DinnerBell Game Design
An early zombie-survival game inspired by my love of Box Head, exploring preparation, environmental tactics, and the chaos of a defense falling apart.
The question
What would a new survival game look like if it built on the kind of chaos that made Box Head so damn fun?
I loved that game as a kid. With DinnerBell, I wanted to explore that feeling through a more involved environment, where positioning, preparation, and decisions under pressure could shape how a fight unfolds.
Also, watching a horde pile into a terrible situation you carefully arranged for it is pretty satisfying.
The approach
I’m developing the game in stages, using AI-assisted development to turn the design into a playable prototype and refine it through testing.
The work includes zombie perception and pursuit, stealth takedowns, weapons, traps, equipment upgrades, and escalating hordes. I’ve been paying particular attention to how enemies respond to the player and interact with the environment.
That produces some wonderfully specific problems. What should a horde do after losing sight of you? How long should clearing an area buy you? How do you keep a large crowd responsive when everyone wants through the same window?
Where it stands
DinnerBell is an early playable prototype in active development. Recent work has focused on stealth, equipment progression, and hordes that return to investigate the player’s last known position.
Crowd performance and encounter balance remain active areas of refinement. Additional enemy types and broader survival systems are part of the roadmap.
There’s already something to play, break, and improve. There’s also plenty left to build.
What stays with me
Game development gives system design a very immediate test: you have to play the result.
Enemy behavior, weapons, navigation, and progression all meet in the same moment. A small adjustment can change whether an encounter feels tense, satisfying, confusing, or completely unfair.
Seeing something that recently existed only in my head become a playable situation is a big part of why I keep building.
Even when that situation ends with me becoming dinner.