A Cortopia Studios Prototype
Team Size: 10 people
Development Time: ~3 months
Role: Gameplay & Level Designer
Development Time: ~3 months
Role: Gameplay & Level Designer
Project Oddjob is a physics- and gore-driven boomer shooter with light tactical and metroidvania-inspired elements. The game combines fast-paced combat, systemic physics interactions, and grotesque body horror with a stylized claymation-inspired visual identity.
The core player fantasy revolved around unleashing chaos on a corrupt and narcissistic upper class, using their own bodies as weapons and resources through the game’s deep gore and physics systems. A central design goal was to create creative and emergent gameplay where combat, traversal, and experimentation continuously fed into each other.
The player’s primary tool was the Super Sucker 5000 - an upgradable cosmetic surgery weapon where each upgrade introduced both new combat possibilities and new traversal mechanics. Abilities ranged from air blasts and double jumps to grappling with enemy intestines, freezing enemies to create traversal surfaces, and manipulating bodies and physics objects in the environment.
My role focused on level design and defining the game’s core progression structure. Each level was built around a central respawn hub with unlockable shortcuts that encouraged exploration, mastery, and backtracking. The player’s objective is to collect four keys in order to unlock the -boss or -challenge arena and progress to the next floor.
I designed and implemented physics-based traversal and puzzle rooms where players used the blow gun and its upgrades to interact with the environment and unlock new paths. Certain areas required specific upgrades to access, reinforcing the game’s metroidvania-inspired structure and encouraging players to revisit and reinterpret previously explored spaces.
A key challenge throughout development was designing levels that supported emergent gameplay while maintaining readable combat spaces and clear progression. The project placed a strong emphasis on player experimentation, replayability, and mastery through movement, combat, and environmental interaction.
The Facesmasher room
The Recovery room
The Massage room
The Boss room
