Dead by Daylight devs explain how Chucky “breaks the rules” as game’s newest Killer

Chucky is a horror legend who has now invaded Dead by Daylight. Here’s what the game’s developers had to say about the killer doll and how introducing him has changed the game.

Chucky, a serial killer possessing a child’s doll and pop culture icon, is the latest Killer to be added to Dead by Daylight. The multiplayer horror game has gone from strength to strength in the past few years and has evolved to constantly surprise players by testing the barriers of what they’ve come to expect. This is often achieved through the addition of new Killers. Not only does adding these add a fresh and fun new way to enjoy the game, but it also lets the developers experiment with new ideas.

This has always been the case in Dead by Daylight, but never more so than with Chucky. The plastic psychopath is now out in the wild, hacking Survivors to death with a range of deadly new moves and abilities. However, unlike most Killers in the game, Chucky isn’t a ponderous monster or even an averaged sized slasher, he’s a tiny doll and his small stature makes him a unique case among Dead by Daylight’s previous gallery of villains.

Child’s Play

If you don’t know, or have never seen a Chucky movie, the titular character was a murderer who after being shot by police, used Vodoo to transfer his soul into a doll and then stalked a young boy for several films in an attempt to take his body and live again. The boy, Andy, would eventually grow up and play a deadly game of cat and mouse with Chucky across several more sequels and even a TV show now in its third season. Chucky’s body count has continued to grow over the years, making him a horror icon.

We spoke to the two leading developers at Behaviour Interactive Inc, Dave Richard and Mathieu Cote, the masterminds behind Dead by Daylight to discuss how Chucky was different from previous Killers in the game and if he posed any challenges. They said:

“Size! That was the challenge we had from day one with this killer. Obviously, I’m talking gameplay. When playing as this character, and for the survivors who are against him, the key difference with this killer is size. It’s the first time we’ve had to deal with such a short killer.”

Keeping gameplay balanced

We were curious to know if Chucky would have an unfair advantage due to his size and how the team was able to balance this. Of course, we were reminded of the classic Oddjob example from GoldenEye on the N64 who enjoyed an unfair advantage due to being smaller than other character models.

They said: “Chucky is very stealthy, using his size to hide from and surprise the survivors, but he can also go into a mode where he goes full-on rampage. We go through a rigorous process of making sure the abilities we’re creating in Dead by Daylight will not be unfair.”

“Part of this process is testing internally, quality assurance, but we also get some expert players from the community to come in and help the team by trying some scenarios that could become unfair. Stretching the powers to their limit and seeing if it’s viable in these scenarios.”

“Then we let the whole community on PC try and break it and see where they can push it, then we analyze that data to ensure it’s not unfair and always fun. Now that it’s out, we continue to monitor the data and player sentiment and we’ll be able to tweak further down the line.”

Changing the game

As Chucky is the smallest Killer to ever appear in Dead by Daylight, we asked Dave and Mathieu if his inclusion led to any interesting design choices and what they had to do to ensure the character worked in the game.

They told us: “It forces us to think outside of what we know about what a Killer can and cannot do. When we announced Chucky, a lot of people thought it would be impossible because it doesn’t fit the metrics of Dead by Daylight. So when we have these restrictions and start designing ideas that’s when it gets really interesting.”

“An example of this is the camera perspective. Since day one, it’s been important that the Killer be in first person because what he knows about the world needs to be limited. It’s always been part of our mindset and we never thought it was something we would change.”

“But Chucky’s size in first person is something that would be very difficult to manage. So finding that right camera angle that’s in first person and shows you a bit more of the environment was something that we embraced, it’s all part of his kit and is interesting to try.”

They continued: “Whenever we add a new Killer we try to shake things up, we try to surprise people and force them to relearn how to play the game.  Whenever we do that it sort of becomes a new benchmark. Chucky comes in and he’s small and he’s in third person, breaking all these rules that people thought would never be broken.”

“These things show that there’s no limit to what we can do, and the great thing about the freedom the designers have is that the Killers never need to be equal to each other. They just need to be fun to play and fun to play against.”

Blending horror with comedy

Like other horror icons such as Freddy Krueger and Ghostface, Chucky is known for his comedic edge and one-liners just as much as his terrifying kills and horror value. This is on full display in Dead by Daylight, with Chucky being one of the most vocal killers in the game. His lines are sometimes sinister and threatening while others are laugh-out-loud funny.

We asked the team at Behaviour Interactive if this was ever an issue, and if they were tempted to lean into a scarier version of Chucky such as the one seen in the 2019 movie reboot. They said:

“We take pride in integrating these different universes and fantasies. Horror is a marvelous genre and there are many different types of horror. So offering all of these different fantasies is something we love to do and put in our players’ hands. Chucky is a character we just love, we count on him to give us a good time in the movies, and now in the game.”

“Chucky’s not just funny, he’s fun. That’s the key thing. Even though he’s on the comedy side of horror he still creates jump scares and makes you freak out when he’s coming for you when you hear his little feet. As we’ve added more and more layers to Dead by Daylight, it means that more things can be folded in and still fit.”

They continued: “He is really fun to play as and against, so we see a lot of good feedback for a different way to play the game. There are a lot of amazing voice lines that come with Chucky. They add a lot of color and fun to the matches. Very colorful! Either if you are Chucky or you’re on the receiving end!”

“The tiptop of the little feet is a nice touch that people responded to very well, it’s also not a clear indication of where he is. The other thing I’d add is the addition of Tiffany, the Bride of Chucky. We felt it was needed and the response clearly shows that it was strongly desired.”

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