Workshop › Pac-Man-style Maze Chase › Step 22 of 42

Four ghosts in the house

What we are doing

Four ghosts join the game. Each description gets a corner (used soon) and a delay: how many frames it waits in the house. The ghosts now start inside the house; release puts one on EXIT, heading left, and the red one, which waits 0 frames, is released at once.

```js
const GHOSTS = [
  { name: 'red', color: '#ef4444', corner: { col: 18, row: 0 }, delay: 0 },
  { name: 'pink', color: '#f9a8d4', corner: { col: 0, row: 0 }, delay: 120 },
  { name: 'orange', color: '#fb923c', corner: { col: 0, row: 20 }, delay: 300 },
  { name: 'cyan', color: '#22d3ee', corner: { col: 18, row: 20 }, delay: 480 },
]

  ghosts = GHOSTS.map((g, i) => ({ ...g, col: 8 + (i % 3), row: 9, dir: STOP, progress: 0, frames: 10, waiting: g.delay }))
  for (const g of ghosts) if (g.waiting === 0) release(g)
}

// Out of the house: the ghost starts on the tile above it, heading left.
function release(g) {
  Object.assign(g, { col: EXIT.col, row: EXIT.row, dir: [-1, 0], progress: 0 })
}
```

What it means

map((g, i) => ...) also gives the position i; 8 + (i % 3) spreads the ghosts over the house's columns 8, 9, 10.
waiting starts at the ghost's delay.
Object.assign(g, { ... }) writes several fields into an existing object at once.
A ghost in the house has no open way (the house is a wall), so it stays put.

Your turn

Replace the GHOSTS line with the four descriptions.
In placeActors, replace the ghosts line with the two new lines.
Under placeActors, write the comment and release.

Skills: Game states, Arrays and objects

← The ghost hunts you One by one out of the house →

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