Disbond Developer Interview • Making Zombies Fun Again

From Childhood Dream to Obsession

Galin has been playing games for as long as he can remember. After roughly a decade working in the technology industry, he decided about two years ago to focus on a project he had wanted to make for years.

Initially it started as a hobby project, then I got obsessed! he told ItsZebraTV in an email interview.

His goal wasn’t to make the most realistic military shooter. Instead, he wanted to recreate the freedom and wild experimentation of the games he grew up playing, including Unreal Tournament, Doom, Quake, and Counter-Strike.

What If Being the Zombie Was Actually Fun?

In Disbond’s infection-style multiplayer matches, everyone starts on the human side. After 20 seconds, one player becomes infected; anyone subsequently bitten joins the zombies. Survivors can also defend positions or try to escape across different maps.

In classic Counter-Strike: Source zombie mods, Galin remembers infected players often wanted rounds to end so they could play as humans again. Simply charging toward armed survivors and getting shot wasn’t rewarding enough.

Disbond tries to address that through distinct classes and abilities on both sides. Zombies aren’t interchangeable enemies. The speedy Crawler focuses on mobility, the Demon can disguise itself as a human, and the Screecher can briefly blind nearby survivors. Galin also described the Smasher, which can pick up other zombies as shields and throw them toward humans, and the Forsaken, which raises smaller zombies and can switch places with them.

During closed sessions, Galin says experienced zombie-mod players and newcomers alike have responded positively to playing on the infected side. That feedback matters to him: it speaks directly to the problem he set out to solve.

A Love Letter to Games That Let You Break the Rules

Galin also loves the moments when players discover things they seemingly weren’t supposed to do: reaching an awkward rooftop, stacking objects to climb into a hidden area, or finding a shortcut that changes the course of a match.

That spirit is built into Disbond. Players can spawn props and use them to build barricades, explore unexpected routes, or reach inaccessible-looking areas. Bunny hopping and unconventional weapons contribute to the same playful approach.

His map designs draw on another influence: the interconnected world of the original Dark Souls. Galin described locations in which players can move between streets, building interiors, rooftops, and sewers through a network of obvious and secret routes.

Instead of merely providing arenas for combat, the levels invite players to outsmart each other through movement and experimentation.

Developing After Work, With Help From Friends and Family

Disbond is Galin’s independent passion project, but he is clear that other people have contributed. His brother and his brother’s band created music for the trailer and game, inspired by old-school shooters. A friend helped with UI and UX, and his cousin helped with code.

The hardest part, Galin said, has been balancing development with his job and personal life. During the past year and a half, the game has taken up most of his free time.

Technical problems are inevitable, but he describes learning and building the game as enjoyable rather than tedious. The bigger challenge is finding enough hours to do everything.

The Playtesters Helping Shape Disbond

Balancing an online multiplayer shooter requires more than a creator’s own instincts. Galin says he runs closed play sessions two or three times per week with different players and testers.

These sessions uncover bugs, vulnerabilities, unexpected strategies, and class-balance problems. They’ve also yielded suggestions he has incorporated into the game.

He sees balancing as an ongoing process rather than a task he can finish once, especially with additional content still planned.

A Game for His Ten-Year-Old Self

When asked what makes him proudest, Galin didn’t name a technical milestone. He pointed to the people who have played the game and enjoyed it.

I’m building my dream game the way that my 10 year old self would have loved to play it, he explained.

He knows that building his own dream game doesn’t guarantee others will feel the same way. That’s why positive responses during playtesting give him confidence to continue.

Disbond’s story is about more than making another zombie shooter. It’s about someone returning to the games that shaped his childhood, identifying something he wanted to improve, and investing years into his own answer.

Whether players ultimately embrace that vision remains to be seen. For Galin, the goal is already clear: recapture the unpredictable freedom of old-school multiplayer games—and make being the zombie every bit as enjoyable as surviving one.