Indie Video Game Highlight - Poltergeist: A Pixelated Horror

Hey ho readers. What's happening and what is good with you all. The year has flew like nobody's business but we are here to brighten up your mid year crisis and what better way to do that other than playing as a ghost who's job is to scare people. After all it is that time of year where superstition reigns supreme, and for those of you who are ignorant to international festivals, it is the Chinese Mid Autumn Festival (Hungry Ghost Month). The Hungry Ghost Month is basically when the walls of Hell and Earth are thinnest and when the deceased can phase into the living world to visit their 'haunting grounds' when they were alive. I apologize for the digression, so lets jump into the game.

                 Footage via the ever industrious Jesse Cox

You know how games usually put you in charge of the so-called good guy, well you aren't going to find that here in Poltergeist. In fact you play the the poltergeist, the evil abomination that gets off by putting people through horrifying experiences. That is the basically the whole premise of this puzzle game, your solemn goal is to chase any living thing ( be it dog or human ) out of the level. With a large array of powers at your disposal, you have to use each carefully and in a specific order to allow the poltergeist to scare the be- jabbers out of your victims. Last but not least, the game devs actually won the Square Enix Latin America Game Contest 2012 for the quirky idea which became the precursor to this game.

Let's here what the creators have to say about their own game as there is nothing better than hearing it from the horse's mouth :

Have you ever wondered what it feels to be a ghostly being?

You have always lived happily in your manor. A manor that you managed to obtain with a lot of hard work and many personal sacrifices. Naturally you don't want anyone else to take care of it, not even in death!

But now, after your demise, many tenants have taken over it, and this is intolerable to you. Luckily, your love for your manor has granted you powers that will help you get rid of those pesky individuals.

Watch them run and scream, scaring them using your intelligence, wit, and with the use of powers like possessions, spectres, altering objects and more.

Have fun and play with the occult... and become a Poltergeist!

Poltergeist is a puzzle game for PC/Mac/Linux in which you are a ghost named Henry B. Knight. In which you will scare the tennants currently living in your house, so you can have some peace at last in the afterlife.

As a game, it will feature:

• A total of 60+ levels. These levels will occur in different time periods of the history of the manor.
• A variety of powers for you to control in each level: Lifting objects, possessing objects, invoking spectres and more.
• Enemies, like priests and ghost hunters that will getting in your path of getting rid of everyone inside your manor. This will also include special "boss" characters in each time period.

Poltergeist, as a puzzle game, will be divided in levels. In each level you will have a limited number of powers for you to use. You must use these powers with intelligence and precision, so you can haunt all the tenants the are in the level.

But be careful, if you use all of your powers in a level, and not all of the tenants were haunted, you will lose. You must be careful to choose your power and where/when to use them!

Usually powers will work in a specific "room". The execution of a power in a room will not affect characters who are outside of that room. This is important, because there are some powers that can affect various rooms with just one use.

There will be also enemies. Priests, Ghost Hunters and other "Boss" characters are tougher than normal ones, and they can and will block certain powers. If you use a power near one of these special characters, they will block it and it won't scare anyone.

The objective of Poltergeist is not of "seriousness". It is a very light-hearted take on the ghost concept by becoming the ghost itself.

It is designed to be fun, to feel more mischievous than actually evil. Pretty much like "mustache twirling evil" type. More of a playful little child that smirks every time he/she makes a prank on his neighbor.

It is also not a game of mad skill and twitching. You will carefully execute everyone of your actions carefully to finish each level. Think of "Lemmings", but without the extra pressure that game has (n_n).

1. Alert: Call the nearest character to an area. Animals and special characters will always take heed before other characters.
2. Alter Object: Alters the selected object. Removes one scare point to everyone who is in the same room.
3. Launch Object: Launches the selected object to another room. Removes one scare point on start and end rooms.
4. Possess an Object: Possesses an object for a short time. Will cause two scare points.
5. Possess a Human (new for the current version fo the game): Will possess a human! The human will scare a lot and will also travel to a specified room, scaring everyone in its path! When the power vanishes, the ex-possessed character will run away in panic.
6. Invoke Spectre: Creates a spectre in an specific area. Removes two scare points.
7. Invoke an illusion (new for the current version fo the game): Creates an illusion that scares a character and forces her to move to the selected area.
8. Create a Portal: A portal. Very powerful, and we know you want it!

Normal characters: The normal characters just wander around the manor, waiting to be scared. They can talk and get distracted, but otherwise they are completely vulnerable to your powers!

Special characters (priest, ghost hunter): These characters are tough! They exist to make your haunting schemes more difficult, they are serious in their jobs and will block some of your powers whenever they can!

"Boss" characters (new for the current version fo the game): In every era of your manor's history, there will be one level with an special character. They are tougher than special characters and can also block powers. Beware, they can be tricky!

"Epoch" characters (new for the current version fo the game): Many more characters will exist in the house, according to the current historic era they ara living in!.

The game is currently at the funding stage so if this piques your interest, you are more then welcome to support them at http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/poltergeist-pixelated-horror-a-puzzle-videogame-for-pc-mac-linux. Time is running out soon so get those wallets out if you love to play a ghost-themed puzzle game.

Until then this has been Alex Plum with IGH, reminding you that University life drains more than just your energy. Till next time readers, remember to floss after every meal.