Ludum Dare 40

I participated in Ludum Dare 40 this weekend!  The theme was "The more you have, the worse it is."

I've spent a lot of my spare time in November learning Game Maker 2 by trying to build a Tower Defense game. So, when the theme was announced I immediately thought, that sounds like a Tower Defense game!  So, that's what I made.  You play as a mage who’s been imprisoned in a maze built as a prison for criminals with magic abilities.   There are monsters patrolling the halls and you can cast a spell that creates a Totem (tower) that can shoot fireballs.  It's pretty basic, but I think it works pretty well.  I think it'll be very hard to beat.

Game Maker preformed great!  It was one of the most productive gamejams I've done.  Game Maker did get on my nerves in a few places but overall I was impressed how quickly I could get ideas working.  I can see using it more going forward.  But, I must admit a part of me still wants to dump it and just write something from scratch, typical programmer.

The game itself is pretty interesting and I can see a lot of ways to make it better.  It's basically a Roguelike mashed with Tower Defense.  So, making the maze procedurally generated is the clear next step.   I'll see how the reception goes, if is does a tiny bit okay, then I'll probably make a post-compo version and expand on the ideas.

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/40/the-prison-maze-of-ozxu