How Thematic Progression and Level Diversity Drives Engagement in Mafia Marksman

Game Link

Android iOS

Context

After wrapping up Auto Cop, where CPI was trending upward despite improved playtime, we wanted to apply those lessons and push forward with a more deliberate direction. This time, I wanted to explore the theme Mafia. I picked this because I thought that in a mafia family, the progression is intuitive. Everyone knows that a new player is a Recruit, and he moves up the ladder gradually.

The theme offered a variety of weapons seen in Mafia movies, including the classics like the Tommy gun. It also offered isolated missions that are straightforward. But different flavors of missions like Sniper, Rescue, etc. The theme explains itself and sits well with the core

Hypothesis

Here’s the MDA framework that I used to fine-tune my concept

Mechanics (Designer’s Tools)

• Weapon system: 4+ unique weapon archetypes (handgun, Tommy gun, shotgun, sniper, bazooka).
• Progression: Mafia family ranking system where every promotion unlocks a weapon.
• Level design: Mission archetypes (close-range, hostage rescue, sniper, ally support, destruction).
• Monetization hooks: Rewarded video buttons, interstitial ad timing.

Dynamics (Player Experience in Action)

• Players adapt strategies based on weapon type: sniper missions encourage patience and precision, while bazooka levels encourage explosive, destructive play.
• Mafia rank progression created anticipation: each new rank felt meaningful because it directly changed gameplay.
• Level diversity broke the straight line experience seen in Auto Cop, ensuring that player behavior didn’t collapse into repetitive loops.
• Monetization entry points tested how players interacted with ads without breaking flow.

Aesthetics (Emotional Payoff)

• Fantasy: Players lived out the fantasy of climbing the mafia hierarchy.
• Challenge: Different mission types kept players on edge, preventing mastery from turning into boredom.
• Sensation: Distinct weapon “feel” (spray, precision, destruction) gave tactile satisfaction.
• Narrative: Light story integration on the menu screen anchored progression in a mafia “world.”
• Discovery: Unlocking new ranks/weapons gave a sense of exploration within the theme

I believed that combining weapon diversity + mafia family rank progression + levels tailored to each unlock would drive both engagement and retention. If correct, this would deliver a strong CPI and improve retention compared to Auto Cop.

Process / Experiments

I opened the Trello board and planned the 4-week sprint, making sure theme, mechanics, and content were aligned with the KPI goals. I made sure everyone understood what they needed to do. Having experience with Auto Cop helped a lot, as we already knew a lot of things that we were doing. Here’s how I designed the game

• Designed mafia-inspired weapons with 4 unique types (Handgun with single shot, Tommy guns with spray shot, shotguns with spread, snipers with precision, Bazooka with destruction).
• Tied progression to mafia family rank, where every rank-up unlocked a new weapon.
• Designed all levels personally, ensuring each one was tuned for a specific weapon. Levels had different styles that broke the similar pattern of play seen in Auto Cop
  • Close range Level
  • Hostage Rescue Level
  • Sniper Level
  • Help Ally Level
  • Bazooka Destruction Level
  • and more
• Coordinated with the programmer to implement weapon mechanics and progression.
• Personally worked on the polishing to hit the game feel on its head
• I programmed the monetization with some rewarded video buttons placed throughout and interstitial ads that show up at certain intervals

At the end of the sprint, we hit the timeline well, and we had a strong prototype with 30 levels that we wanted to test

First Version: Observations

• CPI: $0.36, validating both the mafia theme and the creatives (much better than Auto Cop’s $0.53).
• Engagement: D1 retention of 41% (improved from 31% of Auto Cop) was more than what we hoped for. Cumulative playtime D3 stood at 2409s (compared to 1763s of Auto Cop). This confirmed that weapon diversity and mafia rank progression were keeping players engaged early on
• Funnel: The funnel was healthy overall, with some bumps at certain levels
• Monetization: The monetization was okay. But we were not hitting the target ROAS, so we needed to add more

Iteration

Because of the strong early KPI, I discussed with the publisher to give it another iteration of 2 weeks. We did some improvements and added a lot more content

• Show levels in a map in the menu screen
• Added a light narrative on the menu screen
• Added more weapon types
• Added more level types
• Added different bosses, including a helicopter
• Added 30 more levels, taking the total to 60

SECOND Version: Observations

Unfortunately, things did not go well on the second version.

• CPI rose from $0.36 to $0.45 (a similar rising trend to Auto Cop)
• Cumulative D3 Playtime increased to 2500s from 2409s, which is an improvement
• Detention D1 decreased to 35% from 41% but the playtime showed that it was still alright. I believe this drop came from the novelty of early weapons
• But the major concern was ROAS, which plateaued from D3, causing it to get stuck and unable to reach the target

At this point, we had to drop this prototype as it was not reaching the ROAS target of our primary publisher. But it was not dead yet. It showed enough promise that we wanted to publish it with a smaller publisher that was happy with a lower ROAS

Collaboration with YsoCorp

I pitched Mafia Marksman to YsoCorp, who had more adaptable KPIs. We finalized a monetization plan that fit the game’s design without changing the team’s focus. Once implemented, the game was tested with promising LTV.

This opened the door to a global launch under YsoCorp, validating both the game design and the publishing strategy.

Takeaway & Next Steps

1. Thematic progression works best when tied to gameplay rewards. Mafia family ranking made every unlock feel earned.
2. Weapon diversity is a key driver of engagement. Each weapon’s unique feel kept gameplay fresh.
3. Level diversity keeps the game fresh. This game had diversity in the way each level is played. It does not bore players but gives them the core in different flavors.
4. I learned that finding the right publisher fit is as much a design decision as pacing or weapon balance, because without the right partner, even strong games can stall.

Mafia Marksman became the natural evolution of Auto Cop. refining weapon feel, progression clarity, and market strategy, leading to a global launch with promising metrics. Currently, it’s returning revenue and is active with YSOCorp.