Devil, Cops, Androids.

2026 · Global Game Jam · Theme: Mask
48-hour jam · Top-down shooter · Unity

Gameplay designer · Level designer
Programming for gun feel · Narrative writing
Music selection

For GGJ2026's theme, Mask, I designed the core mechanic around three masks, each granting a different demon's combat ability. Our team built the game in 48 hours.

The starting point was a question about Hank from Detroit: Become Human: what if the android crisis pushed a veteran detective into a murderous breakdown? In our game, a cop makes a pact with a devil in a police station's cells, then fights his way to the helipad. I wanted the pulpy violence of a B-movie and the rush I enjoy in Hotline Miami. That made satisfying combat my priority.

Full playthrough. Three masks, a pact with a devil, and an escape through the police station.

Three masks, three ways to fight

Switching masks changes the player's weapon and how close they need to get to an enemy.

Revolver: Long range and a narrow hit area that rewards precise aim.
Shotgun: Heavy damage at close range.
Blade: A short dash combined with high damage.

I designed these abilities around different approaches to the same fight. Distance favours the revolver; closing in gives the shotgun and blade their opportunity. The mouse wheel lets players move between all three during combat.

Making the violence feel immediate

My programming work focused on recoil response and screen shake. I used both to give firing a gun a physical response on screen. The goal was for every shot to feel forceful while the player moved through the station.

I also chose Underworld's "Born Slippy (NUXX)", which I knew from Trainspotting, as the background music. I proposed flashing "KILL THEM ALL" on screen whenever the player reloads. It is a glimpse of the protagonist's obsessive inner voice: even while his gun is empty, his desire to keep killing takes over the screen. I wrote the game's narrative text around that descent into madness.

The words KILL THEM ALL fill the screen in blue over the police station game scene — The reload phrase turns a pause in firing into another expression of the protagonist's obsession. Music credit: itch.io.

An escape through the police station

I designed the maps and placed enemies, cover, and routes through the combat spaces. Rainbow Six Siege was one of my references. I have spent a lot of time playing shooters, and wanted to draw on that experience when deciding where players would move and where they would meet resistance. Teammates designed the enemies' stats and behaviour.

The route climbs from the basement cells to the first-floor offices and weapons room, then through the second-floor conference room to the helipad. We originally imagined more levels after the escape. Within the jam's 48 hours, we kept the police station as the complete playable journey.

The basement map in Unity Scene view, with prison cells at the top, a CCTV room, corridors, enemy placements, and the Hierarchy visible at the right — Basement: cells, CCTV room, and the first route out.

The first-floor police station map in Unity Scene view, showing the offices, weapons room, corridors, cover, enemy placements, and the Hierarchy — First floor: offices, weapons room, and cover along the corridors.

The second-floor map in Unity Scene view, with the conference room on the left, the helipad on the right, cover, enemy placements, and the Hierarchy — Second floor: conference room and the final approach to the helipad.

What the playtests exposed

Players strongly preferred the revolver. Its reach let them stay safe, and the enemies' limited mobility gave them little reason to risk closing in. The other weapons' higher damage did not offset that advantage.

For a future version, I would test faster enemies alongside changes to the revolver: damage falloff at long range, loading rounds individually, or a longer recovery between shots. These are untested options. I would check whether they make switching masks more useful while keeping the combat satisfying.

Game art: ssarND · Full team credits on itch.io