Script:
Premise:
Phantom Felons is a work in progress script I have been working on for my Game Workshop I and II classes since the Fall 2025 semester. This narrative follows a gender-fluid prisoner named Sketch who becomes the only human in the Spirit World after crossing over to search for answers regarding their father’s death. Upon entering this realm, they find themselves imprisoned in the local jail, surrounded by both friendly and extremely violent ghosts. Throughout this journey, Sketch must confront other prisoners, form unlikely alliances, and battle powerful phantoms that are out for human blood.
Excerpts:
The following excerpt contains dialogue between Sketch and a friendly prisoner named Glitch.
GLITCH:
Oh hey, you’re the new prisoner I heard the Warden talking about. I heard you were next on her beat down list, that’s her way of introducing new inmates to her jail.
SKETCH:
Is that why my cell door was randomly open?
GLITCH:
Yup, she’ll claim you were trying to escape.
SKETCH: (angrily)
But I wasn’t!
GLITCH: (sadly)
Unfortunately that doesn’t matter. She tried pulling the same stunt on me but I hacked into the camera system and erased the footage of me leaving my cell!
GLITCH: (Cont.)
You seem like a nice person and, well, I promised myself I would turn a new leaf. If you wish, I can temporarily fuse with your soul and aid you on your journey, though only two ghosts can fuse with you throughout your time in the spirit realm.
I decided to have Glitch foreshadow the personality of our first boss, The Warden, to quickly distinguish her as a helpful ghost that can aid Sketch in their journey. Furthermore, having Glitch drop hints about The Warden’s personality helps build the characters backstory without flooding the player with information all at once.
The next excerpt is a letter the player can find in Glitch’s cell from a bank that offers to hire her once she gets out.
Still exploring the cell, Sketch sees a letter sticking out under Glitch’s pillow. They pick it up and read:
Dear Delta *Glitch* Moriko,
Though what you did was wrong, we were seriously impressed with your skills! If you’re interested, when your sentence ends, we would love to offer you a job at our cybersecurity branch. Spirit Bank could really use someone with your skillset on our team…plus, we figure if you work for us, you won’t be hacking us hahaha. If interested, please email us at the following address: spiritbanks_cybersecurityteam@spiritmail.com
We hope to hear from you soon,
Spirit Bank Team
SKETCH:
I’m surprised the bank would be so willing to hire her. Either ghosts are more forgiving than people in this world or they really do figure it would strengthen their security.
I decided to include a letter from the bank Glitch robbed to show how skilled she is and how she, like some other criminals, can be reformed and turn a new leaf in life. Sketch’s comment after finding the note represents how most people in life will judge a prisoner for their past mistakes rather than taking a chance to get to know them first before criticizing them.
The final excerpt is a prisoner file the player can find regarding a character nicknamed “Antler.”
ANTLER’S FILE:
Name: Maximina *Antler* Kelia
Inmate Number: 00865-050
Date of Birth: 03/11/1992
Address: Redacted
Medical Records: Redacted
Sentencing Information:
Offense Level: 02
Criminal History:
Multiple Game Violations:
Killed 5 baby deer for fun in August of 2020
Hunted elk out of season in May of 2015
Ran a herd of tired, grazing deer to death to steal their antlers in the Winter of 2018.
Final Decision: 5 years. Can parole in 3 and a half years for good behavior.
Fines: $50,000
Arrival Date: 01/04/2024
Mugshot:
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SKETCH:
She sounds like a horrible person, 5 years doesn’t seem like nearly enough. I guess animal related evils don’t receive a lot of prison time.
The character Antler was greatly inspired by a novel series I read a couple years ago called “Joe Pickett” by C.J. Box. While reading his game warden focused books, I learned how many people who commit crimes against animals typically receive little to no jail time. As a result, I decided to create a character that shows this particular flaw in our justice system, someone who performed terrible acts but still seemed to get away fairly easily despite the nature of their offenses. Additionally, I felt including prisoner files on the various convicts helped enrich the world of Phantom Felons and was a subtle way of deepening the characters without forcing this information to come out via dialogue all at once.
Play Phantom Felons here!