So, I decided to do a small post just to get acquainted with the process and to have a record of my progress.

I'm making a game about ghosts. More specifically, a puzzle platformer in which you control a character cappable of attracting ghosts, who got stuck in a ghost house. The ghosts can be manipulated to solve puzzles, but they have a tendency to get very annoying when following you around. In that sense, they work both as power ups and obsticles.

The game is being made in Construct2.

During these first 20 hours or so (including some hours of resting time), I managed to get most of the core mechanics done including the ghost interactions, scene transitions, doors and etc. Still working in some of them, but at the moment the priority is the level design.

I'm leaving the graphics for last, since it is usually my focus. I often leave the level design for last and it tends to get rushed and messy, but this time around my goal is to not rush it and leave assets for last.

Hopefully I'll be able to post more updates, so let's see how this thing goes.

So, I didn't manage to get my game done for the Compo in time. However, the extra 24 hours from the Jam will provide me enough time to add the extra fluff on the visual department. By the way, my plan of working on graphics after finishing the level design worked pretty well.

Level design: Took me about 5 hours to finish it during the sunday morning. I tried my best to explore the mechanics, but after a couple hours I started to get too tired to come up with creative things. Still, I think it came up pretty well, and I even managed to sneak in some optional secret collectibles to make it a bit more interesting.

Graphics: After finishing the level design and resting for some hours, I started on the graphics. Finishing and implementing the player character and ghost sprites were my priority. I even managed to get the ghosts some random expressions so they can be extra-annoying during the game.

Just now I finished working on tiles and objects and started to impelement them. Almost sure I have all the assets I need (exception being particles & stuff), so now I'm working on decorating the maps. I threw the color palette through the window in order to get the contrast right, but I don't really mind about being a purist if it means sacrificing the game's readability, specially if I get such little time to make it work.

This is the first map, hopefully the rest of the game will look somewhat like this. As you can see, I'm adding some fluffy fake lights too (it is something I love to do).

Music: Between animating the sprites and making tiles, I tried my luck with a music track. Composing is not my forte, but I think it turned out decent enough to be used. You can check it out Here. I've been using LMMS to create music lately, and for me it works great. Plus it is free, which is nice.

That's it. If I manage to get the graphics done in time, I still need to take care of sound effects and details like a title screen, an ending screen, maybe a HUD and so on. For now I would love to get some sleep.

So, after gathering a lot of good feedback from players on Itch and at the Ludum Dare community, I decided to improve and update the game. Since LD42 is not over yet, I've uploaded a stand alone Windows version for 1.1 while keeping the original HTML version intact.

Changelog * Dedicated buttons for Hammer and Rod, no more switching. * Increased player invincibility frames after taking damage. * Enemy projectiles no more ignore invincibility frames. * When spawned, enemies have a temporary state in which they cannot damage the player. * Adjusted hitbox for player and enemies. * Orb enemy is now slower and can only deal damage when it is flying low. * Some enemy placement has been altered. * Fixed issues with Hammer's positioning and hitbox, making it more effective. * Crystals now can spawn over floor bricks instead of just dirt. * Your palette selection from the title screen carries over to the game. * Title screen slightly changed.

Thanks to everyone who played, rated, commented or left some feedback. I appreciate ya! <3