Project

Pump Down The Flame

Fast-paced vertical 2D shooter-platformer built in Unity, centered around a pressure-based weapon used for combat, traversal, and environmental interaction.

Pump Down the Flame is a vertical action-platformer set inside a collapsing building engulfed in flames. The player controls a firefighter equipped with a high-pressure fire hydrant used not only as a weapon, but also as a movement tool for climbing the structure, extinguishing fires, rescuing civilians, and surviving the building’s progressive collapse.

My Contributions

• Implemented the full player controller and movement system
• Developed the dynamic water pressure mechanic driving both combat and traversal
• Implemented shooting systems with variable water jet behavior based on pressure
• Designed and implemented destructible environment interactions
• Developed rescue systems for civilians, including physics-based launching and landing logic
• Implemented core gameplay systems for fire extinguishing, hazards, and progression
• Designed the vertical level layout and gameplay flow
• Created visual assets and environment art for gameplay prototyping

Gameplay Systems

The core gameplay revolves around a dynamic pressure system linked to the firefighter’s hydrant. Players can connect to water vents to increase pressure, making the water jet stronger, wider, and more effective, but also harder to control. This creates a risk-reward loop where power and precision must be constantly balanced.

The hydrant also functions as a traversal mechanic: firing downward propels the player upward, blending shooting and platforming into a single physics-driven interaction loop. Movement, combat, and navigation are therefore tightly connected.

Environmental Interaction

The environment plays an active role in the gameplay. Players can destroy walls, windows, and obstacles to open new routes, extinguish fires to stabilize areas, and rescue trapped civilians by launching them through cleared paths and dropping them onto rescue cushions below.

Excessive destruction also contributes to structural instability, introducing an additional system-level pressure that discourages reckless play and reinforces the collapsing-building fantasy.