also wish for a more smooth onboarding.~~
~~Reporting a few glitches on mac, the player position was not rendered on a map and joker's descriptions were invisible. The pair combination one time wasn't recognized. It was a pair of aces if it any help.~~
WTF is that behavior
Nothing much to add on the already excellent points & feedback mentioned earlier by @munmungames @pandalk @quasilyte @neeck-kola and others.
But yeah, guess this is what 2 sleepless nights does to a person. I too did a 20hr+ development marathon myself when the idea clicked to me, and I just COULDN'T STOP! Well, good luck for the steam release!!
This game is awesome, I don't really have something lse to say that hasn't been said already, love the style, the mechanics are cool, it's very good for 48 hours, good luck on developing the steam release!
Fun game and as many have already said - Balatro and Inscryption which if you are capturing the energy of those 2 games with some extra sprinkle of horror well did something right, only issues I had was full screen scale issue made some things hard to see on an extra wide screen
Really dig the vibes. Haven't gotten around to playing Balatro yet (I know, it's on my list) but immediately recognized the Inscryption influence. That said, I'm not sure if I misunderstand something or if there's a bug because I swear I lost like three times even though I followed the instructions, but I couldn't tell because it was over too quickly to process what it said. The audio fit the mood nicely, but I do wish the background drone wasn't quite so repetitive. I can definitely see the vision though.
Very cool entry. Really go the Inscryption and Balatro vibe from the game. Good sound design and art style. The core gameplay definitely has some good bones would like to see how you expand on it!
Amazing entry and super cool vibe I got softlocked after using a green joker, and once I finished the quest it bugged and i couldnt grab the only joker sick game
I keep coming back to this entry and randomly playing it lol, I really love it - also just wanted to mention that for compo submissions, sharing source code is required according to the rules and I couldn't find a link to it. I'd love to check out some of the code!
Very cool entry and impressive for compo! Although it's very reminiscent of your inspirations (Inscryption and Balatro), I think you were able to put a nice spin on it with the 3 separate challenges. It was very fun to try and create the combos card by card, working within the 3 cards hand limit and the 27 cards deck limit.
As with all the other card games I've played this jam, I think the only thing lacking on the game is greater attention to UX and user feedbacks. Things like: the card dragging didn't work for me and some of the other controls and screen movement were irritating at times, not being able to see your coins in the shop, rules that are too complicated having to be read all at once instead of organically explained along the game, lack of visual explanations for the combos, etc. But it's understandable for the jam time, just some feedback in case you plan to keep working on the game!
Overall, what really stands out is the mood and atmosphere of the game, with art and visual effects that really complement it, great sound design and, once you understand it, a very engaging gameplay! Congrats!
very well designed game! the learning curve is a little high but it's fun nonetheless. i really like that you can move diagonally and laterally to choose where you want to go next. overall a great game!
@protzz please upload your source code, I think a lot of us would love to see how you pulled this off!
@andrewkennedy Hello Andrew, I’ll be happy to do that, but there are two main problems: 1. I don’t use Git/GitHub at all (I know it’s strange, but still), and 2. This game is going to be released on Steam soon, and there are a lot of things I’d prefer not to share.
I’m really sorry I didn’t mean to disappoint you. But I promise, for my next Ludum Dare, I’ll be more organized.
@protzz You have to share the source code to be in compo! Move to Jam if you don't want to disclose your source code. That's the spirit of LD, playing other people, providing feedback, learning game dev, it's not a promotion platform for you upcoming game....
@dhim Hello, as you say I will post the scripts in google disk, because I do not use git, as I said above. And I made the game in 2 days, so I will not move to another category. And LD did not help me with the promotion of the game, so there is no need to write this here, it makes me sad.
@andrewkennedy I will post the scripts in google disk latter if its not problem
Awesome entry! Good luck with your development! Will check your full project on Steam :3
The game looks nice. But if you want to be in Compo you have to share the source. And you can't use AI art. I mean, the game is ok, but you are not being fair with other participants...
Since you want to put this game on Steam, and since you have made 12(!) posts over the last 6 days, here's some feedback.
The game is very confusing. The dragging of the cards doesn't seem to work, and after selecting an area it visually deselects right after. So even with reading the guide it took me a moment to realize I had to click the card, click the area, and click play card. But it's also confusing how the game works. I get that I need to reach the challenges that are visible on the televisions, but I never understood the scoring. For example, why is the queen of hearts worth more than the king of spades? There is the heart rate mechanic, but what affects my heart rate? I don't seem to have any influence on it, so I'm not sure what the point is.
There doesn't seem to be much strategy. I get a low card, I place it at the low card television. I get a spades, I place it at the spades television. Sometimes there is the matter of what card to place where. Do I use this high card to satisfy the condition of the right television, or do I use it to crank up the score in the center. The problem is that I don't know what cards are in my deck, so it's a complete gamble. A different kind of gamble you would have in Balatro where you have information on what your deck contains. And with bad luck, two important cards get pulled at the same time. One time the center challenge was "even" and I ended up with an uneven number because of a multiplier. It's quite something to ask from the player to calculate what their end score is gonna be to anticipate this.
I'm not a big fan of clones, especially when they don't put in the effort of changing things around. Things like the jokers, multipliers and tarot cards. Speaking of cards, have you drawn them yourself? That's impressive if you did in 48 hours, but if not you should opt out of the graphics category. Also because the rabbit and arm seem to be made with AI.
@protzz no need to post the scripts on git, you can just zip up your game's files (uncompiled) and post them on itch, same page as your game. Let the people learn how you did things, so they can hone their craft too, y'know? After all, it's quite impressive what you accomplished in a mere 48 hours - it would be invaluable to the community to know how exactly you did it!
Also, reconsider this stonewalling of requests. They don't come from a place of malice - it's just that as it is now, your game doesn't comply with the Compo rules, and that might get you disqualified from the jam altogether.
@dhim and @delunado are right. You do have to share your game's source code in order to be considered for the compo category. Not doing so means breaking the gamejam's rules, plain and simple.
You made the game in 2 days. That's cool. But the fact that you still continue to accept ratings in the "graphics" category, despite having used AI to create your visual assets ( meaning they're not self-made ) AND refuse to share your source code is not only against the spirit of the event, but also unfair to all of the other participants who DID play fair and yet didn't rank nearly as high as your submission did.
I'm sorry to say this, but if you refuse to cooperate with the rest of the community and do what is asked of you, your entry will end up disqualified sooner or later. Or at least I hope it will. Because what you're doing here is not acceptable.
@delunado this is not Ai art bro)
@sheepolution Before playing you had to watch the tutorial, and secondly, all the art was done by me.
@ch48 I'll throw all the scripts out today, but I've already explained why I won't show you the full game, because it will be monetized in the future, and I don't want problems with izdal, because my code is in the public domain.
@clink you yourself decided that the graphics were made with the help of AI, but this is not so, if the problem is in the scripts, I will send them today. And you are very aggressive towards me for no reason, it bothers me and makes me think that you are just jealous, I hope this is not so.
Sick visuals, theme as well. Inspirations are visible, but also the nice twist you gave it. I'll have to play it more in depth later to see the later parts of the game, but looks like a sick entry (let alone on your own with the time you had!).
Hello, Ludum Dare community. I’d like to clarify the situation around my project right now.
Many people in the comments have criticized me for promoting my game too much, even though it already gained some attention on Itch.io. I get it and I agree. I won’t continue this on the Ludum Dare platform. That said, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting more people to see your work I believe every developer here hopes for the same. But yes, I understand that this platform is also a place where lesser-known projects deserve the spotlight, and I respect that.
The second issue is the claim that I used AI-generated art. Let me be clear: that’s not true. People who say otherwise are simply wrong. I understand where the confusion comes from, and here’s what actually happened: I did use AI in some capacity either as a reference or for certain small elements but never for creating full images. I’m not an artist; I’m a programmer. The core visuals were created using MagicaVoxel, and all the artwork was refined, edited, and polished by hand. You can’t just plug something into an AI and get the result I got. I worked on it manually, making sure it looked right, had quality, and felt consistent with the style. These images are mine and AI alone wouldn't be able to produce them the way they are now.
Now, about the source code. That’s on me. I will uploaded it Google Drive, the same way Daniel Mullins did, because I plan to release the game on Steam and didn’t want any licensing issues with the publisher due to public exposure. I’m sorry I didn’t handle this earlier this is my first Ludum Dare, and I underestimated how important that part would be. I’ll upload everything tonight. That’s a promise.
@protzz please take a minute and read this. I think the amount of pushback you're getting is because of your behavior, not because of your game.
Your description reads like you've been working on this game for a long time, and wanted to throw people off the scent by preemptively defending the fact that you made everything in 48 hours, pixel-by-pixel, with no sleep. The inconsistent visual styles _does_ feel AI-assisted and/or created from asset packs. On top of that, seeing you excessively promote the game, and getting into arguments in your page here is not a good look.
I'm not going to accuse you of that, but you do have to acknowledge why it smells fishy to a lot of people. This is a community of people who get together and share their work for the love of game development. Even the appearance of being dishonest is a big turn off to a lot of people who come here for community and personal growth.
If you want to earn back the goodwill of the community, my suggestion would be to edit your game and change the category to "Extra". As it stands now, you dishonestly submitted your game in a category without following the rules of providing your source code, and that is just not in the spirit of what this jam is about.
You have a good game idea here, and I would love to see you take it further and sell it on Steam. I think I speak for a lot of other people here when I say I'd buy it on launch day! Please take a moment to reflect on the situation, and I think you'll feel a lot better about the whole thing :slight_smile:
@andrewkennedy I didn't do anything dishonest, and I won't change the game's categorization because I really didn't sleep and only made the game for two days.
This game was a huge endeavor to take on for a compo, and while it is rough around the edges it displays a clear view of the game loop you were aiming for, and it is a very compelling one!
Hey dude, there's a submission hour for everyone to upload their game and source code. I can't believe you missed it, even if you didn't read the rules carefully. That's not fair and goes against the rules. This can't be considered a compo entry anymore.
All you had to do was upload the game you made in 48 hours, include the source code, and then provide a link (like to itch.io or whatever) for a version with fixes and updates. It’s really that simple. Please change the category to jam or extra.
@voidsrc Hey guys. Look, I totally get why you're annoyed with me, although some of you are exaggerating things, like saying I generated the rabbit and the hands with AI. That isn't true. My real mistake was forgetting to upload the source files—I admit that's entirely my fault. The thing is, I don't really use GitHub or Git at all, so it completely slipped my mind. I'm owning up to this error, 100%.
But I won’t switch to Jam or Extra categories because that would invalidate the whole point of the challenge. I created my game solo in just two days, so moving me to a category where others had more time, pre-existing graphics, or larger teams would immediately put me at an unfair disadvantage. I’d essentially lose right from the start.
Also, uploading my code late hasn't actually impacted your or anyone else's results. It didn't give me any kind of advantage. Again, it’s my mistake, and I’m not denying it.
I understand why this became a bigger deal—my game got pretty popular on itch.io and received many ratings here on Ludum Dare. Naturally, it attracts more scrutiny, and I get why you'd want to remove a strong competitor. But I doubt you've thoroughly checked all smaller projects—many of them also have missing or private GitHub links, and no one seems to care about that. Probably because they're not seen as serious competition.
I won’t change anything about my submission for these reasons. Just like you, I created this game entirely within the two-day limit. If I move categories, I’m immediately competing with people who had more time and resources—something I simply couldn't afford.
I genuinely hope you can understand my perspective and consider this logically. Yes, it’s completely my fault for being late with the files. But it’s my first jam, and I noticed others also hadn't included their sources initially, so I didn’t think it was a big deal at the time.
Lastly, the late upload had zero effect on your outcome or anyone else’s, so I honestly don’t see any reason why I should change categories.
I really do hope you understand. I'm genuinely sorry—I messed up, and I feel pretty bad about it.
@protzz Hi, I might not be the ideal person to write this since it is also my first Compo, but I took the time before the event to familiarize myself with the rules properly. Look, I truly understand your view and I was team “Just upload it and we’ll forget” (even though that for some people it’s still not enough) BUT what you’ve uploaded is not the source code for the game.
The source should be full, including all art and scene setups you’ve created, not just “the code”. That’s the rules of the Compo and if you’re not able to follow them you should switch to Jam / Extra.
I understand you are pushing for a steam release and that’s the reason you can’t share it fully - I get it, but it’s not really an exception. The sources should be publicly available if you are in the Compo, you can always “start over” in a private code base and keep it to yourself. I think you’ve gained plenty of attention for your game (both here and on itch.io - and I truly am rooting for you!) and your real win will be a successful steam release. But you just can’t ride two horses at the same time.
Regarding the use of AI - there’s a big difference between taking an AI image and polishing it (not Compo viable, at least without opting out of the graphics category) to generating reference images and creating it from scratch by yourself (Compo viable).
I know the criticism might be overwhelming, but I think you need to reflect on what’s best for your game right now - the bad taste it leaves on some people or a chance at a “win” in the compo as is. Hope you take the right course of actions here on.
On a personal note - I liked your game and I would definitely wishlist it on steam.
Check the rules before competing, bud. It’s your responsibility to follow them if you want to stay in the category, but you missed the deadline to upload the game’s source code and now you’re refusing to do it. That’s against the rules.
This isn’t a platform to promote your future commercial game, so no one’s buying the stuff you're saying about "evil publishers."
I really hate having to say all this, because your game looks and plays great. It’s a big miss. Hopefully, next jam you’ll play fair.
@voidsrc I’m still playing fair.
I’ve already admitted that not sharing the source code on time was my mistake — and I truly regret it. But as I’ve said above, the delay didn’t prevent anyone from launching my game or enjoying it like every other entry. I understand that some people insist this is a serious issue, and I accept that. But let’s be honest — the real reason behind the backlash is not the missing code. You’re just trying to knock down a strong competitor. And I doubt most of you even plan to look at the code itself. You simply want to increase your own chances of winning.
Which, in a way, is understandable — but let’s not pretend it’s something more noble. Trying to bring someone down just to get ahead is not a good look. Maybe you’re already giving my game low scores — I wouldn’t know. If so, that’s your decision. But it’s a shame to see it come to that.
I never tried to promote my game on Ludum Dare. I did that on Itch.io — and the moment someone asked me to stop here, I stopped. I respected the request, because I know others need space too. But let’s be real — when someone with a game about a sheep posts their update, no one complains. That feels like a double standard to me.
And once again, the fact that I uploaded the code a bit later had absolutely zero effect on the visibility or reception of your game. This isn’t about fairness — this is about trying to take away something I earned. I made this game in two days. I created the art myself. I followed the same rules you did. I deserve to be here as much as anyone else.
Yes, I made a mistake. It won’t happen again. But I’m not pulling my game from the compo — and if you want to downvote it, that’s on you. I can’t stop you. I just want to say: I didn’t expect this to become such a big deal. But I own up to it — and I stand by what I’ve created.
I still believe in fair play, even if I don’t see much of it right now.
Chill, strong competitor. Do you realize that you're disrespecting other people's work by saying things like that and making the whole situation even worse?
@ntmalichi Hey man,
First of all, thanks for saying so many good things about my game — but let’s be real here. What you’re actually doing is trying to push me out of the compo to give your own game a better shot at winning.
As I’ve already said — and will say again — you’re not asking for my source code because you’re genuinely curious. You just want an excuse. You don’t need my artwork. You don’t need my animations — they don’t even work outside my project. What exactly were you expecting to get from them? My card models? Again — why? What would you even do with them?
Let’s not pretend this is about transparency or curiosity. The rules said source code — and I provided the source code. That’s what was required, and I delivered.
Now, about your suggestion that I should move my game to Jam or Extra — that’s just unfair. Those categories allow for longer development time, bigger teams, and use of third-party assets. I did everything myself in two days, followed the rules, and made something I’m proud of. It wouldn’t make any sense to lump my game in with entries that had more time, more resources, and more people. That wouldn’t be fair — to me or to the other devs in those categories.
So honestly, I think you should focus on your own game instead of trying to tear mine down. The fact that I uploaded my code a little later didn’t give me any advantage. It didn’t hurt your game. You just found a reason to latch onto so you could push me out of the way.
And I’ll say this again: the first person who asked for my code was respectful and genuine. But once some people realized they could use it against me, they started applying pressure. I see through that — and I won’t be switching categories.
If you want to downvote my game, that’s your choice. It’s on your conscience. I know I probably won’t win at this point — too many 1s coming in for no good reason. But that’s life. I’m still playing fair. I shared the code even though I initially didn’t want to, mainly because of the Steam release — and, honestly, because I forgot.
What happens next is up to you. I just hope we can keep the spirit of this event intact — where games are made out of passion, not politics.
@ntmalichi Hey man,
First of all, thanks for saying so many good things about my game — but let’s be real here. What you’re actually doing is trying to push me out of the compo to give your own game a better shot at winning.
As I’ve already said — and will say again — you’re not asking for my source code because you’re genuinely curious. You just want an excuse. You don’t need my artwork. You don’t need my animations — they don’t even work outside my project. What exactly were you expecting to get from them? My card models? Again — why? What would you even do with them?
Let’s not pretend this is about transparency or curiosity. The rules said source code — and I provided the source code. That’s what was required, and I delivered.
Now, about your suggestion that I should move my game to Jam or Extra — that’s just unfair. Those categories allow for longer development time, bigger teams, and use of third-party assets. I did everything myself in two days, followed the rules, and made something I’m proud of. It wouldn’t make any sense to lump my game in with entries that had more time, more resources, and more people. That wouldn’t be fair — to me or to the other devs in those categories.
So honestly, I think you should focus on your own game instead of trying to tear mine down. The fact that I uploaded my code a little later didn’t give me any advantage. It didn’t hurt your game. You just found a reason to latch onto so you could push me out of the way.
And I’ll say this again: the first person who asked for my code was respectful and genuine. But once some people realized they could use it against me, they started applying pressure. I see through that — and I won’t be switching categories.
If you want to downvote my game, that’s your choice. It’s on your conscience. I know I probably won’t win at this point — too many 1s coming in for no good reason. But that’s life. I’m still playing fair. I shared the code even though I initially didn’t want to, mainly because of the Steam release — and, honestly, because I forgot.
What happens next is up to you. I just hope we can keep the spirit of this event intact — where games are made out of passion, not politics.
@protzz You know, I was actually rooting for you. But saying I was just telling you this so I can try and take out a threat - that's offending and rude, you really lost me as a supporter. I really wanted you to understand the situation and fix it (for all I cared, and like I said - I would have been fine with just uploading the source code). If I was all about "winning" here I wouldn't rank high any other game really. Actually in most cases if I had nothing good to say about an entry here I just wouldn't rank it. I think 95% of my feedback was mostly positive up until now. I think you don't understand the spirit of the competition and you should really reflect on yourself.
And yes - source code (including art and scene setup) IS A BIG DEAL. The idea is that you don't "own" what you've made here, that's the rules of the compo and you have to respect that. The reason is so other can use it as inspiration, or even just copy it and use it - and that's completely fine, you signed up for it. Also - when publishing the game, there was a checkmark for "I provided source code for my game", so saying just "forgot" to upload it is either a blatant lie or complete foolery. You said you are taking responsibility for the mistake - how exactly? By just saying you do and nothing else? You can't just decide by what rules to abide and what not.
And also - I think many of the messages here are really polite and pointing out some crucial stuff about your entry (AI usage + no source code) and instead of reading, understanding and acting accordingly, you just strike back and think that everyone here tries to steal your throne. I'm bummed by the way you're acting, that's childish, not respectful and not in the spirit of this jam.
I'm not going to continue discussing it here, I hope you make the right decisions from now on.
"I just hope we can keep the spirit of this event intact" - I don't mean to be rude, but.. I don't think you understand the spirit of this event at all.
This is not a competition with actual stakes. This is an event where the grand prize is *a shoutout on a twitter account nobody but your fellow devs follow*. Most games that get lots of traction in LD go nowhere, and there are games that get barely any traction and abyssmal grades, and still get big in the end (take Hollow Knight as an example).
You have to face the fact that your game being in Compo is unfair towards other people in the Compo category, who followed all the rules to a tee, including **uploading their project files on time, as proof that all the assets were made within the 48 hours**. Just because you claim to have made your game alone in 48 hours doesn't mean you qualify for Compo. The fact that you absolutely REFUSE to do that takes away a huge chunk of your credibility. Besides, your worrying about other people "stealing your assets" really shows how low you think of your fellow developers and artists. In fact, in my 8 years of making Ludum Dare games, I've never seen a more disgraceful approach to this event than what you've shown so far.
Also, breaking the rules in an event with no prizes other than clout is just.. bad for publicity, y'know? This is a terrible look that's gonna make your game very difficult to market and sell to people who care about artistic integrity even a tiny bit, not to mention it'll scare away any potential publishers.
This is all just a case of honesty and fair play. The longer you continue to be dismissive of yourself breaking the rules and of the community's concerns, the more flak you'll catch from everyone.
Be better.
I'm sorry, I'm really sorry.
i would like to apologize to everyone i might have offended. this is my first jam and i made a mistake, i dont want to leave ludum dare, i like the vibe here but it feels like i am not welcome here anymore which makes me really sad, i just want you to know that i am not a bad person in life, at least i try to be. my position is that i dont want to leave compo because i made the game in 2 days and it would hurt me mentally to realize that i have to give up compo because i screwed up with the source code. i am really sorry, honestly.
It's not about being sorry, it's about doing the right thing
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Too hot in this topic. I think all should chill and relax :sunflower:
Can we just take a moment to reflect on what you are saying?
> "the real reason behind the backlash is not the missing code. You’re just trying to knock down a strong competitor."
> "What you’re actually doing is trying to push me out of the compo to give your own game a better shot at winning."
> "you’re not asking for my source code because you’re genuinely curious. You just want an excuse."
Big words for someone not following the rules of the competition. You're also aware that many people here submitted to the Jam right? Trying to "push you out of the compo" in no way affects the outcome of the Jam results.
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But hey, I'm a fair critic. You want feedback? Here you go.
There are no volume controls. The constant heartbeat sound is annoying after the first minute, so I muted the itch tab.
Depending on the resolution of the game, (in full screen, ultrawide) the UI doesn't scale properly moving the "skip" button off screen.
Depending on the resolution of the game, (in the default window size in itch) text is cut off the horizontal edges, making certain elements unreadable. You need a lot more testing on what the game is like in different resolutions.
A handful of typos, mostly a missing spacebar somewhere. "beggedfor", "corperationchose"
The actual game is entirely RNG. You can have a round where a requirement is to play a six, and never draw a six card. There's no strategy in that. Adding story elements to say "being unlucky is part of the experience" is just an bad excuse for bad design.
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In my ten years of participating in the Ludum Dare Compo, I have never seen such arrogance. Such disrespect towards both the rules and your fellow developers. Even the most controversial game of Ludum Dare 48's Compo (if you know, you know) didn't double down this much. Heck, they even changed their game to a Jam entry.
To say it once again, providing the full source of your game is a requirement of the Ludum Dare Compo. No matter how big or small your Compo submission is, the full source is and always has been required. Every art asset, every sound file, every line of code, shader, or otherwise. Even if you don't think anybody will download it, even if the files "only work in your project". Every other Compo entry follows these rules. What makes your game special enough to violate that? Because you plan to put it on Steam? If you don't want the source files of your project to be made public, then don't compete in the Compo. "You can't eat your cake and have it too."
Just take your project, .zip it, and upload the whole thing. Or switch to the jam. Those are your options.
And if you'd like to share why the itch io page was updated 24 hours ago, I'm all ears. If you are making changes to the game (which the timestamps on the code files you provided would indicate), you need to provide the original unmodified game.
Be better.
There are lots of files from your "source code" that has dates from before the Jam. Like lots of Unity metas, images and some code (although in Compo you can reuse code).
It doesn't look like things where all made in 48 hours...
date.png
You should switch from Compo to Jam or Extra. Accept your responsibility. You simply did not follow the rules. But what pisses people off the most is your ‘winner’ and ‘competitor’ attitude.
This is Ludum Dare. It's a Game Jam. The spirit of these events is the opposite of WINNING and COMPETITION. It's about SHARING and LEARNING.
It's great that you made a good game. Congratulations. Hopefully you can finish it and publish it and make a living from making games.
But this is not about ‘getting competitors out of the way’. It's about being fair and following the rules you agreed to when you participated. If you don't change your category yourself, I hope there is some kind of moderation that will do it. Be careful, because it could be worse to get disqualified than to change your entry in time.
I was playing this quite late. Was done playing and saw the heat in the comments. I will try to rate your game as neutral as possible. From what I can tell you're a very passionate person, who put alot of effort into this project. And props to you, that with your first gamejam you made such a cool game.
But from what I can tell (knowing little about the current debate), its not that we players dislike what you did, actually the contrary. Most of here are impressed with your work and want to rate it high, but I think the more you dismiss the fact that the rules weren't obeyed (even if a mere mistake) is a factor that we can't just look past.
I know that it's incredibly annoying and feels unfair. And personally I believe you, that you made the game in two days. But think about the fact that everyone has to play by the rules. If any other makes a mistake (me included) that we wouldn't make any differences.
But I don't wanna deepen this heat here, so I'm gonna say, good job! Your game is very well done and has a super interesting gameplay loop. It has a unique spin on the roguelike genre and invokes strategy.
Keep it up, brother!
Hi @protzz, the curiosity got the better of me and I had to re-read the thread. I hope you are still here.
Look it’s okay to do mistakes, and it’s also okay to own up to them. I think you deleting the game and your profile was the last outcome anyone here wanted. I think there are much simpler solutions and I hope you still read this and decide to bring the game back.
If it eases your mind - I don’t hold any grudge against you, I get that the wave of criticism was overwhelming and that you had to go into a defensive state. You are indeed passionate about the game and I still hope seeing you on steam.
tl;dr: you guys went too far. It's understandable that you reacted like that, but if it's not a race to win (as you said), why getting involved with someone's **first** jam? The don't know the vibes/atmosphere precisely because of that - it's their first time. I guess you showed the atmosphere - you either 100% right or get out of here. Not to mention they did publish their sources after some backs and fourths.
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It looks like bullying and guilt tripping. As much as you might care about the rules, I do think they matter the most if we're talking about the top3 games after the rating. If this game would be, say, `#20`, would it even matter?
LD compo gets less and less participants every time, I'm not even kidding here, just look up the stats. The elitism attitude does not make it better. People have varying senses of rules, etc.
In 4-5 LD, you'll be among the 50-100 people that are still here. Congrats. I hope all of them are up to the bar of your standards, otherwise you'll need to draw your sword again.
And if the rules wanted to be super precise about the "sources", they would just say "everything to build and run your game", instead of saying "source code" putting an emphasis on the code side of things.
It's like "making from scratch" is a topic for some debates, how far can you go with using libraries and frameworks, etc.
I'll personally hit something around `#300`-`#200`, I really don't care if there is a game at `#20` that wasn't 100% fair in some aspect of the compo. :) I'm here for feedback, experience, and networking.
@quasilyte it's not bullying or an having an elitist attitude, but I agree some comments have been quite inflammatory.
- Generative AI was clearly used for the cover image, which is still up on itch (check the cards), and likely other illustrations SCR-20250414-lpts.png - Project files date back to weeks before the jam - Game description was clearly written by AI, and including "made everything in 48 hours, pixel-by-pixel, with no sleep" is just a smokescreen - Game doesn't really fit the jam theme? - OP has doubled down several times that all assets were made from scratch, but I even found the card pack used after a quick google search: https://drawsgood.itch.io/8bit-deck-card-assets
*"Now, about your suggestion that I should move my game to Jam or Extra — that’s just unfair. Those categories allow for longer development time, bigger teams, and use of third-party assets. I did everything myself in two days, followed the rules, and made something I’m proud of. It wouldn’t make any sense to lump my game in with entries that had more time, more resources, and more people. That wouldn’t be fair — to me or to the other devs in those categories."*
It's very ironic that they decided to post this, when it's exactly what they've done themselves. So it's not about being unfair or overly scrutinizing. This wasn't a mistake - OP made an attempt to purposefully deceive other participants of the jam, and lying when rightfully getting called out for it. This would have been a wonderful entry for the jam category, seriously. It is a great game, and clearly has a lot of potential. Great hook, mood, game loop. I hope they continue developing the game and release it on Steam, I'd honestly buy it.
@busisen I'm not 100% sure that you can't use whatever you want for the cover/description of the game. People tend to work on the game's page even after a deadline. I thought it's permitted tbh, but I don't care enough to re-check it. People do that, that's about it.
> Game doesn’t really fit the jam theme?
Neither does my game fit it. I'm sure it's not a single game's fault. I'm not proud of it, but I would like to avoid such group attack, it doesn't worth it.
To be clear, I don't paint the author as a full victim here. It's a complex situation, I just don't like the outcome and the way communication was performed. I'm more open to mistakes and people saying they're sorry (esp. when they submitted the sources after all, even more so if it's the first timer).
As a person, I can imagine being in the same shoes. Doing something wrong (from any kind of perspective), and then reacting too emotionally, being unable to properly react to a crisis-like situation. If someone is telling others to be better, they can show how to be better.
I do think that losing a member that was probably willing to change and acknowledge their mistakes is a loss. I hope that they come again next compo and we never talk about this exact situation ever again, with lessons learned and all.
@quasilyte that's fair, I don't really care either (maybe more about the cover), and for the theme it's definitely subjective - didn't mean it as a wrong necessarily, just something that raised suspicions for me. doubling down on creating everything from scratch in 48h but using asset packs and likely working on it for longer while trying to hide it are the main issues people have I believe.
@busisen Honestly, I don’t understand how people can sink even lower — accusing someone of things that simply aren’t true. You think I bought assets in advance or started working on the game before the jam? That’s a complete lie. I’m not going to insult anyone — that’s not who I am. But everything being said about me is absolute nonsense.
Yes, I used references. Yes, I drew from them. But everything you see in my game was created by me, manually, in Magical Voxel. Every card is a 3D model I made and refined myself. I didn’t just cut out images from the internet or throw in premade assets. I built them from scratch. And now you’re devaluing all that work — why? What are you trying to achieve?
I already withdrew my game from the jam to stop the wave of negativity. Yet you keep pushing. Why? Because you can’t accept the idea that I was a participant? Someone even posted a tiny cropped screenshot from one of my test models — just a single queen card — and tried to make it look like I had everything done in advance. That was never a final asset — it was just a sizing test. Taking it out of context like that is blatant manipulation.
And yes — I’ve said before that I used AI in small parts of the process. But everything was heavily edited, redrawn, and reworked by hand. AI was a tool, not a crutch. If you think you can generate what I did with a single prompt — go ahead, try. But the truth is: I made this myself.
You ignore the facts. You ignore that I submitted my full source code, my graphics, everything required. I didn’t knowingly break any rules. If I misunderstood something, I admit that. But the way you attacked me — with personal insults and bad faith assumptions — that says more about you than it does about me.
I’m no longer a participant in Ludum Dare 57. But the accusations haven’t stopped. Why? Is it really about the rules — or just envy? Fear of competition? Or the need to tear someone down for your own satisfaction?
It hurts. It genuinely hurts. I poured time, energy, and heart into this project. And all I got in return was harassment and false accusations. I hope you remember this — because you didn’t just criticize my game. You erased all the effort I put into it, just to feel like you won something.image_2025-04-14_12-44-02.png
maxresdefault (1).jpg
@artel Вот это правильно
Hi @protzz, I want to try and set things right.
I apologize if I offended you in any way. I should not have intervened since there was already enough criticism going on. I thought maybe as a newcomer too I could try and help you “save” the situation but I might have made things worse.
I really did try to get you to do the two simple things that for me would completely correct all the wrongs and would have satisfied you staying at the Compo: 1. Dropping out of graphics if AI was heavily used - which I’m not going to discuss because it’s a grey area, I do believe you put hard work into the graphics if thats of any comfort. 2. Either submitting full sources or switching to the jam Like I said in my previous messages for all I cared doing these would have been 1000% fine by me.
I felt your response to my message was insulting, I was accused of doing something I didn’t do - I really did try to help and I had good intentions. So I responded accordingly.
A few hours later when I logged back in and saw you took out your entry I was truly saddened. This was never what I aimed for and I believe nobody did. I get why your response to me was offensive - there was a huge wave of criticism going on already and I just joined in. Like I said before, I’m sorry for that - I should have stayed out.
Just so you know - I really liked your entry, I hope you somehow can bring it back. And I hope you have a successful steam release. I’d surely support it.
@ntmalichi Hey man. I’m not here to argue or throw accusations — I just want to tell you my story, because I think it speaks louder than any kind of response.
I’ve been programming since I was 11 years old. It’s something deeply personal to me. I grew up with games — they were both my teachers and my entertainment. My dad is a programmer. My brother is a programmer. Even my sister became one. So naturally, I followed that same path.
I love games more than anything else in my life. They’re not just a hobby — they’re how I rest, how I recharge, how I live. For the first time in six years, I decided to take part in a big competition — Ludum Dare. I saw someone else participating, and I got inspired by the spirit of the event. So I joined in.
I prepared for it for a long time. This was, honestly, my first major jam. I’d heard of Ludum Dare before, and I wanted to make something that would stand out. I spent days coming up with the idea. I made Excel sheets to balance the game. I gathered reference images for the cards — which you can see above. And yes, even for that, I was attacked and accused, even though I openly shared my sources — and honestly, that felt humiliating. Because if a debate turns into a courtroom, it’s not really a debate anymore.
When I finally released my game, I loved it. That’s why I shared it a lot. That’s why I posted about it. That’s why I promoted it — because I cared. I really love making games.
I was so happy when I saw it appear on Itch.io and saw people actually liking it. So when someone messaged me asking for the source code, I immediately said, “No problem. I’ll upload it today.” And I did.
But that still wasn’t enough. People started accusing me of everything — using AI, making things in advance, cheating. Things I never did. You have no idea how deeply disappointed and hurt I was. It hit me personally — because this is something I genuinely love. I didn’t want to switch categories, or go to the jam section, because it felt unfair. I spent so much time and heart on this. I prepared properly.
I don’t think you’ll ever truly understand how painful this was for me.
@protzz I do get it, and in hindsight - maybe I should have not intervened. I'm sorry that this is the experience you've had.
I get that you are passionate about game development, BUT, I think that everyone here shares your passion about game development. And that's the reason that when it looks like (emphasis on the looks) someone is not playing by the rules it's causing anger and uproar.
I think that the main reason people (me included) criticized you, was not your your submission mistakes, it was your lack of cooperation. You didn't want to upload the source code initially because you are going for a steam release. And after some time when you finally accepted that you must, you only uploaded the code itself (which the majority of the community here thinks is not the author's intention - https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/deepdarkfantasies/source-code-compo-rule) Also - the way you talked about the Jam was infuriating. It seemed like it was a shame for you to be in the jam and not in the compo. I think that if you would have just said "I accidently missed it somehow, sorry, uploading now" no one would have cared too much about it (If all files where modified within the right time range of course).
But this + AI usage + files dating back to before the jam (didn't check it myself, just echoing what someone else wrote) + game that is not really in the theme of the event (which is absolutely fine by itself, but another thing that might raise suspicion) + constant promotion + early steam release announcement - It all piled up and looked really suspicious, you MUST understand that. This is how it looked externally, even if it's not what really happened.
I understand that it's painful to experience criticism, especially since it's your first event, but I believe that you should have taken it as a lesson, do what people with more experience in this type of events tell you and learn for next time on how to properly attend the competition. If I was in your shoes, I just would have said "sorry, understood" and switched to the jam. (Or opt out of graphics + share my full source code) Definitely would not have tried to fight it back, because even if you "win" this fight, you still lose because people are left with bad taste.
I hope we can all learn from this to the next event, I hope to see you there.
it deeply saddens me to see so many people defending such a gross disrecpect of our community's rules and members
the dev refused to adhere to two of the core rules of the event they signed up for (refused to release the source code, then later the community discovered that some files dated back as far as 2 weeks before compo even started). throughout the event, even before the accusations started going around, they showed clear awareness of one of said rules (they made plenty of claims of having made the game solo from start to finish in 48 hours)
on top of that, they refused to change the game's category when called out on the discrepancies, with claims of said callouts being adversarial, when it was just people trying to look out for them
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why even have the organized event at all, if we're okay with people not adhering to neither the letter nor the spirit of its core rules (and in such a blatant fashion, no less)?
if this were an oopsie (and let's face it, it wasn't) this whole shitshow wouldn't have happened in the first place
with that said, i still hope we see the dev here again come october (if only for them to submit a proper compo entry, truly made start to finish within the 48 hours, with the source files included on time)
oh wow, I have now read the full thread and this escalated out of proportion. I came from a good place with my message, even if I was sour and did not want you to remove your game.
Let me say that I was sour in my first message seeing your game promotion for future releases, which I felt detracted from the overall tone of focusing on LD. I could have used a more benevolent tone, encouraging you to focus on the event, what you liked about it, and what it was like to make it in 48 hours. How do you do with no sleep for 48 hours, how do you survive on Monday? That's what I want to discuss with the community, e.g. me, I started the LD hangover, and when I am tired, I work on music cause it brings energy. I code in the afternoon and arts in the evenings.
Regarding my other comment, it's a pet peeve of me. Source code (in the broader sense of "open source") is critical for me as part of the COMPO, *that is the thing of the COMPO: makes everything/shares everything!* It means that you are fully committed to making a game for the community. It's not about the time it takes; I have made mine this year with half a day I had to take care of my youngest (and a hungover...), and it's not unfair to me not to have the full 48 hours, I just make do with the time I have. If you want to make and share a game but not the source, then Jam is there. you can make it in 48 hours, say that you made it in 48 hours, and have it there. Jam is not less important because people have more time, more people, or existing assets. Their games are usually better; Jam entries are a bit more polished, a work of a longer love. I understand artist/dev/designer/musician creators of all sorts that want to keep their trade their own and share only the results, not the process. That is their own right, not everyone needs to be an open-source activist. But then they don't enter an open source compo.
I am saddened by this thread, and I should not have said anything or let my sour mood/pet peeve hinder your compo experience. this should be a place of learning and not of endless arguing; there is nothing to gain from this discussion. Even you not complying would have had only a marginal effect on the jam that would have been better than all that discussion.
@protzz I hope you'll come back in October! I know this thread has everyone feeling a little sour, but at the end of the day, this is an awesome community to be a part of. Take some time for yourself over the next few months, keep working on game development, and come back better than ever! If you're willing to learn from this, put this behind you, and come back in six months, I'm sure most everyone in this thread will welcome you back. That's just my two cents.
And if you don't ever want to come back, I understand that too. Even if Hark wasn't meant to be a LD game, I hope you'll keep working on it! I can see myself buying it from Steam if it ever gets released!
That's all from me. Take care! :smile: