The latest Ludum Dare competition, a 48-hour game development marathon where amateur creators of all stripes race to design and build a game in just two days, has finished.
[partner id="wireduk"]The 21st edition of the game jam, which tasked indie developers with making games to the theme of "Escape," saw over 500 short and sweet games being produced in a strict two-day time limit.
Amongst the bedroom coders and amateur gamesmiths, a number of notable indie developers joined the fray – including Marcus "Notch" Persson, the mastermind behind indie sensation Minecraft. His latest Ludum Dare game (he's a regular entrant) is called Prelude of the Chambered, and looks like a cross between Persson's own low-fi Minecraft and the mind-blowing 3D maze screensaver that came bundled with Windows 95.
It's also reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda, in that you'll have to find new items, beat up monsters and solve smart puzzles to escape the chamber. It's an impressive, and surprisingly long, affair for its two-day development.
Zelda's influence is also crystal clear in Bomber Planet, a top-down "copyright-groping mashup" of a handful of Nintendo properties, by Adam Saltsman. Saltsman is behind what is perhaps the watermark for indie "escape" games, Canabalt.
The 48-hour competition also saw puzzler Escape! Data Entry Sentry from Shaun Inman, who only just finished The Last Rocket on iPhone, and plenty more games from indie creators of all shapes and sizes. Gamers will now judge the entries for the next few weeks to pick a selection of winners.
If you'd like to try your hand at a future Ludum Dare competition, the 22nd jam will begin later this year. You can either go solo and stick to the 48 hour limit for the main competition, or just take part with the relaxed, 72 hour jam.
See Also:- Time Pygmy Wins Ludum Dare 19 Indie Game Challenge
