LudumData

GHOST JOB by paulhocker

[raw]
made by paulhocker for LD 41 (JAM)

Welcome to GHOST JOB

Updates

4/25/18 - Fixed Home Menu - Starting Music - Removed Dead Buttons 4/23/18 - Jam Release

Themes Used

  • Turn Based
  • Reverse Horror (You Do the Scaring)

Use Arrow Keys to Control the Ghost.

The premise is to remove the visitors from a house by scaring them. Each visitor has a certain amount of courage that will be reduced each time they are scared. When they have no more courage, they fly out of the house as fast as they can, literally.

You scare the Visitors in the house by using the 1, 2, 3 and 4 keys. They each set off a trap that will scare the visitor when they fall in its range (the red square). Each Scare has a different range, cooldown and length of effect.

You cannot lose this game, in fact all you can do is scare the visitors, and win the game. I did not have time to put the Lose scenario.

Have fun, looking forward to everyone's feedback.

2018-04-23_20-10-16.png

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Windows https://paulhocker.itch.io/ld41
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/ghost-job

Ratings

Overall 1060th 2.902⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1048th 2.7⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 803th 3.102⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Theme 967th 2.989⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 686th 3.322⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Audio 535th 3.061⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Humor 621th 2.813⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Mood 789th 3.037⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Given 54🗳️ 47🗨️

Feedback

zingzang454
24. Apr 2018 · 02:39 UTC
I really like the concept, but I had trouble following what exactly was going on. It seemed to me that all I had to do was mash the 1-4 keys until everyone left. Also, the buttons in the menu lead to blank screens that only have a button that return to the menu. The art style is cute, and the music is very nice. I think with a little more polish and better directions this could be a really cool little game.
Ja_viera
24. Apr 2018 · 02:47 UTC
I really liked the premise and the art is cute. Maybe it could have been more horror than cute if that was your aim? I wish you had the time to implement all the things you wanted in your vision.
Aumbra
26. Apr 2018 · 05:22 UTC
This was a cool idea and while it could have used more time (which you can say about all LD games) I thought it was well presented and got the premise across effectively. Good job!
cosdots-jr
26. Apr 2018 · 05:45 UTC
I like this concept and art. also the music have helped this game to make a great mood.
Axe
26. Apr 2018 · 06:32 UTC
this is a cute little spook em up game. i would be nice if there wass more feedback on placing spooks but apart from that really solid work!
Wyatt
26. Apr 2018 · 08:19 UTC
Heh I like Axe's comment calling it a "spook em up". Great idea - wasn't totally sure what was going on or what the difference was between spooks.
MaxKlimenok
26. Apr 2018 · 08:35 UTC
Firstly: congratulations that you have working finished product!

Secondly: the game is very simple and is not challenging. Just by adding simple rule: visitors should not touch the gost (otherwise gameover) - your game would easily transform to another "stealth" game. So to set a trap - you have to get close, but getting close is dangerous because you might get caught.

Thirdly: another addition suggestion to make: visitors do not move untill you do (and placing a trap takes a few turns) - so now your game would become a step-by-step tactical puzzler (like "seven seas deluxe" 2003).

Lastly: well done in general!
Ryan Bishop
26. Apr 2018 · 20:42 UTC
Neat idea! I enjoyed the art style, and the music complimented it pretty well. Pretty easy to win because you can just button mash, but still decently fun to play. I also agree with max's comment, adding that 1 rule would make for a more in depth experience. Lastly, i would have liked to see different shapes (maybe tetris piece-like shapes?) for the area of spook affect besides just bigger or smaller squares. Good work!
🎤 paulhocker
27. Apr 2018 · 03:48 UTC
@MaxKlimenok thanks for the feedback - i was actually hoping to implement some of those things but ran out of time - i have considered that the core of this game is pretty solid so i am planning on working on it some more - appreciate your thoughts

@Ryan Bishop like the idea of the different shapes - like chess

@Axe like the title - spook em up
Tiberiusuciu
27. Apr 2018 · 05:21 UTC
I like the graphics, I find it very clean! One way to improve is by fixing the sounds because they stack a lot when you scare multiple persons at the same time. Also, maybe have some sort of visual indication that it is your turn to do something. Otherwise the game was entertaining none the less!
Acuity
27. Apr 2018 · 05:52 UTC
Hmm... this was an interesting idea, but I think it could use more polish. The sound effect for the "3" is really loud compared to the others, I'd suggest balancing it a little bit. Also, the spider is really hard to use properly. The music was pretty nice!
croewens
27. Apr 2018 · 08:13 UTC
Love spooking people :smile:

:heart: What I loved
* The mood was perfect
* Interesting but fun mix of genres
* Music was solid

:thinking: My Thoughts
* It should’ve been more horror instead of cute, but I dig the art style
* Not very challenging
* Needs a bit more polishing

Overall great entry and I’d love for you to review my submission as well.
## https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/keyboard-warrior
Amazura
27. Apr 2018 · 21:25 UTC
love the idea, I really enjoyed this game. the art and music are good. Nice work!
28. Apr 2018 · 05:27 UTC
The sounds were kinda annoying. It was hard to keep playing with the volume on.
spenn
28. Apr 2018 · 05:32 UTC
I like the cute art style.
MiltonNH25
28. Apr 2018 · 05:47 UTC
Good job with the game. I liked the concept for the game and it was fun to mess around with. The game would benefit a lot from a lose condition, even something as simple as enforcing the turn limit you had.
Nessa
28. Apr 2018 · 08:18 UTC
This was very nice and cute! Good job!
Belga54
28. Apr 2018 · 14:24 UTC
Very funny and cute! LIKED the music and the concept. Good game!
Erkberg
29. Apr 2018 · 17:14 UTC
Neat little game! The visuals are very cute, the music is quite nice, but some sounds are a little annoying. I think it's a good thing that there is no lose condition, because the randomness of the peoples movement could've made it pretty frustrating. This randomness also lessens the puzzle aspect of the game. Most levels I'd just spam traps near the spawn point. To make it more puzzly the player would probably have to know more about the movement of the people. I had a great and relaxing time with the game anyway, good job overall!
loudrasiel
03. May 2018 · 20:38 UTC
this game is very good I love !!
MacDoom
04. May 2018 · 05:53 UTC
Cool Game! It remined me of "The Haunting" for Sega Genesis.
The concept is super cool. The scaring techniques wasn't very clear. A predictable behaviour for the victims would really boost up an strategy side.
Keep om the good work!

Come and try mine. It's also turn based =O)
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/tactical-hydra
ian1337
06. May 2018 · 10:14 UTC
Love the concept, it's a great idea.

I was hoping to see more traps, like flipping over furniture, making it fly across the room, opening/closing the windows...

But it's still a fun game with a lot of charm and potential.

Great job :)

If you can take a look at mine, the scariest thing there is how unfinished it it :))
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/sam
Distorter
06. May 2018 · 15:44 UTC
I really like the idea behind this game! The lack of a loss condition really does affect the gameplay, and I can imagine that the people having random movements would be pretty annoying if you could lose, but otherwise it was pretty good.
masterkrepta
06. May 2018 · 20:24 UTC
A cute art style can work for horror, This was just fine for the feel you seemed to be going for. It definitely could have used a lose condition as its impossible to lose at the moment.
Deborah-Soude
08. May 2018 · 06:45 UTC
I like the cute art style.

Good Job !
Deborah-Soude
08. May 2018 · 06:45 UTC
I like the cute art style.

Good Job !
cristiano.m.garcia
09. May 2018 · 23:09 UTC
I loved the game and the art. There is a lack of feedback to the player for how long each item will be on the screen. Congratulations!

I left my rating of your game, if you can leave your feedback in our game, Witch's Escape.

I hope you continue with the project.

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/witchs-escape
justinooncx
10. May 2018 · 10:49 UTC
Gotta say, took a while to figure out what the heck was happening. After reading the instructions properly (sorta), I found out I can just spam 2 and 3, moving back and forth and stunlocking groups of people at a time. Game became super easy, and got to the end without any challenge.

Nnnnot quite sure if this game fits the theme very well. Well, execution wise, that is. Doesn't feel like a horror game at all, it's just a not-scary horror-themed puzzle game. Perhaps with a bit of polish, you can get across what you were going for, but at this moment, it's hard to say.
csanyk
13. May 2018 · 22:12 UTC
Plusses: the generated house floorplans were done well. I liked the core concept of being the ghost and trying to scare people. I liked that you could walk through things, people, walls, etc. like a ghost ought to.

Negatives: The scare mechanic was rather basic. Just be within range and press a button. This could have been better elaborated with more complex rules. I would have liked to see a diminishing returns on using the same scare tactic over and over on the same target, and maybe a "strength in numbers" advantage when scaring people who are grouped closely together. Obviously, with a short time frame that wasn't possible in this case. I also wasn't very clear on what each scare button did, and it didn't seem to matter, it just amounted to if you're close enough, you'll scare people, and they'll lose courage.