Ludum Dare 39 starts today! I previously wrote about Ludum Dare with tips for completing your game along with getting the most out of itch.io, so check that out if you haven’t already.
Ludum Dare is a good opportunity to try something new, like a new game engine, library, or art tool. This will be my thirteenth game made for Ludum Dare (if I manage to finish). I'll be trying out a new engine this time : TIC-80 (it’s got built in MoonScript support!)
itch.io has a huge collection of game development resources and game assets. For this article I've collected some tools that have caught my interest that are worth checking out if you'd like to give yourself an additional challenge. I'll definitely be referring to this list for myself to mix things up in future Ludum Dares. If you have any suggestions for the list please leave a comment.
Before we get started, don’t forget to tag your game ludum-dare-39 on itch.io when uploading your game so we can easily find projects to feature and share!
A fantasy console powered by Lua, MoonScript, and JavaScript. The built in map, sprite, code, and music editors let you develop your entire game inside the engine. Games use a 16 color palette and 240x136 display. You can easily export games to native executables or embed them in a browser with HTML5 export.
A browser based game development tool that doesn’t require any coding. Create tile based rooms that the player can explore.
https://pixelvision8.itch.io/game-creator
A game development platform that can target a wide range of 8-bit fantasy console limitations, either from existing consoles or something completely made up. Games are coded in Lua and C#.
https://sparklinlabs.itch.io/superpowers
A 2D and 3D game engine where you can program games in JavaScript or TypeScript. Games can be expored to the web for easy distribution. Includes a development environment where you can write your game’s code and objects.
https://ramilego4game.itch.io/liko12
A Lua based fantasy console that runs on top of LÖVE. In includes a larger drive than most fantasy consoles, so could it suitable for building larger games. A DOS like operating system is included to interface with the console.
https://melloland.itch.io/vectorboy
A fantasy console with a vector display (instead of more common pixel based displays). You can program you games in Lua.
https://scirra.itch.io/construct-2-game-maker-tool
A full featured game development platform to create 2D games. Supports exporting to native executables and the web.
https://liamtwose.itch.io/adlengine
A text based adventure engine that supports a multiplayer gameplay
https://thorbjorn.itch.io/tiled
A 2D tile based map editor that supports grid, isometric, and hex tiles. It can export to a wide range of formats to make it easy to integrate into your game regardless of what engine you're using. See Tiled2Unit for a easy way to load tiled maps into Unity.
https://prominent.itch.io/crocotile3d
A tool for creating 3D scenes with tiles. It works similar to a 2D tile editor but lets you draw levels in 3D.
https://dacap.itch.io/aseprite
A 2D pixel art editor that’s the best I've used. You can use it to create all kinds of retro art from animations to tile maps and backgrounds.
https://led.itch.io/tilemancer
A procedural 2D tile generator. Can make a wide range of textures for you 2D (or maybe 3d) based games. A node based editor makes it easy to tweak parameters.
https://kenney.itch.io/assetforge
A tool for building 3D models and 2D sprites using a library of building blocks.
A tool for rotoscoping pixel art animations. You can use it to draw on top of any source material to create assets for games or just cool animations.
A tool for creating art and animations out of ASCII art.
https://25a0.itch.io/quadtastic
A tool that lets you create spritesheets and manage palettes. Easily create quads for art you need to import into your game.
https://adamstrange.itch.io/fontsprite
A pixel art editor for creating images matching the “Fontsprite” format (16x16 tiles usually in a 256x256 image).
https://lunarlabs.itch.io/dither-machine
A tool for creating pixel dithered gradients.
https://marcoc2.itch.io/dpixel
A pixel art remastering tool. Can be used to upscale your pixel art into smooth high res images.
https://terrycavanagh.itch.io/bosca-ceoil
An easy to use tool for composing music. It has a handful of built in instruments to let you get started quickly. Includes scale and chord guides to help you pick the right notes if you're new to writing music
https://donkeyspaceman.itch.io/bfxr
An advanced sound effect editor that is based on the sfxr.
https://raysan5.itch.io/rfxgen
A easy to use tool for generating sound effects. It’s based on sfxr.
https://candle.itch.io/evosfxr
A sfxr based sound editor that a mutation based procedural generation to create new sounds.
https://seansleblanc.itch.io/gui-butler
A graphical interface to itch.io’s command line tool, butler. Makes it easy to upload your game with support for patching without having to use a command line.
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Oh interesting list, thank you! I would add https://tichau.itch.io/file-converter to convert all those assets into other formats if needed.
Good luck for the jam!
Great list! My friend is planning to get into dev too, so I'll shoot him this.