DataSkream
DataSkream is a rhythm platformer built in 48 hours for Ludum Dare 42 on the theme "Running out of space": the more intense the track gets, the fewer platforms there are to land on, so staying alive means staying on the beat.
The Team
- Riley Clarke · Programmer
- Lewis Kellet · Sound Engineer
- Scott Foey · Designer
- Tom Broughton · Artist
I handled all the programming, built in Unity with Odin, DOTween, and Amplify Shader Editor, while the rest of the team covered art (Blender, Maya, ZBrush, Photoshop) and the soundtrack (Ableton Live) that the whole game is built around.
Platforms Tied to the Track
"Running out of space" became a platforming system where the number of platforms on screen is driven directly by how "hyped" the current section of the song is: the more intense the music gets, the fewer platforms you have to jump to, and the harder the run becomes as the track builds. It's a simple rule, but it ties the difficulty curve directly to the music instead of bolting a rhythm layer onto a platformer that would work fine without it.
Building It in 48 Hours
With a team of four and a hard weekend deadline, we split cleanly along our strengths: I owned the platforming, the platform-spawn logic reading the track's intensity, and get the whole thing running end to end, while the team's designer, artist, and sound engineer worked in parallel on level layout, visuals, and the music that everything else keys off. GitKraken and Visual Studio Code kept the programming side manageable under jam time pressure.
Post-Jam Reflection
DataSkream placed 29th in the Audio category, which the team was happy with given the format. Our biggest miss afterward was marketing: a game like this relies a lot on the community actually finding and playing it, and we didn't push that side hard enough post-jam. Looking back, it's simple, but addictive, and there's a version of this that could genuinely work as a mobile game with a bit more polish.
DataSkream is playable in-browser and the source is up on GitHub. You can also find the Ludum Dare entry for the full jam writeup and ratings.