{"id":2201,"edition":12,"categories":1,"features":0,"size":13295,"name":"Phantomicus","authors":[{"name":"Cody Ebberson","url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094}],"description":"
\n

“In ghost hunting, one man’s noise is another man’s data.” - Dr. H. Spookworth

\n
\n

Welcome to Dr. Zaphod Beeblebrox’s spirit-infested lab! Armed with your Spook Siphon and a PhD in Paranormal Pest Control, ascend 13 floors to defeat the spectral infestation.

\n

Overview

\n

Navigate challenging levels:

\n\n

User Interface

\n

Watch your UI for crucial info:

\n\n

Controls

\n\n

Remember, fear nothing but fear itself… and that slime-dripping ghost behind you. Happy hunting!

\n

Acknowledgements

\n\n

License

\n

MIT

\n","source":"codyebberson/js13k-phantomicus","stars":7,"yt":"1XChnCqAbkQ","post":"https://github.com/codyebberson/js13k-phantomicus?tab=readme-ov-file#retrospective","comments":[{"at":378894773,"author":"Ryan Malm","login":"Rybar","gh":145812,"text":"

Great game! I really enjoyed the Luigi’s Mansion vibe, and the music was fantastic. I beat the game, I honestly wished it was more difficult, I didn’t have any trouble with the ghosts or feel like I was low on health ever.

\n","games":["Six And Seven"]},{"typ":1,"at":379132292,"re":378894773,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Thanks Ryan! I agree that it’s too easy. In past years, my games have been too hard, and I think I overcorrected. Thanks for your kind words 🙏

\n"},{"at":378906894,"author":"Rob Louie","login":"roblouie","gh":5448110,"url":"roblouie.com","twitter":"rob_louie","text":"

Really enjoyed it! Love Luigi’s Mansion, love how this turned out.

\n","games":["13th Floor"]},{"typ":1,"at":379132374,"re":378906894,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Thanks Rob! I’ve actually never played Luigi’s Mansion, but it seemed like a fun source of inspiration 🤣

\n"},{"at":378925576,"author":"Gauthier Billot","login":"gogoprog","gh":1249453,"url":"http://gogopr.org","twitter":"gogoprog","text":"

Really nice entry!\nThe different levels, the 3D models, the audio, this game has it all,\nit was really pleasant to play.

\n","games":["Mini13 : A very minimal fps"]},{"typ":1,"at":379132325,"re":378925576,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Thank you Gauthier, I appreciate your kind words! 🙏

\n"},{"at":378946168,"author":"WHITE6982","login":"WHITE6982","gh":181463855,"text":"

Really Great Game!! There are lot of things in 13kb.

\n","games":["13 Cards Dungeon"]},{"typ":1,"at":379132412,"re":378946168,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Thank you! I did the programmer thing, and just kept adding features, ha.

\n"},{"at":379026117,"author":"João Lopes","login":"lopis","gh":2715751,"url":"www.jlopes.dev","text":"

This game looks seriously impressive! The amount of content, the 3D elements, the music.\nI unfortunately only get a black screen on the 3D part on Firefox, had to switch to Chrome.\nAlso after playing for a bit, the computer started getting very slow and FPS dropping quickly. Had to shut down my browser as it was causing my whole laptop to freeze.

\n","games":["Thirteen Terrible Stunts"]},{"typ":1,"at":379132474,"re":379026117,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Thanks João! Bummer about the performance issues. I need to add Ubuntu to my testing process next year. Thanks for playing and your kind words 🙏

\n"},{"at":379058091,"author":"xem","login":"xem","gh":1225909,"text":"

Quite incredible hommage to Luigi’s Mansion, is that a real 3D physics engine that handles the boxes?! If yes, please release it as a standalone library :p

\n","games":["O HIII BAD SKATEPARK","EMOJIPHOBIA","GREAT PLUMBER 65"]},{"typ":1,"at":379132515,"re":379058091,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Thanks xem! Yes, I have you in mind for a standalone version that is stripped down to just the physics. Stay tuned!

\n"},{"at":379098551,"author":"John Edvard","login":"johnedvard","gh":656024,"url":"https://reitgames.com","twitter":"ReitGames","text":"

Great 3D game, and a nice version of Luigi’s Mansion. I enjoyed playing the game. Impressive that you’ve added so much.

\n

The controls were a bit slippery for my taste, but I was able to complete the game. Appreciate the final boss being more difficult than the rest of the levels.

\n","games":["Bubble Burst"]},{"typ":1,"at":379132607,"re":379098551,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Thanks John! Agree, the player character needs more friction. In the frantic final days of testing, I started tweaking more physics constants, and I unfortunately the player character got slippery. Thanks for playing, and thanks for your kind words 🙏

\n"},{"at":379120710,"author":"Roman Miniv","login":"RomanMiniv","gh":50551993,"text":"

My result is 75170, 13/13, but without end scene or I lost he somehow :).

\n

If you’ve ever wanted to hunt ghosts but couldn’t find them, here you can :).

\n

I liked the level design, as well as the music that harmoniously accompanies it. I also really enjoyed climbing the pipes!

\n

From what I noticed, the start of the game can be started by pressing any key, not only Enter, but then everything converges, and also at the end of the game, there is no possibility to restart, that is, it does not work on the key R. I think I would like to see some effect of the end of the game, or a transition to the start screen, or there is a feeling that there may be something else, and it is not clear whether it is the end or not.

\n

In general, very nice, congratulations!

\n","games":["How it started"]},{"typ":1,"at":379132761,"re":379120710,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Thanks Roman! Congrats on your high score, that’s very respectable!

\n

Yes, there are a couple of funny bugs where the vacuum will shrink a ghost, but not completely, so then there is a tiny ghost bouncing around that looks very similar to a dust particle 😱

\n

And yes, any key will trigger the intro sequence. I was trying to save bytes by reusing the same “Press Enter to continue” message in multiple places 🙃

\n

Thank you so much for your feedback and your kind words! 🙏

\n"},{"at":379236798,"author":"IroncladDev","login":"IroncladDev","gh":50180265,"url":"https://connerow.dev/","twitter":"IroncladDev","text":"

I enjoyed the game a lot.

\n

The lighting and music really add a nice touch.

\n

Awesome job.

\n","games":["Salvadoran Reclamation: MS-13"]},{"typ":1,"at":379251505,"re":379236798,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Thank you! I appreciate it, coming from a fellow redneck fullstack

\n"},{"at":379241348,"author":"Ryan Tyler","login":"tyler6699","gh":50468,"url":"https://carelesslabs.co.uk","text":"

Very great game, very polished, graphics are really cool, have a PS1 kind of feel to them. Music was really good, plus nice sound FX.

\n

All ran really smoothly!

\n

The controls I found a little tough, mostly facing the ghosts correctly, I have played Luigi’s Mansion and the controls are very similar to that.

\n

I also see you are super active on all the games commenting!!

\n","games":["The Fear Factory"]},{"typ":1,"at":379251639,"re":379241348,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Thank you for the kind words! I’m so happy to hear that it ran smoothly for you, as it sounds like a number of people had performance issues. I agree, the controls are still a little loose. When the vacuum is running, the game gently rotates the player toward the nearest ghost, but I don’t think it’s enough. Oh well. Thank you for playing! 🙏

\n"},{"at":379326402,"author":"Homer Dilpleu","login":"HomerDilpleu","gh":66157330,"text":"

Incredible game! Everything is very very well done: music, 3d, controls, gameplay. I was impressed by the 3D boxes physics and I really had fun playing. Congratulations, one of the best entries this year according to me!

\n","games":["Unloved 13"]},{"typ":1,"at":379328091,"re":379326402,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Ahh, thank you for such kind words! 🥹

\n"},{"at":379425573,"author":"Alexander Petrov","login":"baturinsky","gh":632779,"twitter":"baturinsky","text":"

Some interesting things in graphics (ellipsoid shapes, flashlight).

\n

Gameplay and level design are, well, not the strongest part of this entry. I haven’t played Luigi’s mansion, maybe then I would perceive it differently.

\n

Most interesting part is the physics. There is a serious lack of the lightweight 3d physics libs for js (for 2d there is xem’s), and seeing that someone is addressing it is very inspiring. But it’s usage in this game was very limited. i wonder why.

\n","games":["Terra Mobilis","Triskaidekagenesis"]},{"typ":1,"at":379437710,"re":379425573,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Thanks Alexander! You’re absolutely correct that the 3d physics are not adequately used. There are two reasons. One, the physics engine was not well optimized, and complex scenes ran quite slowly on underpowered hardware, which is difficult in js13k because underpowered hardware is surprisingly common. Two, the physics engine lacked enough stability to rely on it as a core mechanic. By “stability”, I mean stacking boxes and having it work as expected. There are many small tweaks necessary to fully stabilize everything.

\n

I’ve been chatting with xem about extracting the physics as a standalone library. Here is a stripped down version, with some additional notes about implementation details and known issues: https://github.com/codyebberson/js13k-3dphysics-for-xem

\n"},{"at":379492037,"author":"Markus Fisch","login":"markusfisch","gh":485246,"url":"http://www.markusfisch.de","text":"

Really impressive graphics! And really good gameplay too! Couldn’t stop until I did it! :D

\n","games":["Lost City Of S"]},{"at":379583226,"author":"Jure Triglav","login":"jure","gh":238667,"url":"https://juretriglav.si","twitter":"juretriglav","text":"

Lovely game! The final size of 12.98kB links it very strongly to this year’s theme :)

\n

Love the tech you put in this, the lighting and physics sim in particular. In terms of difficulty it might be a bit too easy, as others have pointed out, but I also got my ass kicked one too many times this evening while playing other entries, so something being a bit easier where one can simply relax and play is a very welcome improvement.

\n

I think you could improve level design and variety a bit, but you’re also right on the limit, so I can appreciate it would have been tricky to pull off. Congrats on a great entry!

\n","games":["The Dandelion Wars","plusminus13"]},{"at":379620214,"author":"Christoph Schansky","login":"DerBenniBanni","gh":5499976,"text":"

When the galactic president Mr. Beeblebrox’s calls, I am ready to vac the spirits from his lab!

\n

Very nice game with astonishing graphics for 13 kb

\n

I also like the gameplay and the narration. Controls are fine too - support for a gamepad would be a “nice to have”

\n

Good Job!

\n","games":["Aargh! Triskaideka attacks!"]},{"at":379645007,"author":"Isaac Benitez","login":"isacben","gh":37629156,"url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/isacben/","text":"

Hi!\nCongrats on the game! Really nice!

\n
    \n
  1. Loved the music
    2. \n
  2. The controls feel pretty good. I liked that you don’t need to be super close to grab the boxes.
    3. \n
  3. Great effect to vacuum things.
    4. \n
  4. And the levels are fun. Would’ve liked to play more levels!\nGood entry!
    5. \n
\n

And good to see others based in the Bay Area!

\n","games":["Unblock"]},{"at":379961307,"author":"Frank Force","login":"KilledByAPixel","gh":16227600,"url":"https://www.frankforce.com","twitter":"KilledByAPixel","text":"

Amazing work, 3d engine and animation was really smooth. Solid music and sound effects. Maybe simplify some things like get rid of the score and current floor display, you could show score after they win. Some shadows would help ground the character, even a simple fake spot below them. For controls you might want to make it so when holding down spacebar the player is locked in the direction they are facing. Great entry, I really enjoyed this one!

\n","games":["DR1V3N WILD"]},{"at":380088565,"author":"Miguel Ángel Pérez Martínez","login":"zlash","gh":1052438,"twitter":"zurashu","text":"

It doesn’t render anything on my browser (Firefox/Linux). It works on Chromium though. Everything is amazing! Awesome Job!!!

\n","games":["Escape from Planet XIII"]},{"at":380103477,"author":"Siorki","login":"Siorki","gh":2333431,"text":"

Wow ! How did you manage to pack that much data into 13k ?

\n

Nice music, sfx, simple but polished graphics, 3D with shadows, efficient physics, a complete story (yet the theme is a bit overlooked) and smooth controls.

\n

The game is a bit too easy, I shouldn’t be able to finish it on the first run ! And major drawback, the 3D doesn’t display properly with Firefox, you only get the overlays. I had to switch to Chromium.

\n","games":["2048 / 13"]},{"at":380177317,"author":"Mark Vasilkov","login":"mvasilkov","gh":140257,"url":"https://mvasilkov.animuchan.net","twitter":"mvasilkov","text":"

Fantastic audio! The sound for traveling via pipes is especially lovely :)

\n

Thanks for publishing the physics thing, will be happy to take a closer look.

\n","games":["Shoot 13 Nomsters","King Thirteen"]},{"at":380193287,"author":"NoNiMad","login":"NoNiMad","gh":2399961,"url":"https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@nonimad","twitter":"NoNiMad","text":"

Impressive graphics with a cool physics system. Ghostbusters had better watch out. Loved the music as well! Finished with a score of 82600 (with the time bonus)!

\n","games":["13 Bubbles"]},{"at":380240823,"author":"Almar Suarez","login":"wololoa","gh":10622012,"twitter":"repunkgame","text":"

Wow! The physics, the rendering, the music - it’s amazing! Very nice game :)

\n","games":["DECK 13"]},{"at":380273188,"author":"Eoin McGrath","login":"eoinmcg","gh":96340,"url":"http://eoinmcgrath.com","twitter":"eoinmcg","text":"

Not only technically excellent, given the jam limitations, but great execution and really fun to play. Amazing job!

\n","games":["Gecko Blaster"]},{"at":380276387,"author":"Jonathan Vallet","login":"jonathan-vallet","gh":5329099,"text":"

Excellent 3d game!\nGreat experience that fits the theme. Audio is smooth and adds a good vibe to the game! Cool physics with boxes, light effects and phantoms!\nThe only little improvement detail should be about controls: sometimes the character seems floating and turn slowly

\n","games":["13 Steps to Escape"]},{"at":380279790,"author":"Raptor Dev","login":"raptor0999","gh":74460924,"twitter":"Raptor_IndieDev","text":"

Love the music! I’ve actually been playing Luigi’s Mansion 3 a little lately, so it’s pretty cool to see a game inspired by it.

\n

I like the mechanics and the controls are good also. Played all the way through and I can tell you struggled to make levels and content about halfway through. Kudos to going on and making an ending too! The last room was pretty surprising to me, but fun!

\n","games":["Primonumerophobia"]},{"at":380291340,"author":"Mohammad Jawad","login":"mhmdjawad","gh":22205462,"url":"https://pdemia.com/","text":"

3d games will always be my fav good work on making one under 13kb, the graphics are epic and dialogs are fun and entertaining.

\n","games":["The 13 Invaders","Cookie Maze 3d","Maze Runner vs 13","Tower Defence Walking 13s"]},{"at":380329833,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"

This is really fun! Really impressive amount of stuff packed into 13kb!

\n

Apart from the solid gameplay, the sound effects and music are really nice, as are the minor story interludes. I like that the UI invites a “speed running” mindset, too, with a running timer. Would be fun to try and get a fast finish time on this game.

\n

I could beat the game with a score of 51,560.

\n

My only thought is that I wish the vacuum attack had some sound effect or more obvious visual cue? Sometimes I couldn’t tell if I was actually performing the attack or not.

\n

But yeah, great game!!

\n","games":["PicoBuddy"]},{"at":380350274,"author":"Emre Guneyler","login":"eguneys","gh":3844764,"url":"https://eguneys.github.io/jsgames/","text":"

I think the best game of all Js13k history. Loved the extra health so I don’t die quick, Juicy mechanics, great audio. Top starts all the way. Good job.

\n","games":["Cooler"]},{"at":380356835,"author":"Lewis Nakao","login":"lewdev","gh":1469960,"url":"https://lewdev.github.io","twitter":"lewdev","text":"

Wow, an amazing game with great 3D graphics. I really appreciate the simple controls and perspective. It was fun collecting gold cubes and vacuuming ghosts and colorful cubes!

\n

Aiming at a ghost sometimes felt really clumsy and kept facing the wrong way but I didn’t die. Perhaps an auto-lock to face the nearest ghost would help. Otherwise, it was a totally enjoyable experience!

\n","games":["13attle TanKs"]},{"at":380365801,"author":"Jasper Renow-Clarke","login":"picosonic","gh":26137750,"twitter":"femtosonic","text":"

The game is pretty neat, and definitely has Luigi’s mansion vibes. I love playing that on the gamecube.

\n

The tune is good and pretty faithfully recreated.

\n

The torch works really well to illuminate the scene.

\n

The vacuum kept stopping working, was there something I was missing here?

\n

The game didn’t work at all on firefox (except the music), but was ok on Chrome.

\n","games":["rollermaze"]},{"at":380368023,"author":"Michał Chojnacki","login":"alcore","gh":13606783,"url":"https://muyo.io","text":"

Feels and plays solid all round. Chapeau bas for tackling 3D in 13KB so well. Even if I tried to nitpick, I’d have a hard time.

\n

It’s awesome to see you participating again after last year’s absence — and to see you clearly building on the experiences and tools from previous years, improving on them each time. Here’s to hoping to see another game of yours next year!

\n"},{"typ":1,"at":380493384,"re":380368023,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Thank you so much for kind words ☺️ Likewise, thank you so much for all of your hard work on the website and managing the chaos in Slack and Discord. Looking forward to next year 🥂

\n"},{"at":380414516,"author":"Michel Sabchuk","login":"michelts","gh":361492,"url":"http://turbosys.com.br","text":"

Wow, wonderful 3D graphics!

\n

Really fun to play! I loved the scientist characters and his initial instructions.

\n

Congratulations!

\n","games":["Thirteen Truco"]},{"typ":2,"at":380424237,"author":"Joep van Duinen","url":"https://poki.com","twitter":"joepvduinen","text":"

This is a unique 3D game in such a small file size! I was impressed overall with the simple controls and fun experience. The game might need some additional attacks, but it’s already amazing to play. The execution of the game is perfect. My colleagues here at Poki are also impressed!

\n"},{"typ":1,"at":380476954,"re":380424237,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Thank you for your feedback, Joep! I’m thrilled that you and your Poki colleagues enjoyed the game. The Poki playtesting services were invaluable in refining the game, and I’m grateful for Poki’s support of the js13k community - thank you!

\n"},{"typ":2,"at":380449225,"author":"Christer Kaitila","login":"McFunkypants","gh":2111957,"url":"http://www.mcfunkypants.com","text":"

👻♥ this is my favourite game of this year’s js13k competition, in terms of game-feel and fun factor! I love that almost everything is made from scaled spheres. I love the mario pipes and sounds. Love the luigi mansion ghostbusting. Love the lighthearted vibe and music. And I really loved the smooth satisfying movement. This game has little to do with the theme except the number of levels and general spooky-ness, but I don’t care, it is really fabulous and I enjoyed every minute. incredible work.

\n"},{"typ":1,"at":380476743,"re":380449225,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Wow! Thank you! Your feedback has me over the moon! I’ve been a fan since “Wolf King”, and your work has been a direct inspiration for my js13k entries over the years. Thank you for the kind words!

\n"},{"typ":2,"at":380500188,"author":"Richard Davey","login":"photonstorm","gh":164476,"url":"www.photonstorm.com","twitter":"photonstorm","text":"

If 15 minutes ago someone had asked me “Could you make Luigi’s Mansion, in 3D, with music, in 13KB?” I probably would have smiled politely and quickly left the room. And then I played Phantomicus.

\n

Let’s get this out of the way up front: Phantomicus is nothing short of remarkable. Upon entering the lab you are immediately presented with a very Nintendo-esque vibe, especially the great music that plays through-out. Move the character around and they will swing their torch, illuminating the darker areas. Find the character that details the task to you which involves ridding the lab of the ghosts. And, sure enough, there is a handy ghost which you can vacuum up by holding down the space bar. Then you need to find the golden key that unlocks the green warp pipe to the next room. When I said this was inspired by Nintendo, I really meant it.

\n

The rooms get slightly more complex as you go. Some have more ghosts, some have basic puzzles, some have stacks of cubes you need to knock down to find the key. And, once you reach the 13th floor you’re beset with a monster wave of ghosts.

\n

You will probably complete the game in your first sitting. But you know what? That’s such a great thing! Because I had great fun doing it, and while a few of the higher floors did tend to repeat from earlier ones, you still have to bear in mind: 13KB! Game jam! Short deadline! With a little more time I have no doubt all of the levels could have been really varied. As it stands, it’s a technical triumph. My only criticism would be it’s quite weak link to the theme. Given the subject matter on display here, it feels like the theme could have been better integrated into the game itself.

\n"},{"typ":1,"at":380555201,"re":380500188,"author":"Cody Ebberson","login":"codyebberson","gh":749094,"url":"https://cody.ebberson.com","twitter":"codyebberson","text":"

Thank you so much for your kind words! I’ve been a fan of yours since Cat Astro Phi! I’m honored 🙏

\n"}],"results":{"theme":{"rank":68,"min":1,"score":2.69,"max":4.2},"innovation":{"rank":27,"min":1,"score":3.33,"max":4.47},"gameplay":{"rank":13,"min":1,"score":3.9,"max":4.29},"graphics":{"rank":18,"min":1,"score":4.07,"max":4.76},"audio":{"rank":2,"min":1,"score":4.26,"max":4.34},"controls":{"rank":14,"min":1,"score":3.74,"max":4.24},"primary":{"rank":7,"min":6,"score":22,"max":24.47},"label":"Overall"}}