The MiniLD #61 is basically a warm-up jam to get people prepared for the main event, in this case the Ludum Dare. This MiniLD was hosted by WetDesertRock. The theme for this jam was “A Necessary Weakness”, challenging developers to tackle their biggest weakness as a game developer. I recorded all of the games in my video compilation series. Below are some of my favorites, in a random order.

Beggar Tycoon is a game that puts you in the role of a beggar who is looking to gain as much money as possible in a week. Different people respond to different phrases or actions that you can do. If you make the different people walking relate to you, they are more likely to give you money. There are four actions that you can make; a rock and roll action, an “I Love Pink” phrase, a “live longer” phrase, as well as saying the words “please help”, which can be upgraded to a flute. Each different phrase can make a few people empathize with you, but will also make a few people less likely to give you money. At the end of each day you can spend your hard earned money to get upgrades to help you earn more the next day. Remember, you only have a week to rack up as much cash as you can. Spend it wisely. The developer’s weakness was to make their own graphics. These ones are pixel art and not too bad, if I don’t so myself.

Horsing Around is a game about a horse that loves partying! This horse always finds some quality hay to partake in before the party starts, to ensure the party is awesome of course. The farmer of your horse pasture leaves hay out, but does not like the horse to eat it. You must navigate the horse around the maze like field to get the hay and then back to its barn. Soon, the farmer notices his missing hay and starts to put out horse detectors. These black devices can tell when the horse is around it or stepping on it by detecting the sound of horse hooves. When the horse has partaken in some hay, their steps are louder, so you must be extra careful not to linger by a device. The developer’s weakness was making their own music. The music is pretty simple, but there are two versions; one played while the horse is ‘sober’ and another version of the same music when the horse is on hay. These variations are pretty nice and add some depth to the game.

Journey to the Center of the Sun is a point and click adventure in which you follow your dreams. You woke up from a vivid dream of flying a rocket to the sun. Now it is your goal in life, since a rocket crash landed onto your apartment building and you need to figure out what to do with yourself anyway. You must explore your town talking to people who will help you get towards your dream. Each character can be spoken to several times, as they have more to say to you after a while. These characters, including a Ninja Turtle, will help you obtain your rocket and blast off into space. This game ends abruptly, I hope the developer continues to work on this game post-jam. The combination of hand drawn, moving graphics and humorous dialog make for a unique, fun experience. The developer’s weakness was graphics, though these hand drawn graphics give the game a lot of character!

Note: The next two games are very incomplete, but I loved aspects of them and really hope that they continue in development.

Bank Life has you working in a bank. This game, much like Papers, Please has you looking at a few documents and deceding whether or not the consumer is able to withdraw money. You will receive a passport, a withdrawal slip, and a bank account ID slip. If all of this information is correct, and not expired, you can click the green button on your panel. This will give you the money that you must then feed through the slot of your panel. You will keep the withdrawal slip for the bank’s records. Currently this game is very simple: if you get anything wrong, you get a citation. You can play until you feel like stopping, though there is a clock ticking down your day. This game is very incomplete, but is a game to watch. The developer has stated that he may finish this game; which is something I personally look forward too!

Runaway Burger is a very incomplete game about a burger that has run away. This burger is currently hanging out outside of the fast food place that it came from. You can hop this escapee around, knocking it into cans or climbing picnic tables. This game currently has no objective, but has awesome 3D graphics and quite awesome movement on the jumpy burger - which, while jumping, comes apart by ingredient, then flops back together. The developer said that 3D graphics were a weakness, though the graphics in this game are super well done.

#miniLD61 #LDJAM #JourneytotheCenteroftheSun #HoursingAround #BeggarTycoon #BankLife #RunawayBurger