time for yet another overview of ghost jam! the optional theme this year was “silence”. this year I had lower energy than usual during the jam time, so I ended up just joining a team of other devs to contribute to the writing portion of the ghost. I am thankful to be able to continue my streak of participating in ghost jam! as per usual in these roundups, I’ll go over each submission and give some brief thoughts… happy for every dev who got to submit something :+). as per usual, view the results page for more details
Study Buddies
Author: idk
a short experience involving pestering a college friend. a fun interpretation of the theme! there is a bit of mystery involved in trying to see if you can pick the right words… I could see this ghost being expanded on, but also just having a study buddy on your desktop is fun. body double with a lil guy (gender neutral).
イクイクヨイクイク
Author: netai98
Content warnings: Nudity, Sexual content, 下品な表現
a ghost that is Exactly What You Would Expect from the name. admittedly not my type of ghost, but yknow. you know what you’re getting into with this one. gag sexual content ghost is the tldr. I do think the choice of shell is cute.
Flakes of Fancy
snow on your desktop! it’s really nice… I like the kind of ghosts that are props or background elements for your desktop. I think it scratches an itch of wanting to decorate my digital space as much as my physical space. the addition of being able to make snowmen is a nice touch.
Asterics Grid Helper
Author: SmokyCinnamon
I have never used asterics grid before but I like that this ghost is a utility ghost. there is such a wide variety in this medium and even if I can’t give a review on the specific utility of this ghost, I appreciate having more examples of ghosts as tools
本の虫 - Read (with) me
Author: 笙はくさむのぶもり
a little bookbug to read with! the shell is polished, with several idle animations. it’s a nice touch that the ghost links to project gutenberg as a recommendation. the little reactions that the character has to their book are really cute… I recommend them if you’re looking for more passive ghosts.
RG Guys
Author: KFC
Content warnings: Some swearing, Unhealthy relationship dynamics, talk of child endangerment, suggestive dialogue, Violent Thoughts / Unhinged Declarations of Love
I am only passively familiar with the fandoms in this ghost, but I can appreciate the effort that went into the extensive writing for these two. I also think the minimalist shell is a creative way to represent the characters. I love to see projects made from someone’s passion for a topic…
Relationship Template
Author: Cherrie <3
I’ve never seen a template submitted to a ghost jam before! It’s great to have such variety in the submissions this year. I’ve seen a lot of people in the discord server want to add relationship systems into their ghosts, so I hope this is a valuable relationship for them.
Szekli Digplanner Jam Version
Author: The Nameless One
Another ghost that is a nice buddy to have on your desktop while working, since it’s like you both are working together. Parallel play? Body doubling? Not sure what the exact term is… anyways I think it’s a fun concept and I look forward to future updates for this ghost to expand on the basics!
a moment with you
Author: okuajub
Content warnings: Religion, break-ups/romance, suicide
This is an autobiographical ghost that I was grateful to get downloaded before the repo was taken down (temporarily, perhaps.). It’s a vulnerable and genuine piece that I am grateful to be allowed to view… A short experience that shows the flexibility of ukagaka to be a medium for all kinds of stories.
Talking Through The Night
Author: Kipali
A ghost with an interesting premise! Eavesdropping in on a vampire and human pair while they chat over the phone. I never considered how the sleep schedules of vampire/human dating would barely overlap lol. Kipali’s shells are emotive, and I look forward to future dress up updates and more dialogue that expands the world.
Pure Vanilla Cookie
Authors: keelix/trans-lucence, idkimtired
Content warnings: Unreality (treating the fictional world as if real)
Another fandom I am not super familiar with, but I didn’t feel lost while playing through this ghost. The shell is really lovely, and it is nice to hear tidbits of the world. I think anyone familiar with cookie run would enjoy this ghost, and I look forward to more updates!
Lucifer
Author: BittyBatty
Content warnings: Swearing
Would you be surprised at this point if I said this is another fandom I’m not super familiar with? That wasn’t really a barrier with this ghost though. The shell is pretty emotive, and there is a mechanic that I won’t spoil, but is interesting to look out for. In general I think this ghost is pretty approachable even if you aren’t familiar with Hazbin Hotel.
Bunch of Cluckers
Authors: dransnake, Ecclysium, just_average
A chicken raising simulator. The idle animations are cute! I like how there are several things to keep track of, but it’s not too needy that I need to constantly check in every minute. Since it’s a jam version, the mechanics are pretty basic, but I hope to see more ways to take care of the chickens in the future. Also, spoiler alert, but there’s a cat, which is always good.
Tord
Content warnings: Cartoon Violence
Once again, I am not familiar with this fandom, and this time I don’t even have a passing familiarity with the fandom. There’s little story to this ghost (eg. how you met Tord), so there’s probably more appeal to people who are familar with this media. There’s a variety of hotspots on the ghost which is interesting.
Thoughtful Replies
Authors: Blue, Galla, vita, Zichqec
Wao!! The ghost I worked on… I contributed some writing to this ghost. I am obviously biased towards this one, but I do think that the letter writing is a unique mechanic for a ghost. I really enjoyed writing about crochet for this ghost, and I think we managed to build up a lot of worldbuilding in a short time.
SILENT RE:FRAIN
Author: WhatAPhantasia
Content warnings: Belittling of the user
Phantasia always has rich worldbuilding for neir ghosts, and SILENT RE:FRAIN is no different. It’s also a nice change of pace to have a ghost who is kind of? dismissive? of the user. for lack of a better phrase haha. The shell art is lovely, and the ghost has some unique mechanics that can be toggled off, but I think you should try them out first at least. The annoyance is the point!
Imano⇒ CODE: GREEN
Possibly my favorite ghost out of this years jam? There’s something about the setting that’s a mixture of supernatural and mundane slice of life that I really like. The art style is really cute too, and IMANO is really charming. The balloon having little mood indicators is a nice touch. Excited to see updates for this ghost!