Ludum Dare is a game jam competition. It was founded by Geoff Howland and was first held in April 2002. It is currently run by Mike Kasprzak, who has been part of the team since the beginning. Participants are required to create a video game that fits within a given theme in two or three days. Participants often release a time-lapse video of the development of their game.
A game jam is an event where participants try to make a video game from scratch. Depending on the format, participants might work independently, or in teams. The event duration usually ranges from 24 to 72 hours. Participants are generally programmers, game designers, artists, writers, and others in game development-related fields. While many game jams are run purely as a game-making exercise, some game jams are contests that offer prizes.
Broforce is a side-scrolling run-and-gun platform video game developed by Free Lives and published by Devolver Digital. The game has the player as one of several "bros", based on popular culture action movie icons, rescuing other "bros" through highly-destructible environments.
Ori and the Blind Forest is a platform-adventure Metroidvania video game developed by Moon Studios and published by Microsoft Studios. The game was released for Windows and Xbox One in March 2015, and for Nintendo Switch in September 2019. Players assume control of Ori, a small white spirit, and Sein, the "light and eyes" of the Forest's Spirit Tree. Players are tasked to move between platforms and solve puzzles. The game features a save system called "Soul Links", which allows players to save their progress at will with limited resources, and an upgrade system that allows players to strengthen Ori's skills and abilities.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is a space shooter video game developed by Asteroid Base for Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, Linux, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The project is part of the ID@Xbox program. The game's title is a reference to the Bruce Cockburn song "Lovers in a Dangerous Time".
Shiro Games is a video game development company based in Bordeaux, France. The company was founded in 2012 by Sebastien Vidal and Nicolas Cannasse, and developed the Evoland series and Dune: Spice Wars.
Evoland is a 2013 role-playing video game developed and published by Shiro Games. Evoland was released for Microsoft Windows and OS X in April 2013, Android and iOS in February 2015 and Linux in March 2015.
Super Mega Baseball is a baseball video game series developed by the independent studio Metalhead Software in Victoria, BC, Canada and published by EA Sports.
SkyBox Labs Inc. is a Canadian video game developer located in Burnaby, British Columbia. Founded in 2011 by Derek MacNeil, Shyang Kong and Steven Silvester formerly from EA Vancouver, they are mostly known for their work with Xbox Game Studios on the Halo, Age of Empires and Minecraft franchises.
ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove is the fourth entry in the ToeJam & Earl series of video games. The game was developed by HumaNature Studios, founded by series creator Greg Johnson, and published by the studio on March 1, 2019.
Hollow Knight is a 2017 Metroidvania video game developed and published by independent developer Team Cherry. The player controls the Knight, an insectoid warrior exploring Hallownest, a fallen kingdom plagued by a supernatural disease. The game is set in diverse subterranean locations, featuring friendly and hostile insectoid characters and numerous bosses. Players have the opportunity to unlock abilities as they explore, along with pieces of lore and flavour text that are spread throughout the kingdom.
Session: Skate Sim is a sports video game developed by independent developer Crea-ture Studios for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The game is considered a spiritual successor to the Skate series.
Horizon Chase is a racing video game developed and published by Brazilian company Aquiris Game Studio. It was released on August 20, 2015, for iOS and Android platforms. It is a 3D game inspired by 2D, 16-bit titles like Top Gear. Its soundtrack has Nintendocore influences.
Octogeddon is an action-strategy video game with elements of roguelike games developed by All Yes Good. It was released for Microsoft Windows in February 2018 and Nintendo Switch in 2019. The player controls an octopus who is seeking vengeance against humanity. It fights using tentacles that can be upgraded between each stage.
Reventure is an action-adventure video game released on June 4, 2019, by Spanish studio Pixelatto. It is an expanded re-imagining of the Ludum Dare game jam submission Lonk's Greedy Adventure, also by Pixelatto. In the game, players are sent on a quest to rescue a princess from the Dark Lord in an open world environment. Depending on the actions taken by the player, any of 100 endings? can occur. The game is a humorous parody of role-playing video games, particularly of The Legend of Zelda series. Reventure was released to critical acclaim and was praised for its humor.
Candleman is a 3D puzzle-platform game developed by Chinese studio Spotlightor Interactive and published by Indienova and Zodiac Interactive. It was created as a prototype for a Ludum Dare game jam. Following positive reception, a full version of the game was released for the Xbox One and was published on February 1, 2017. It was updated later the same year to Candleman: The Complete Journey with a downloadable Lost Light add-on. The game received positive reviews for its graphics, concept, music, and story, with complaints coming from a lack of depth in the story and difficulty.
Loop Hero is a 2021 roguelike video game developed by Russian studio Four Quarters and published by Devolver Digital. The game takes place in a randomly generated world where the player changes the world by placing cards instead of directly controlling a character. The game was initially released in March 2021 for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Double Kick Heroes is a video game developed by Headbang Club, which combines rhythm game and shoot 'em up mechanics. It was released for multiple platforms in August 2020.
Nuclear Blaze is action-adventure game developed and published by Deepnight Games. It was released for Windows through Steam on October 18, 2021, and was launched for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on April 28, 2023. In the game, players take control of a firefighter investigating a military facility. The firefighter must use their hose to put out the fires located inside, while searching for survivors and leaning about the purpose of the base. The game received mixed to average reviews on release.
