The Great Ghostly Candy Heist by epb9000

made by epb9000 for Ludum Dare 54 (JAM)

Humanity may be toast on account of the ethereal ghost army and all, but Kelly isn't too bummed out. She can eat as much candy as she wants! She's just gotta steal it from the ghost candy factories... She's gotta infiltrate them through the ectoplasmic power ducts.

Dodge their attacks and reach the end. Only hits against her main body count. Be careful to stay within the boundaries - it's dangerous where you cannot see. Focus with the space bar to change the shape of Kelly's magic AND get a big speed boost. Useful for dodging ghost-seeking batty waves! If you're struggling with a facility, return the the select screen and try a different one. Some are easier than others!

Note: Swapped out the binaries for builds with corrected scaling options.

Original URL

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/54/the-great-ghostly-candy-heist

Ratings

Given

16🗳️

15🗨️

Feedback

SvenErik

09. Oct 2023 · 08:05 UTC

Neat work. I liked the art style. Somehow cute & creepy at the same time and the music fit in really well too, although it does start a bit too loud with some parts of it. I'd love if the enemy projectiles had some red outline or perhaps more contrast between the players & enemy projectiles to make it more clear - the only gripe I had graphically.

Overall good work!

LDJam user 375151

11. Oct 2023 · 09:45 UTC

Pretty neat game. I couldn't really tell the difference between each play through or what the space button did. But the game was solid and it was a fun and interesting idea. Well done!

Papaver

11. Oct 2023 · 16:58 UTC

I like the art work of the main character. I found the pink flying things hard to avoid, and I was wishing I could shoot backwards.
It took me a while and a rereading of the "how to play" to see what the space bar did. The difference is not immediately visually noticable. Perhaps you could add some other visual change to signal that the space bar is doing something; change a color somehwere or give Kelly a different facial expression?

The music is funny and creepy at the same time, but also a bit uncomfortable with the off beats blips.

I managed to get to the end of a few facilities. :smiley:

Well done!

🎤 epb9000

12. Oct 2023 · 14:42 UTC

@draekdude Stage variation is enemy composition and the path the pipe takes. Sadly I only implemented about half of the enemy variations I had planned so it's WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY less obvious. It made me sad that I couldn't finish more enemy types.

@papaver Ah, indeed, I should have given focus an obvious cue. Normally I would, not sure why I didn't think to do so there. Probably the end-time rush actually. Sorry about my crimes against music - it's not a skill in which I am proficient.

EgorMnc

15. Oct 2023 · 19:09 UTC

I liked the game and it’s interesting, keep it up

Sabi

17. Oct 2023 · 13:21 UTC

I like the graphics and the idea! Focus mode didn't quite work an my computer but it was fun anyways.

LDJam user 206001

18. Oct 2023 · 16:48 UTC

Some games require a little more time to be tested, others are very fast, which is the case with this one, and even mine, which only takes about 40 seconds (according to some). In this case, I liked the character sprites and such, but the number of projectiles coming towards the character makes it impossible to dodge. It's death at the end of the journey. So I think this should be better balanced.

Gecko64

19. Oct 2023 · 00:21 UTC

Nice idea, love the music, the gameplays solid, Good Job!

Emma.Ge

19. Oct 2023 · 03:25 UTC

A very cute concept.

Lenzgolo

19. Oct 2023 · 09:07 UTC

I love the look of the character! And also the game was very fun to play :)

Ganiester

20. Oct 2023 · 07:47 UTC

Nice simple game. Love the art style :)

LDJam user 249050

20. Oct 2023 · 10:06 UTC

Song B best song.

Would be nice to have some indication of the player hitbox, I estimated it to be some parts of Kelly's clothes.

I collected a couple candies, the game feels fairly easy to me.

SleepyStudios

20. Oct 2023 · 12:24 UTC

There's a lot I liked about this - the graphics are great, the enemy variety is really nice to see and I love the focus mode/alternative firing style that brings a lot of depth to the game. Could've done with a bit more juice in places like having a visual state for that focus mode or even some particles when you get hit but other than that well done!