Joseph Ballard
My Little Rotter
Undead Pet is a dark humour take on the classic Tamagotchi-style virtual pet. Instead of looking after a cute creature, the player is responsible for keeping a zombie under control and maintaining its “unlife”. The goal isn’t to keep your pet alive, but to stop it from decaying, becoming aggressive, or causing bigger problems.
The idea behind the project was to take a very familiar style of game and twist the mechanics through theme. Instead of managing something that is healthy and happy, the player is managing something unstable and unpredictable, which creates more interesting decisions and outcomes.
Core Gameplay Loop
The core loop is based on checking the zombie’s condition, deciding how to respond, and then dealing with the consequences of that decision.
The loop works like this:
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Check the zombie’s current needs and behaviour
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Choose how to respond (feed it, calm it down, entertain it, or isolate it)
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The zombie’s state changes depending on what you did
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The player sees the results through the zombie’s behaviour
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New problems can appear, and the player has to respond again
The goal was to create a loop where the player is constantly making small decisions to keep things under control, while small mistakes can build up and turn into bigger problems if the player ignores them.
Zombie Needs
Instead of traditional needs like hunger, sleep, and happiness, the zombie has needs that fit the theme and create more reactive gameplay:
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Brains (Hunger): Feeding the zombie keeps its energy up and stops it from becoming aggressive.
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Mood (Aggression): The player needs to manage aggression by letting the zombie smash things, chew on objects, or otherwise cause controlled chaos.
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Socialisation: Letting the zombie interact with other zombies can either calm it down or make the situation worse.
The idea with these systems was to make the player feel like they’re not trying to perfectly optimise a character, but instead trying to manage risk and prevent things from going wrong, which felt more interesting and more in line with the theme.
Light Customisation
There is some light customisation, like giving the zombie small accessories or visual changes. This isn’t a major system, but it helps the player feel more attached to their zombie and gives them a sense of ownership over it.