INCREASE THE VOLUME FOR BETTER EXPERIENCE
Inspiration DEAD-PIXEL-GAME was inspired by the brutal difficulty of 16-bit arcade classics like Ghouls 'n Ghosts and the satisfying "one-vs-many" combat of modern survivor-likes. We wanted to blend the discipline of a Samurai with the gritty brawling of a street Gangster to create a world where every pixel counts and survival is never guaranteed.
What it does It is a fast-paced 2D combat platformer where players battle endless hordes of zombies. Players can choose between two distinct heroes, manage their health through a real-time HUD, and trigger cinematic wave events. The game features a dynamic difficulty system that introduces "King Pig" bosses—massive, high-health enemies that require tactical positioning and timing to defeat.
How we built it The project was built using JavaScript and the Phaser 3 engine, powered by the Maki Framework.
Maki's Manager System: Handled the complex tilemap rendering and collision groups with just a few lines of code. Integrated Map Editor: Used npx maki tilemap to design the forest battlefield and place spawn triggers. Parallel HUD Architecture: We separated the game world from the UI using two parallel scenes to ensure the health bars and scores remain crisp even when the camera zooms in on the action. State Machines: Custom logic was written for character states (Idle, Run, Attack, Hurt, Dead) to ensure responsive movement. Challenges we ran into The biggest technical hurdle was Physics Stability at high gravity. To make the game feel "snappy," we used a high gravity constant ($G = 4500$). This created a risk of "tunneling" (falling through the floor). We solved this by implementing a velocity cap calculated as: $$ v_{max} < \frac{h_{hitbox}}{\Delta t} $$ Additionally, synchronizing audio cues with frame-perfect animations required careful event-handling to ensure that a sword slash sound played exactly when the hitbox overlapped an enemy.
Accomplishments that we're proud of Dynamic Wave System: We successfully implemented trigger-based spawning that makes the map feel alive—zombies drop from the trees as you reach the middle and end of the level. The Feel of Combat: Achieving a satisfying "hit" feel through screen vibration, audio feedback, and knockback logic. Clean HUD: Creating a professional-grade health bar and score system that feels like a retail game. What we learned We learned that Workflow is King. By leveraging the Maki Framework’s CLI tools, we were able to skip the "setup phase" and move straight to gameplay logic. We also learned that small "juicy" details—like a red vignette on low health or a death-sfx squeal—contribute more to the player's immersion than any complex backend algorithm.
What's next for DEAD-PIXEL-GAME Character Progression: Adding a shop system where players can spend points earned from kills to upgrade attack speed or health. New Environments: Expanding from the forest to urban cityscapes with vertical platforming. Boss Variety: Introducing more "Kings and Pigs" bosses with unique attack patterns, such as ranged fireballs or ground-pounds.
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