In Ghostsn’ DJs players take on the role of one frustrated DJ as he fights against what he feels are the corporate and cultural downfall of the culture through a Ghosts ‘n Goblins inspired side-scroller.
Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. At least, if you’re a fan of the non-indie EDM music industry.
Ghosts’n DJs is one man’s attempt to express his frustration with the current bigwigs in the EDM (electronic dance music) genre through the medium of games. More specifically, a game inspired by one of the most notoriously difficult platformers of all time, in which he gets to pelt the DJs and producers he doesn’t like with records and other music paraphernalia.
Musical artists expanding their reach by creating or starring in games is nothing new: Journey did it in the early 80’s, Iron Maiden had a custom game made for one of their albums, and most anyone in to rhythm games in the last ten years would be familiar with Guitar Hero: Metallica and the like. Likewise, games being used to express frustration with the way things work in the real world are nothing new either, with Missile Command being one of the earliest examples. But a vanity project like Ghosts’n DJs is something of a rarer sight.
Not only is Dr. Kucho! obviously pretty brave to put himself and his opinion out there the way he is for his sidescrolling baby, he has also chosen to forego support for modern resolutions, instead opting for a custom-designed filter to recreate the look and feel of old-school CRT arcade monitors, down to the scanlines and blurred feel of much of the detail. Between that, and basing his design on one of the most notoriously difficult platforming franchises of all time, Dr. Kucho! isn’t pulling any punches with Ghosts’n DJs, though it would be nice to see him opt to utilize his own EDM rather than orchestral or chiptune music as currently seems to be his plan, putting his money where his mouth is, as it were.
If you like (or dislike) modern EDM enough to find the concept of Ghosts’n DJs interesting, or just enjoy retro platformers, the game is currently running a Kickstarter to help Dr. Kucho! bring the project to completion. The game is also up on Steam Greenlight, with an estimated release of December next year.