Die 4 a Paycheck
Released
Survive 15 minutes, kill zombies, and extract alive for a $1,000,000 paycheck in this darkly comic top-down shooter
Survive fifteen minutes. Extract alive. Collect $1,000,000.
Hi there! This is my first-ever game jam, and I’m excited to be taking part! Die 4 a Paycheck is my entry, and I hope you have fun with it.
Hi there! This is my first-ever game jam, and I’m excited to be taking part! Die 4 a Paycheck is my entry, and I hope you have fun with it.
The laboratory is recruiting volunteers to test experimental equipment in a zombie-infested outpost. No experience required. Payment requires a living recipient.
Die 4 a Paycheck is a darkly comic, single-player top-down survival shooter inspired by Crimsonland and Alien Shooter. Enter the trial, fight through escalating attacks, build your loadout, and reach extraction before your volunteer becomes another research expense.
- 🔦 Fight in the dark. Your flashlight reveals approaching threats. Watch for warning lights and listen for trouble beyond the beam.
- 🔫 Make every shot count. Carry an infinite-ammo pistol and a pump-action shotgun with limited shells. Keep moving, reload carefully, and find ammunition.
- 🧬 Experiment with upgrades. Collect battle data from fallen zombies and choose from twelve upgrades as you level up.
- 🧪 Fund the next attempt. Earn Scrap and purchase permanent LAB RESEARCH unlocks that add new upgrade choices to future trials.
- 🧟 Learn what’s hunting you. Shamblers, charging Runners, heavy Brutes, and Spitters demand different reactions.
- 📋 Meet your next volunteer. Each recruit has a name, a former job, and a trait that helps—or complicates—their chances.
- 🚁 Survive, then escape. Last fifteen minutes and hold the extraction zone to retire alive. Random Trial Conditions add new complications to repeat attempts.
Death ends a volunteer’s story. Your research remains, the laboratory’s body heap grows, and the next applicant arrives.
Controls: WASD to move, mouse to aim, left click to fire, R to reload, 1/2 to switch weapons, F for the flashlight, and E to interact.
Development will continue after the jam! I have plenty of ideas I want to bring to the game, and there’s only so much I can finish before the deadline.
More updates are coming, so stay tuned, and thanks for playing!
Credits:
Makoto Hiramatsu — “Alone” and “Transfer” from LOST, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Michel Baradari — player pain vocals, adapted through trimming and normalization, licensed under CC BY 3.0.
Binbun3D — RetroUrban Free floor textures, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
artisticdude — Zombies Sound Pack.
Kenney — impact sounds and UI audio.
SnakeF8 — pistol firing audio from Snake’s SECOND Authentic Gun Sounds Pack.
Place Holder Assets — zombie death audio from 50 Free Game Sounds.
Fredrik Svanholm — Weiholmir font.
YourPetFish — Low Poly Flare model.
Facepunch and s&box community creators — models, materials, effects, and additional audio, including alloyworkshop, baik, debelizmik, vidya, and cannedburgers.