BAKERS DOZEN – Development Overview

BAKERS DOZEN is a quota-driven horror game being developed in Godot 4, inspired by the eerie atmosphere and low-resolution aesthetic of PS1-era horror titles. The game blends survival mechanics with a claustrophobic kitchen setting, where the player’s only purpose is to bake bread to order. But under the surface of this simple task lies constant dread—the murderous chef who controls the kitchen ensures that failure doesn’t just mean losing points, but losing yourself.

Core Concept

Players assume the role of a baker locked inside a decrepit, blood-stained kitchen cell. Orders arrive through a small hatch in the wall, commanding the player to create specific bread types—white loaves, rye, sourdough, or more unusual recipes as the game progresses. Each order has a strict quota and time limit.

The catch: the player has no real control over what ingredients or utensils they receive. The sinister chef decides what makes it through the hatch, often sabotaging the process. Flour might be rotten, ovens might malfunction, or knives may arrive when dough is needed. The player must improvise, adapt, and somehow meet the demand.

Failure to deliver enough bread means the baker becomes the next ingredient—fed back into the oven by the chef himself.

Gameplay & Mechanics

• Quota System – Each level (or “shift”) demands a set number of loaves. Orders vary in type, difficulty, and preparation time.
• Cooking Through Fear – Ingredients arrive sporadically through the hatch, forcing players to decide what to use, substitute, or risk discarding.
• First-Person Horror – The player sees the world from inside the cell-like kitchen. Limited visibility, flickering lights, and unsettling sound design reinforce the constant tension.
• Consequence System – Missing the quota doesn’t just reset the round—the chef punishes failure directly, leading to gruesome consequences and permanent loss if certain conditions aren’t met.
• Bread as Narrative – Recipes aren’t just food; they serve as storytelling devices. Strange requests hint at larger forces outside the cell. Why are the orders so specific? Who eats this bread? And why are you the one baking it?

Development in Godot 4

BAKERS DOZEN is being built using Godot 4.4, leveraging its powerful new features:

• Visual Style: The project uses Godot’s modern rendering pipeline to recreate a retro PS1 shader aesthetic—low-poly models, pixelated textures, jittery animations, and heavy atmospheric fog. This keeps the visuals unnerving, nostalgic, and consistent with the horror theme.
• Shader Work: Custom shaders simulate screen tearing, dithering, and analog noise, heightening the retro VHS/PS1 horror feel.
• Lighting: Godot’s real-time global illumination and volumetric fog are tuned down to mimic harsh fluorescent kitchen lights, flickering bulbs, and dark corners where danger might lurk.
• UI & Quota Tracking: Orders and quotas are delivered through diegetic UI elements—a paper slip slid through the hatch, or scratched numbers on a wall—rather than traditional menus, immersing players in the world.
• Audio & Atmosphere: Godot’s new audio system is key to the tension. Muffled footsteps, knives scraping against counters, or the chef humming behind the door all contribute to paranoia.

Narrative Layer

The story of BAKERS DOZEN unfolds through environmental storytelling and subtle progression:

• At first, the orders are simple, but soon strange recipes appear.
• Notes, scratches, and hidden symbols in the kitchen hint at the chef’s true nature and the fate of past bakers.
• The player begins to question: Who is eating this bread? And why is bread the only currency of survival?
• Ultimately, the game explores the relationship between labor, survival, and control, where bread—the simplest of foods—becomes the most horrifying demand.

Target Experience

The goal of BAKERS DOZEN is to capture the essence of retro survival horror—not through jump scares, but through atmosphere, pressure, and paranoia. Players will feel trapped, disempowered, and constantly on edge, balancing the simple act of baking bread with the dread of what happens when they fail.

The game’s identity lies at the intersection of:

• Quota-driven gameplay (like Papers, Please)
• Claustrophobic horror (like Silent Hill, Outlast)
• Retro visuals (like Puppet Combo’s PS1 horror titles)