Ghost Simulator [published]

Lol @Nerull that itself looks like a story cause of how big the post is :joy_cat::smile_cat::smirk_cat:
How long it took to write all those responses?!?

Anyway, thank-you for the fixes and G’Luck with writing…

3 Likes

Thanks for that Ollie dream fight scene fix. That has been bugging me. I recently played this WIP and I would say that you have done a great job. The powers give so many different choices and it just adds to replayability. Just one negative thing that I felt was that storyline in chapters 2 and 3 was a tad broken in some scenes, flow seemed to break. Maybe this was because of Brooks getting too many chances to deduce your presence and that seems to break the flow. I am not able to point it out exactly but somewhere it seems stretched a bit. That said, some scenes are quite hilarious and my overall experience was quite entertaining.

1 Like

That reminds me, why does Samantha always escape from the crypt running, no matter what happens? It feels a bit strange to me that one moment she’s talking to you in what seems a quite calm manner, and the next she’s running away.

3 Likes

Yeah, even after MC caught her from falling when she’s running out of the crypt, she ran away scared of MC…

4 Likes

Gosh, finally caught up with this and it is suuch a joy to play this!! I genuinely have so much fun and I don’t even have to be an evil ghost to do it lolol Thank you for your hard work!

1 Like

saw someone recommending this on reddit and gosh it was so good! the drama, the suspense! love love love love it so much

1 Like

I’m sorry. I laughed so hard when they all freaked out. Can’t wait for the next update! Take care!

3 Likes

I’m very hyped

2 Likes

just finished the demo and hoooo boy this is so fun and I started playing as a good ghost so the family can help me but damn sometimes it’s so tempting to just scare the crap out of them lol

3 Likes

This was fun on both play throughs as good and evil. It was hard not to scare anyone as a good ghost but it was funny seeing everyone shit themselves when u did something bad such as throwing things and appearing in front of them

3 Likes

This is pretty epic

1 Like

yo just finished this. was good hope to see more

3 Likes

10/10 Would be sarcastic perv ghost again

7 Likes

@Nerull I hope all is well! Recently rewatched The Haunting of Hill House and it reminded me of my favorite WiP. Gonna do a replay. Here’s a sad rap I wrote from the perspective of the protagonist on being dead:

WARNING: Swearing present, very emotional tone. Spoiler-free, though!

Ghost

So baby, there’s this thing I’ve wanted to know

I’m walking these halls with my head hung low

I can’t seem to feel the same anymore

And everywhere I go I phase through but the floor

Just tell me if this is hell

Tell me if Death tolled my final bell

I can’t be heard, I can’t be seen

It takes effort just to write something clean

There’s these people here but they can barely see me

God, help me I’d kill to even bleed

I can’t do this

This is gotta be damnation

Hope is useless

And so is any preservation

Is Heaven beyond this door, nah

Is Hell in the basement

Maybe I can at least escape this

Every night wanderin’ this labyrinth of painful memories

I’m sorry, God, for all my sins

But I can’t fucking take this

Please, give her back

Or at least give me a conversation

I can’t stand the silence

I feel like I’m gonna go insane, n’

I know I can never take back my worst moments

But if this is Hell

I’m askin’ for some reprievin’

Because I’d rather be burnin’

Than go so long without the seasons

If you can give me one more chance

I just might give you a reason

But then I see the sun

And begin to fade again

Darlin’ where are you?

I’ll find you, I just don’t know when

God, how can I make amends?

I don’t want a fucking redo

I just wanna feel again!

17 Likes

Hey!

Sorry for not choosing Apparition and showing up here, but I want you all to know that the game is actively under development. I had some trouble designing the last part of Chapter 4, which includes the last “family hub” of the game, the home invasion, and early ending branches, but I think I reached a branching design that will work.

I can’t tell you when the next update will come out, but I sincerely hope (and it depends on my daily job and other personal stuff) I can post a polished, functional version in the next few weeks. Since it has been a while since the last update, I’ve revised several scenes of the previous chapters as well.

A few things more:

  • I’m discussing with the pixel artist a redesign of the cover art. I sincerely love this friend’s style, and I think the pixelated Brooks portraits have been quite popular, so I think a pixel art cover would be a better fit. Our current idea is a family photograph with a ghostly shadow in the background. This way, the Brooks and the MC would feature in the game’s cover.

  • I’m “buffing” Dreamwalk. When I analyzed the number of times each power appeared in each chapter, Dreamwalk clearly lagged behind. So I’ll create new branches and consequences for ghosts who possess Dreamwalk. This power does need an overhaul.

  • The game won’t have a fixed amount of “ending pathways” but rather an exponential combination of end-states for each character. Each one of the Brooks will have a series of end-states, along with Violet Edgeworth, and surprise, surprise: the player’s RO, so the “amount of possible endings” will be quite huge. The MC will also have many possible end-states, naturally.

As an illustration and working example, let’s think about Samantha:

  • Depending on Manuscript Quality, her next work can be a failure, a so-so book, or she can enter the New York Times best-seller list and appear on TV.
  • She can move back to Boston or stay in New Hampshire.
  • She can end the game together with Michael or ask for a divorce.
  • Ollie and Amber can acknowledge her efforts as a mother or resent that she prioritized her book over her family.

And so on. And this is just Samantha.

So… lots of work, lots of changes, but the game will come out.

Thank you all, really, and let’s keep the ball rolling.

Be safe!

60 Likes

im so happy to hear that. good luck with the game

6 Likes

June 6 update: new scenes in Chapter 4 (including home invasion pathways), edits


Phew.

It seems that someone is rising from the dead.

All right, folks, I’m really sorry it took too long for a new update on Ghost Simulator. Not to mention my full-time job, I had long editing and revision sessions on The Vampire Regent (submitted to Hosted Games earlier this year) and I’ve been working on a brand-new project with Lucas Zaper—y’all will hear about it eventually.

On top of it all, the second half of Chapter 4 was probably one of the most troublesome pieces of interactive fiction I have written so far. It was just not working, and I was not happy with any of the first drafts I made. The scenes were convoluted; I was not acknowledging enough past events…

You’ll see that many pathways in late Chapter 4 (especially during the home invasion) end abruptly. As soon as I have playable versions of these missing scenes, I’ll update the game again.

Thank you all again for your support. I hope to finish writing Ghost Simulator soon, and I want the final version to meet your expectations. As always, any feedback is more than welcome.

83 Likes

Yes i will read the fk out of this again

5 Likes

OMG YES!!! I can’t wait to play this again!

8 Likes

Yes, I love this WIP, the story is very innovative, though there is some continuity problems.

5 Likes