. by protzz 2025-04-13T19:54:56Z
"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.