Ghost Pizza by pkenney
Note: I put this in the Jam, but it's a time-shifted Compo entry. I had to start one day late due to a family event, but otherwise this was done under compo ruleset. I worked alone and created everything in 48 hours from Sat 9p to Mon 9p.
This is my first game with literal zero text, so I won't give instructions here.
Chef knows what he wants you to do:

You should be able to figure out the rest.
If you want to try for a perfect game, there is a secret feature: you can press 'R' to restart any time.
Notes on the development:
Almost didn't do an entry this time, with a schedule conflict, some travel, and a cold. Not one bit in the mood but I didn't want to break my streak so I forced it.
Shout out to @khaotom - his entry for LD52 had a very close-in camera and I enjoyed the worry about what was just out of view. Definitely an inspiration for this entry.
I felt pixel art wouldn't fit, so I used a new method this time: I hand-drew with the pencil tool in inkscape, but with the simplifier cranked way up. In the past when I used inkscape I built up from primitive shapes.
My favorite feature is when the Ghost taunts you after a steal. For 70% of the development, the ghost would instead insta-kill you on touch and it was total game over. If you want to see what that felt like, try for a perfect game.
| Link | https://savagehill.itch.io/ghost-pizza |
| Link | http://savagehillgames.com/LD53/GhostPizza-LD53-Code.zip |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/53/ghost-pizza |
Ratings
| Overall | 432th | 3.717⭐ | 25🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 231th | 3.826⭐ | 25🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 279th | 3.717⭐ | 25🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 259th | 4.217⭐ | 25🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 759th | 3.413⭐ | 25🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 593th | 3.119⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 448th | 3.333⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 543th | 3.591⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 15🗳️ | 25🗨️ |
I'm mixed on the lack of audio - the SFX we *do* get does its job nicely, but I'm not sure whether the lack of music contributes to the overall spookiness or just leaves the soundscape feeling empty.
Other than my quibbles on the lack of music, this - despite its simplicity - is easily one of the most complete, polished, and balanced-feeling games I've played this Ludum Dare so far. I love the mechanic and I love the animations you have going with the ghosts. (Also - very much appreciate that you did not make being touched by the ghosts an instant game over. This would have been a *much* different game otherwise!)
Loved it!
The gameplay was so simple, but felt satisfying and not boring. As I mentioned at the beginning I didn't quite understand it or what the difficulty is, but the more I played and the more ghosts came in, the more interesting and engaging it was. The sweet spot for me was around the 2/3 to 3/4 mark, with the ghosts being busy enough to make dodging them a real challenge, but not too busy that it felt overwhelming or unfair as the last few did. The first ghost actually came right out of the blue, almost impossible to dodge :sweat_smile:
The graphics were definitely different from what I was expecting, I was surprised seeing a pkenney game so loose and cartoony but I agree with the description, pixel art would not have made much sense. I think you managed to keep everything really clear whilst keeping a distinct style and aesthetic. I maybe would have liked a bit more feedback or excitement, but I understand with the situation that's a bit hard. Audio wise as well, what was there fit, but maybe a few more effects could have fleshed it out more.
Overall this was fun, and took me a while but I did get hooked. It was surprisingly skillful and tested my ability to remember where things were and my reactions! Definitely an example of a simple gameplay loop done well and done effectively, nice work! (And hope you managed to rest up from the cold afterwards)
It would be more convenient for me to move with the mouse button held down, not just when clicking. I still didn't understand if it was possible to take money or pizza from the ghost (
The customers are scary, I didn't dare approach him right away)
After all the orders, I didn't understand what the buttons meant, I chose the left one, I think there will be the next level, but the game is over.
https://b65sol.com/CreepyLoop.ogg
Anyway, nice level of polish, though I couldn't quite figure out how the ghosts actually behaved, so I mostly just mad-dashed to the customers, haha. Pretty impressive to be able to communicate the rules without words.
Some good background music was absolutely lacking here, so this is so cool.
I was kinda sad I ran out of time and couldn't make music for my game, so when I played this I was like "Ok, I have to now" haha