Ghost Dentist VR

Welcome! I see you could use a bit of dental work… Please just have a seat and I will possess you shortly. Don’t worry, you won’t feel a thing, unless I forget the anesthetic!

Ghost Dentist VR is a game created during Train Jam 2017 (an amazing game jam organized by Adriel Wallick) with a custom hardware peripheral - the VibraJaw™. It is a humorous body-horror experience where you, a ghost with a dental practice, possess your incoming patients in order to do their dental work. Of course, since you have possessed them, you are actually performing the dental work on yourself. Your patient is still aware, reacting with their eyes, tongue, and expressing pain. Too much and you'll get kicked out of their body!

As a designing that thrives on constraints and challenges and loves rapid prototyping with hardware, Ghost Dentist VR was a perfect experiment. Creating VR work on a train is already a difficult task, but we wanted to take it a step further by developing a jaw tracking device that also provides haptic feedback using vibrational motors that react based on the teeth you are drilling in-game. It has been invited to exhibit around the world, each time receiving a bit more polish. It began simply as a self-dentistry game, but once you’ve done your dental work, what’s left? As a ghost, however, the game loop can continue with new patients, conditions, and challenges dealing with your temporary host!

After countless requests to release a full version of the game (it plays great even without the VibraJaw™) we are open to funding or publishing assistance to make that happen properly!

Credits

• Jerry Belich – Game Designer, Custom Hardware
• Lisa Brown – Programmer, Designer, Producer
• Mike Enoch – Lead Programmer, Game Designer
• Elliot Davis – Technical Artist
• Elie Abraham – Sound Designer, Composer

Recognition

1. Fantastic ArcadeAudience Choice Award NomineeAustin, TX — October 26, 2018
2. A MAZEAudience Choice Award NomineeBerling, Germany — April 25, 2018
3. Full Indie SummitExhibitVancouver, Canada — October 21, 2017
4. Train Jam GDC DisplayExhibitSan Francisco, CA — February 28, 2017

Gallery