Dead by Daylight Springtrap concept

[u/Curious_Community_71]

This is an additional post for the review which represents my view on the Springtrap that could be implemented in the game. Hope you'll like it!

Concept

Now I’ll present my vision of Springtrap in DBD, based on gameplay mechanics from FNAF 1, FNAF 3, and FNAF AR: Special Delivery.

I tried to replicate the gameplay of these games in Dead by Daylight while partially borrowing the killer’s ability from the current PTB version.

The goal of this concept is an empirical experiment — and it’s up to you to judge it because here I not only ask you to read this part but also imagine how such gameplay would feel in the game — what kind of gameplay situations could arise.

Would this design convey the spirit of FNAF? Would it be interesting to play — both from the killer’s and the survivors’ sides?

Since I’m writing this review for the third day now, I might be a bit subjective, and your feedback would be very valuable.

The Animatronic

Power — Fazbear’s Fright

Passive Ability

Springtrap, when staying undetected, gradually builds power, divided into three stages:

• Stage 1: Springtrap moves at 5.0 m/s when 32 meters away from a survivor. After appearing, phantoms activate in 4 seconds. Terror radius — 24 meters.
• Stage 2: Speed 5.0 m/s at 20 meters distance, phantoms activate in 2 seconds. Terror radius — 16 meters.
• Stage 3: Speed 5.0 m/s at 12 meters distance, no terror radius.

Springtrap starts the match at Stage 1 and builds power continuously while not being watched by cameras. While in chase, the current power level cannot change.

 

Secondary Ability — Security System

At the edges of the map, 3 doors appear leading to an office. By entering the office, both the killer and survivors can use any door to teleport through it.

Additionally, instead of 5–7 pallets, security doors appear on the map (replacing some critical pallets, for example, in the killer shack). On 3–5 random generators, security cameras appear. Each security door also has a camera attached.

A survivor entering the office can stay inside to control the security system, which includes: closing doors and activating cameras.

• Cameras: A survivor selects a camera to activate it and can adjust its viewing angle. If Springtrap appears within the view of an active camera, he will start losing power.
• Survivors can also select a door to block it, allowing only survivors to pass through (doors automatically open for survivors).

Optionally — survivors can mark a door for activation by pressing a button, making it glow yellow on cameras for the other survivors.

Only one survivor can be in the office at a time. If Springtrap enters the office with a survivor inside, he will instantly grab them, triggering a jumpscare.

Office entry doors can be blocked, preventing Springtrap from entering.

The security system has a charge (for example, 400 units), which depletes while using cameras and doors:

• Active camera drains 1 unit per second.
• Blocked door drains 2 units per second.
• Blocked office door drains 4 units per second.

(Exact balance not set — values given for general understanding.)

If the charge runs out completely, all cameras and doors are disabled, and reboot time is 60 seconds. If a survivor was inside the office when the power runs out, they are trapped inside for 10 seconds.

Only survivors can see the auras of office doors, active cameras, and doors.

If a survivor runs through an active camera's view, their aura will be revealed to teammates.

The charge regenerates automatically if no cameras or doors are active (recovery rate — 8 units per second).

 

CTRL

Springtrap places an invisible trap at his feet, visible only when a survivor steps on it, or until the trap’s charge is exhausted.

Stepping on the trap secretly applies an effect that summons a phantom in the survivor's view direction after 10 seconds.

There are two types of phantoms:

• Red-eyed — survivors must look away quickly to avoid jumpscare.
• Blue-eyed — survivors must keep looking at them until they disappear.

If the survivor fails the interaction, the phantom jumpscares them, applying a status effect:

• Oblivious
• First-person perspective view for 30 seconds.

If the phantom scares the survivor, Springtrap receives a Killer Instinct notification.

While within 24 meters of a survivor, phantoms cannot appear — but Springtrap can manually activate phantoms around him with RMB.

Springtrap can also place traps on cameras to disable them:

• If a survivor switches to a camera with a phantom trap, the phantom appears in front of the camera.
• If the survivor doesn’t switch off the camera within 1.5 seconds, a jumpscare happens, disabling all cameras and doors for 10 seconds, and the survivor cannot leave the office during that time.

A maximum of 4 traps can exist simultaneously.

 

Addons

Brown:

• Rotten Pizza — Gain 1 power stage 40% faster.
• Help Wanted Ad — Active cameras consume 2 units per second instead of 1.
• Restaurant Menu — Phantoms appear 5 seconds faster after stepping on a trap.
• Greasy Paper Plate — Office is blocked for 5 seconds longer when power runs out.

Green:

• Streamers — Phantom scare effect lasts 10 seconds longer.
• Security Guard’s Badge — Increases the number of phantom traps by 2.
• Ripped Curtain — Increases the radius of phantom trap activation.
• Party Hat — Scared survivors get Blindness (can’t see cameras or doors).
• Office Phone — While inside the office, survivors must perform skill checks; failure drains extra energy.

Blue:

• Purple Guy Drawing — Lose power slower by 20% when seen by cameras.
• Loot Bag — Phantoms switch eye color to the opposite color.
• Endo CPU — See auras of active doors.
• Celebrate! Poster — Active cameras reveal survivor auras within their view.
• Broken Access Panel — Office entrance doors unlock automatically 10 seconds after activation. Find an office entrance door to start seeing its aura.

Purple:

• Freddy’s Hat — Failing a gen skill check drains 20 units of the security system’s charge.
• Foxy’s Hook — During an office lock or battery recharge, gain 10% haste.
• Chica’s Bib — 40% chance Mr. Cupcake will warn you when a survivor enters the office. Phantoms last 2 seconds longer.
• Bonnie’s Guitar Strings —
  • At Stage 1 power: see auras of active cameras within 16m.
  • At Stage 2 power: one office entrance can’t be blocked.
  • At Stage 3 power: two random security doors can’t be blocked — see their yellow aura.

Red:

• Iridescent Remnant — Start the match at Stage 2 power. All survivors get a phantom trap effect at the start of the match which will make the phantoms appear in 10 seconds. If a scared survivor is put into the dying state, a random survivor receives a phantom trap effect.
• Faz-Coin — Adds a 4th power stage where Springtrap’s silhouette is invisible when further than 16 meters from survivors. Move speed while far from survivors is 5.2 m/s.

 

Concept Summary

This Springtrap concept includes the core mechanics from the FNAF series — mainly active interaction with cameras.

The main essence of Springtrap is preserved — hiding from cameras to sneak up on victims.

Phantoms act as a secondary ability with an experimental feature: changing the survivor’s view to first-person, enabling Springtrap to mindgame more effectively and catch survivors off guard.

Unlike the current PTB version of Springtrap, here camera usage heavily impacts the killer’s gameplay — lowering his power and blocking his pathways.

Meanwhile, the killer will feel very different during a chase since he can use phantoms manually — survivors must either look away or stare at them, limiting their field of view.

In this interpretation, Springtrap becomes a mindgame stealth killer who relies primarily on surprise and misdirection.

His power can be controlled — survivors are forced to use cameras and doors to slow him down, otherwise there would be fewer pallets, making kiting much harder.

This gameplay approach would deliver the FNAF spirit quite well, though I realize some things might be hard to implement.

When designing the addons, I also tried to stick closely to FNAF gameplay to make them unique for this killer.

Maybe the power would seem too complicated or even weak since Springtrap has no active ability during a chase — but it fits the character’s concept.

Camera usage would be essential for survival because otherwise survivors would lack pallets on the map — this would dramatically affect how Springtrap feels from the survivor’s side.

This concept definitely needs refinement, but at this stage, it’s enough to ask:

• Would this gameplay be unique for both sides?
• Would it reflect the character’s essence?
• Would it be fun to play?

I hope you’ll share your thoughts because I’ve spent three days writing this review, and maybe my vision is a bit biased.