WELCOME to Dancing with Ghosts

POST #1: Greg Johnson's Developer Blog

A 3-minute Trailer for the game:

Hi all! My name is Greg Johnson. Some of you might know me, or some of my past games, like the ToeJam & Earl, Starflight, Kimono Cats, Doki Doki Universe . Or maybe you’ve seen the Disney Kid’s-Music show, called Choo Choo Soul that I created, or played my Kickstarter card game, Outta Our Shells.

I want to share Dancing with Ghosts with you, and invite you to hear the journey that led me to it’s making, and join me in it’s development. Here, on this blog, I will share updates with you, and fill you in on how things are going, and also share some of the background and motivation for what is certainly the most deeply-personal and meaningful game I’ve made in my 40+ years as an Indie Developer.

After living through a series of very difficult things in the last few years, the story of Dancing with Ghosts, and gameplay, sort of emerged in my psyche… almost on it’s own. Partly, this game was a necessary outlet for me as I processed, and tried to deal with the death of my daughter, the loss of my home in the Maui fire, a narrow escape from death, the unexpected death of my father, and the tragedy of my wife’s father losing half of his brain to stroke, all within a couple of years. Dancing with Ghosts is the expression of the affirming life-lessons that allowed me to find my way through these things. My hope is that by sharing it, it will resonate with others and offer them strength and an appreciation for how very precious every moment of life is. Sharing the story behind this game means opening up my life, and sharing some personal details like these, so you will understand what it all means. Of course, at the end of the day, my goal is to make a game this is charming, joyful, and funny and has compelling characters and story, as well as one that has poignant moments, thought-provoking messages, and original game play.

I have been working on this game with a few dear friends for the last two years. Each of them have their hearts in this game as well, and each has hopes for how the game will be meaningful to others. I will tell you about them and share their thoughts as well (whatever they want me to share, of course). I think we are about a year away from launch, and I have been waiting, excited to finally be able to share this, and see what others think. I still have time to incorporate your feedback, should you have any, and I welcome your thoughts and impressions. The only thing I ask, is that everyone be kind to each other, and be positive, and open-minded. Creating a warm and supportive community around this game is an important part of why I am making this.

If you have any questions for me at all, even if they aren’t about this game, don’t hesitate to drop them in the comments, and I’ll do my best to answer them all. Thank you again for being interested. I hope this game is as special for many of you as it is for me. This game is lovingly dedicated to my daughter, Thi-Lan, and to my wife Sirena, who has been at my side through it all.