Halloween

WHAT THE HELL?!

Edit: I've updated the reference over at http://www.speedrun.com/gdhw2016/guides but I'm not updating this. Please go over there instead!

First and most importantly, here's the direct link to the game since Halloween's over for this year :(

https://www.google.com/logos/2016/halloween16/halloween16.html

If you haven't already, play it before you read this! Otherwise it would look like gibberish to you. It's pretty simple to pick up, so you'll have the basics in no time! You can also play it on the google's interactive doodles page but you can't resize the game screen.

Additionally, we were featured on Kotaku! Thanks u/GitaJacksonKotaku for writing the article!

http://kotaku.com/people-are-competing-to-be-the-fastest-at-googles-hallo-1788491135

So far, I'm the #1 WR for this speedrun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S77exYmmEM

There are six symbols in the game:

→ (Red symbol)

↓ (Blue symbol)

Λ (Green symbol)

V (Yellow symbol)

• You should really know this.

֍ (Lightning - clears one symbol off each ghost on screen and used at the end of the final boss sequence)

• Note I can't find a unicode character for lightning but you know what it looks like.

♥ (Heart - restores one heart)

Every single ghost is pre-determined (apart from some in Level 4) and that's why it's a good candidate for speedrunning! I've taken the time to map out every single ghost in the game in this guide and the quickest way to kill them, so all that should be left is the speed you can move your mouse cursor. The reference is also available here.

Using this reference

Every level has a set of waves. The next wave appears when all the ghosts in the current wave are dead. However, some waves have timings so ghosts at a certain time - there's no way to speed this up. (a quite clear example of this is in Stage 2 before the boss) Therefore, you should focus on the last ghost(s) of a wave to get a good time. As general advice, you should just spam the symbol that comes next (you can look at this guide) and then read the rest.

When I type Ghost A / Ghost B, etc. it means Ghost B will come shortly after Ghost A. If they're the same they come in at once.

I also recommend you play the game several times before reading this - that way you don't have to look at the reference every step of the way.

Here we go!

Tutorial

Wave 1

• Ghost: →

Wave 2

• Ghost: ↓

Notes: Should be self-explanatory.

Level 1

Wave 1:

• Ghost A: →

• Ghost B: ↓

• Ghost C: →

• Strategy: →↓

Wave 2:

• Ghost: ↓

• Ghost: →

• Ghost: ↓

• Strategy: →↓

Wave 3:

• Ghost A: Λ

• Ghost B: →

• Ghost C: V

• Ghost D : ↓

• Strategy: Λ→V↓

Wave 4:

• Ghost A: →↓

• Ghost B: ↓Λ→

• Strategy: →↓Λ→

Wave 5:

• Ghost A: ↓

• Ghost A: ↓

• Ghost B: Λ

• Ghost B: Λ

• Ghost C: →

• Ghost C: →

• Ghost D: V

• Ghost D: V

• Strategy: ↓Λ→V

Wave 6:

Same as Wave 5

Boss:

• Stage 1: Λ→Λ↓ Λ→Λ↓

• Stage 2: V→Λ→ V→Λ→

• Stage 3: ↓→↓→→↓

Notes for this stage:

Make sure you skip the cutscene fast. If you did it fast enough, the music should cut out. (at least on my pc)

Level 2

Wave 1

• Ghost: →→

• Ghost: ↓→

• Ghost: Λ→

• Ghost: V→

• Ghost: ֍

• Strategy: ֍→

Wave 2

• Ghost A: →Λ

• Ghost A: ↓→

• Ghost A: ΛV

• Ghost A: V↓

• Ghost B: →Λ

• Ghost B: ↓→

• Ghost B: ΛV

• Ghost B: V↓

• Ghost C: ֍

• Strategy: Can't find one here, since all symbols are variably spread out. Just do what you can, then lightning, then finish off the rest. Note B Ghosts are the same as A Ghosts.

Wave 3

• Ghost A: →

• Ghost A: →

• Ghost A: ↓

• Ghost A: ↓

• Ghost A: ↓

• Ghost B: Λ→→

• Ghost B: V→→

• Ghost B: Λ→↓

• Ghost B: Λ→↓

• Ghost B: V→↓

• Strategy: →↓ then ΛV→→↓

Wave 4

• Ghost: ֍

• Ghost A: ↓

• Ghost B: Λ

• Ghost C: V

• Ghost D; →

• Ghost E: V↓

• Ghost F: →Λ

• Ghost G: ↓V

• Ghost H: Λ→

• Ghost I: V↓

• Ghost J: →Λ

• Ghost K:: ↓V

• Ghost L:: Λ→

• Strategy: There's time between each ghost appearance and the next, so take your time, but make sure to kill Ghost L as quickly as possible to set off the next wave.

Boss Stage 1

• Ghost: →→→

• Ghost: ↓↓↓

• Boss: →→Λ→→

• Strategy: Simple, →→→↓↓↓ then →→Λ→→ for the boss

Boss Stage 2

• Ghost A: →↓→

• Ghost A: ↓→↓

• Ghost B: Λ

• Boss: ↓↓V↓↓

• Strategy: →↓→↓Λ then ↓↓V↓↓ for the boss

Boss Stage 3

• Ghost A: ΛV

• Ghost A: V→

• Ghost B: →↓

• Boss: ↓→Λ→↓

• Strategy: ΛV→↓ then ↓→Λ→↓ for the boss

Notes for this stage:

Strangely enough, failing to kill the ghosts on the second and third stages causes the boss to laugh indefinitely and cause the game to softlock. (on my pc)

Level 3

Wave 1

• Ghost: ↓→Λ

• Ghost: V→Λ

• Strategy: ↓V→Λ

Wave 2

• Ghost: →Λ→V→Λ→V

• Ghost: ↓Λ↓V↓Λ↓V

• Strategy: →↓Λ→↓V→↓Λ→↓V (A tip for this is to look at the top ghost and draw →↓ when you see →)

Wave 3

• Ghost: ↓V↓→

• Ghost: →VΛ→

• Ghost: ↓→↓Λ

• Strategy: ↓→V↓Λ→ (You have to memorize this)

Wave 4

• Ghost A: ΛΛ→

• Ghost A: VV→

• Ghost B: ֍

• Ghost C: →

• Ghost D; ↓Λ↓→

• Ghost D; V↓V→

• Ghost E: →

• Strategy: Don't have a good strat here. I update later if I find one.

Wave 5

• Just a load of ghosts I can't be bothered to write.

• Just do V↓Λ→ then ֍ and they'll be gone.

Wave 6:

• Another load of ghosts I can't be bothered to write.

• When the first ֍ appears, draw it, then wait until all the ghosts have spawned until you do the second ֍. Make sure to not draw the first ֍ too late otherwise it will destroy the second ֍. Just watch my video if you don't understand.

Boss:

• Stage 1: →ΛV

• Stage 2: V↓→

• Stage 3: →ΛV

• Stage 4: →↓V

• Stage 5: ↓Λ↓

Level 4

Wave 1

• Ghost A: ΛΛVVΛΛ

• Ghost B: →

• Ghost C: ↓

• Ghost D; → Strategy: No real strat. Beware the fast ghosts.

Wave 2

• Ghost A: →V→Λ→V→Λ

• Ghost B: ↓

• Ghost C: ↓

• Ghost D; ↓

• Ghost E: ↓ Strategy: Mash ↓ at the end.

Wave 3

• Ghost A: VVVV

• Ghost A: ↓↓↓↓

• Ghost A: ΛΛΛΛ

• Ghost B: →

• Ghost C: →

• Ghost D; →

• Ghost E: →

• Ghost F: →

• Strategy: Continue mashing ↓. Make sure to have all ghosts dead by Ghost F (shouldn't be too hard)

Wave 4

• Ghost A: →→VΛ→→VΛ→→

• Ghost B: ↓

• Ghost C: ↓

• Ghost D; →→↓↓→Λ→↓↓

• Ghost E: V

• Ghost F: V

• Ghost G: V→V→V→

• Ghost H: Λ

• Ghost I: Λ

• Ghost J: Λ

• Ghost K: Λ

• Strategy: Like in Stage 2, don't rush because all of these ghosts are on set timers. No strategy here, just kill Ghost K as fast as possible (which is difficult because mashing Λ is hard)

Wave 5

• Ghost A: ↓

• Ghost B: →

• Ghost C: Λ

• Ghost D; V

• Ghost E: V→

• Ghost F: Λ↓

• Ghost G: VΛ

• Ghost H: ΛV

• Strategy: Ghost A is the fastest and Ghost H is the slowest. Try VΛ↓→VΛ but be quick since Ghost A is fast.

Wave 6:

• Ghost A: →

• Ghost A: ↓

• Ghost A: →

• Ghost A: ↓

• Ghost A: →

• Ghost B: V↓→V

• Ghost B: Λ→→Λ

• Ghost B: V→→V

• Ghost B: Λ→↓Λ

• Ghost B: Λ→↓Λ

• Strategy: →↓ then VΛ↓→→↓VΛ

Boss

• Stage 1: ΛΛVVΛΛVV

• Stage 2: ↓↓→↓↓→V→

• Stage 3: →→Λ→↓→→V

• And randomly generated ghosts

• Strategy: Focus on the boss, ignore the other ghosts, since the level ends when the boss (and not the other ghosts) is dead! Take a few hits, if you can.

Notes for this stage:

This stage has a theme of a really slow, complicated ghosts accompanied with fast, simple ghosts. You should really focus on the complicated ones, so that does mean tanking a few lives. Hopefully that won't be a problem.

Level 5

The final level! This is the one where you dexterity is needed the most!

Boss Stage 1

• Ghost: →

• Ghost: →

• Ghost: Λ

• Ghost: ↓

• Ghost: ↓

• Ghost: V

• Ghost: V

• Boss: →↓→Λ→Λ→Λ֍

• Strategy: The timing for the ghosts is a little weird; I can't work out which ones appear first, so just try mashing all the symbols I guess.

Boss Stage 2

• Ghost A: ΛΛ

• Ghost A: VV

• Ghost B: ↓↓

• Ghost B: →→

• Ghost C: Λ→

• Ghost C: V↓

• Boss: Λ↓→VΛ↓→V֍

• Strategy: Top Ghost C spawns off-screen so you can take it out early.

Boss Stage 3

• Ghost: →

• Ghost: →

• Ghost: ↓

• Ghost: ↓

• Ghost: Λ

• Ghost: Λ

• Ghost: V

• Ghost: V

• Boss: VV→↓ VV→↓ ΛΛVV↓↓↓֍

• Strategy: Ghosts here are fast so easy →↓ΛV. Then it's the final boss sequence -- if you're good enough, you should be able to take the boss out without losing a life!

Notes for this stage:

The cutscene is unskippable as far as I can tell. Try not to choke I guess :P

And that's it! If you think you've got a good enough time, submit it here.

Note that you should really be depending more on your memory and dexterity rather than this. It's much easier to read off the screen that constantly be switching back and forth.

And if you know any other place I could past this except www.speedrun.com where people might be interested, let me know!

Edit: Formatting

Like seriously that game which, let me remind you, is just a simple 10-minute-if-that distraction on the google homepage, has more replay value than some AAA games out there like wtf

I already put like 5 hours into grinding all of the achievements (yes there are achievements in this game; that’s a big part of why this game is so replayable) and I’m still far from bored of this game