The No Contact Apprehension Program (NCAP) has been ingrained in every Metro Manila driver, making everyone drive more carefully on major and city roads. Typically, people do not see what occurs behind the scenes for those issuing violations.

That’s where a group of students from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde—known as 11:59pm Studios—created a whimsical simulation called Kamote Katcher. The team publicly unveiled their thesis at the 2026 Philippine GameDev Expo (PGDX) on July 24-26, where we first encountered and played the demo.

Led by lead artist Xavier Sebastian Aquino and project manager Timothy Glenn Erni, this indie game puts you in the shoes of a traffic camera operator for the Kamote Apprehension Department (KAD). Players must correctly identify infractions, penalize reckless drivers, and achieve a specific quota by the end of their shift.

“I brought up the idea of a kamote game with my groupmates,” Aquino explained. “Some of us are commuters, others are motorists. As Manila is an extremely car-dependent city with poor urban planning, the actions of just a few bad drivers impact all of us and act as a major source of stress and frustration. I wanted to make a game that was a satire of our traffic experience.”

Although the task may seem simple, it requires sharp attention to detail when examining live blurry CCTV footage, on top of frequent server reboots thanks to the KAD’s outdated equipment. One incorrect ticket would lead to point deductions, as the headquarters needs to maintain a positive public image.

“The [user interface] is based on the way actual NCAP officers work, which involves looking at multiple cameras on a screen,” said Erni. “Further inspiration was taken from games like Five Nights at Freddy’s and Papers, Please, both of which involve a player being stationary and working in some type of security role.”

The overall reception at PGDX has been nothing short of fun.

“Everyone loved the explosions,” Erni observed. “What started as an excuse for being lazy in how to make despawning vehicles feel realistic ended up being one of the most loved parts of our game, even for us developers.”

Although this is a thesis project, the team plans to fix bugs, enhance the user interface and the controls, and add new locations and violations.

“There are many more locations in Metro Manila we’d be interested in adding to our game, such as C5, SLEX, Ortigas Avenue, and others.”

Kamote Katchers is currently available to download for free at Aquino’s itch.io page, only available on PC. Maybe this game will awaken your true calling (or your frustrations toward bad motorists).