Person and Ghost

2 Player game, using only 1 keyboard. Each player controls one of the titular characters, each of them has their own unique movement and skillset

Person and Ghost Instruction Manual

Person Controls:         

• Move: Using WASD key layout, A to move towards the left and D to move towards the right.
• Jump: Space Bar
• Pickup Tool: Q key
• Drop Tool: Z key
• Use Tool: R key
• Enter Meditation State/Leave Meditation State: E key

Ghost Controls:

• Move: Using Arrow Key layout: Up Arrow to move upwards, Left Arrow to move towards the left, Down Arrow to move downwards, Right Arrow to move towards the Right.
• Possess/UnPossess Enemy: Right Enter key
• Use Stolen Action: Backslash “/” key

Other Controls:

• Move Through UI Buttons: WASD or Arrow Keys
• Select a Button: Enter key or Mouse Click
• Pause Game: Esc key

Core Mechanics:

• Person-Ghost Link: Person can move freely around the Room. Ghost is bound to Person and thus can only move within a certain radius of Person. Person can enter a Meditation state and increase the range in which Ghost can move. This comes at the cost of Person not being able to move while meditating. Person must also participate in a defensive minigame to maintain the Meditation state.
• Ghost Possession: Ghost can possess an Enemy it is in direct contact with to control its behavior. Only one Enemy can be possessed at a time. Ghost can use the Enemy’s unique action, named their Stolen Action, freely while in Possession of them. The Possessed Enemy will be bound to Person’s range as well.
• Person Tool Usage: Only one Tool can be picked up by Person at a time. Each type of Tool has a unique ability that Person can use while it is being held. While using a Tool’s special action, Person usually cannot meditate.
     

Interactables:

•  Pressure Plate: Connected to a special gate. When Person or an enemy possessed by Ghost touches it, it opens the connected gate allowing entry to otherwise blocked packages.
•  Spikes: A deadly hazard. If Person touches them, Person dies, resulting in a game over.
•  Collectables: An object that can be gathered by Person. These objects hold value to denizens of the castle and may lead to hidden paths.
•  Goal: The objective of every Room. It will often represent either an entryway to the next room or a staircase to the next Floor

Enemies

•  Bird:  It can carry Person while flying around if in contact with them when the Stolen Actions key is pressed
• Big Boy: If facing a moveable item, buff can hold it and push or pull it.
• Buff Boy: Destroys breakable walls/floor to open a path.
  • By Default, Buff Boy Punches forward and destroys a breakable wall directly in front of it.
    
  • If the Stolen Action key is pressed in conjunction with the down arrow key, Buff Boy does a stomp and destroys a breakable platform directly below itself.

• Frog: It can fit in tight spaces and has a big jump. Frogs Stolen Action is triggered with the right shift key instead of the normal backslash key

Enemy Explanations:

An entity with independent behavior. Most are bound by physical constraints. Each type of Enemy has its own movement behavior and special skill.

Tool Explanations:

•                 An object that can be picked up by Person. 

  
  

  • Climbing Gauntlet: When the use tool key is pressed while person is colliding with a wall, Person will cling to the wall and not fall until they move or jump out of the cling state; this can be repeated many times to climb a wall.
  • Grappling Hook: When the use tool key is pressed, Person goes into an aiming state when they move a pointer around themselves instead of moving. If the jump key is pressed while the pointer is facing a grappleabe surface, Person will quickly move directly towards the grapple point ignoring gravity.

Story:

Person and their best friend part ways after a large disagreement. A couple of years of apathy and silence between the two are broken when Person’s friend dies. Upon receiving word of this death, the once close friend is struck with guilt and denial. Desperately, Person packs what they can and departs their village in a journey to unearth the source of a rumor, a rumor which implied the existence of a mystical castle, Limbo, mentioned in an old fairytale. Person’s long journey leads him to the home of an aging hermit. Although his knowledge of the subject was rather limited, the hermit agreed to aid Person’s cause. He recounted about a time in his younger years as an adventurer when he came across a curious abandoned castle which, upon exploring its entirety for objects to sell, only yielded a dusty parchment containing some sort of incantation. Having no discernable value, the parchment ended up stuffed among the hoarded tomes in his home. To Person’s fortune, the hermit was happy to entrust the parchment to them together with the location of the castle which was seemingly lost in time. Upon reaching the top of the deteriorating castle, Person chants the incantation to bring their once best friend, now referred to as Ghost, back to life.