It’s no surprise that we at HorrorBuzz.com love video games, especially the ones that scare the hell out of us. So, when I first heard about Dead by Daylight, I anxiously began consuming every bit of information about it until its release.

While I have spent the last few nights playing the game (and watching my son prove time and time again that he would be the first to die in a horror film), I also had the opportunity to ask Mathieu Cote, producer of the game, a few questions. A review will be forthcoming next week, after I log a few more hours with the game, but for now, enjoy this insightful look into the game’s history.

HorrorBuzz.com: Tell us a bit about you guys. Who are the folks behind the game?

Mathieu: A team of around 30 people from Behaviour digital inc. We are based in Montreal, Canada. The team was grown around a core of gamers who had dreamed of making this game for way too long. Most of us had worked with each other on different other projects at Behaviour, it was now time to make our own game, our way!

HorrorBuzz.com: This is quite frankly a game that horror fans have been waiting for forever; can you tell me a bit about how it came about for the development team?

Mathieu: We had also been waiting for this game forever. Some people on this team had been kicking around a few prototypes through the years for variations of what Dead by Daylight became. An intense, mature game, inspired by the classic horror movies of the 80’s without being an exact copy. As we started the last phase of our prototype in 2014 we happened upon a good recipe. A simple loop of hide and seek with a crazy intense chase mechanic. It worked. We felt immediately that we had found our core gameplay experience.

We knew this was going to be a $20 title with a small development budget so we had to be very focused on what the important part of the game was and not get sidetracked. If things went well, we could always grow the scope after the fact but the core game had to be there.

HorrorBuzz.com: How long have you been working on it?

Mathieu: The first concepts and prototypes that were worked on go back as far as 10 years. Obviously, they were very different in terms of style and gameplay but the desire and inspiration was the same. These projects came and went. Versions were twisted into other ideas, mechanics were folded into other games we worked on but the basic goal of creating a horror-themed game of hunting would not stay buried.

This last incarnation started again in early 2014. We made a really cool prototype we all had way too much fun playing with, we had a few good ideas for the style and the most important part is that the company, as a whole, was ready to invest in a new IP that was ours alone. We found that a lot of people out there were interested in being partners with us but most were unwilling to let us keep the IP. Until we met with Starbreeze. Their company history has many similarities to ours and they were very eager to join with us in this project. They also thought it was important that we kept this new  intellectual property 100%.

Then it’s just a matter of working for 2 ½ years like crazy and make the actual game.

HorrorBuzz.com: I know there are a bunch of other, similar games coming out now, but you guys are the first. What makes Dead by Daylight more unique than the rest?

Mathieu: The asymmetry, the short games, the absolute helplessness of the survivors faced with a killer that cannot be stopped or even attacked.

The biggest thing is probably the fact that our killers are wildly different from each other and will continue to bring new mechanics and styles into the game. Since we are not bound by one unique license we can allow ourselves to be inspired by a lot of different sources. We can grow our universe and our nightmare will be able to include more and more variations. We could even include some well-known characters at some point without breaking out fiction.

Our painterly style and the buildings which are grown out of a nightmare instead of built. An empty, ever-changing world due to our procedurally generated levels.

And the bloodweb, this strange and dynamic level progression system that will grow and expand as the game continues to get more content.

HorrorBuzz.com: Considering it is now 4v1 in the multiplayer aspect, does that give the survivors an advantage over the killer? Or will 4 people not working together work out better for the killer?

Mathieu: The balancing of this game is a ridiculously demanding endeavor. There are so many possible combinations of powers, add-ons and perks. At its core, the game was always meant to be hard for survivors. We always intended for a lot of people to die. That’s what horror films do. And it is the price to pay to make sure that when you escape, it feels like you’ve beaten the odds.

Survivors working together, through the “survive with friends” mode has had a very small effect on the overall survival rate. It’s still very hard out there for survivors, as it should be.

Then again, if you spend any time playing the killer, you’ll realise that you have to be in a constant state of alert. It only takes a few mistakes for the doors to open and all of them to get out.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that this game is supposed to be intense and challenging.

HorrorBuzz.com: Though this is a strictly multiplayer game, can a survivor chose to go at it alone, and try to beat the killer on their own, or do they have to work together?

Mathieu: Cooperation is always a valid strategy. Having more targets running around, getting more people to work on generators, having someone out there that might come help when you get caught. All these things will help you survive. But in the end, helping others will always carry a risk and that means we let the players make that decision. Every time. And it’s part of what we like about this game. Raw human emotions and panicked reactions.

HorrorBuzz.com: What do the survivors do to “win” the round? And what does the killer need to do in order to “Win”?

Mathieu: For survivors, winning usually means escaping the level alive. For killers, it’s usually about making sure you sacrifice some of them.

But then, it gets a bit more complex. The amount of blood points you get at the end of the match is a great indicator of your degree of success. Will you be able to buy all these cool new things on the bloodweb?

And as for the ranking, which is purely about bragging rights, that is a huge drive for the more competitive players. You could “lose” the game round and still level up your rank.

HorrorBuzz.com: What are some of the customization options that are included in the game?

Mathieu: Outfits, obviously. We have a few options in the game right now to make the survivors look the way you want them to. Once you reached a certain level you also unlock a prestige outfit, which is pretty awesome looking.

We give you a lot of options for customization when it comes to gameplay. The perks and add-ons and items really allow the player to change their strategies and tools to suit their play style.

HorrorBuzz.com: Tell us a bit about the maps. Are their specific environmental kills that the killer can use to their advantage?

Mathieu: The map generation is a very deep and complex system. It starts with the tiles which are a small section of specific environment, like a building, a landmark or a piece of forest. That tile has a lot of possible things on it, places were generators could be, chests, trees and other things like that. Some things have a high probability of being there, some lower. Some things will always be there.

Then we create a map layout which is a collection of tiles arranged a certain way. That is where the map shape and flow is done.

Then we put all that through a magical blender kinda thing and voila!

HorrorBuzz.com: It is obvious the team behind Dead by Daylight are huge fans of horror. Can you name some of your favorite horror films?

Mathieu: We all have favorites, obviously. The classics are all piled up on our desks here, from the well-known to the more obscure. From here I can see Halloween, Hell Night, Sleepaway Camp, Wrong Turn and a bunch of others. My favorite right now would probably have to be “Cabin in the Woods”.

A big thanks to Mathieu Cote for his time in answering these questions for us. Be sure to check back next week for a full review of the game! Spoiler, though…it’s fun as hell!

Learn more about Dead by Daylight here.