Dungeon Crawler Carl's Matt Dinniman Reveals True Inspiration Behind Princess Donut

Published Nov 13, 2026, 5:00 AM EST

Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond. 

While Carl may be the main character in Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series, there's no doubt Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk has become the shining star among readers. Within the novels themselves, Princess Donut has some of the absolute most hilarious lines of dialogue, with Samantha coming in at a close second. The tortoiseshell Persian has been a central figure in the narrative itself from the very beginning, and Carl would literally be dead multiple times over if it weren't for her.

That said, the concept of an ex-girlfriend's talking show cat as a main character in a LitRPG is way too bizarre to have just come to Matt Dinniman on a whim. While Dinniman has mentioned in passing where the idea came from, it's worth compiling his comments over the years from various interviews to get a good sense of the true inspiration behind Dungeon Crawler Carl's most adorable Crawler.

Princess Donut may be one of the most unforgettable characters in modern fantasy, but her origins are actually grounded in reality. Long before Dungeon Crawler Carl became a phenomenon, Matt Dinniman made his living as an artist, frequently attending cat shows to sell his illustrations of people's pets.

In a 2024 interview with Grimdark Magazine, Dinniman explained, "I drew cat pictures for a living," noting that the experience taught him a great deal about competitive cat shows and different breeds. However, one particular encounter would eventually inspire Princess Donut herself. Speaking with Winter Is Coming in June 2025, Dinniman recalled attending a Cat Fanciers' Association show in Cleveland, where he was selling his artwork. His booth happened to be positioned near a tortoiseshell Persian cat that spent the entire weekend glaring at him.

She appeared as if she hated me and wanted to rip my throat out. It was love at first sight.

"She appeared as if she hated me and wanted to rip my throat out. It was love at first sight," Dinniman said. As he explains on his official website, the encounter left such an impression that he decided, "I'm going to write a book with that cat in it one day." Interestingly, the real-life cat wasn't the only inspiration behind Donut's personality. In a May 2026 interview with Goodreads, Dinniman explained how his experiences with Persian cat owners, whom he sometimes found wealthy, well-spoken, and... less than friendly, helped shape the character's attitude.

"That aspect has made its way into the books," he confirmed. Perhaps most surprisingly, Dinniman originally envisioned Donut playing a much smaller role in the story. He initially planned for her to enter the dungeon, disappear, and return much later. However, he fell in love with writing the character, ultimately transforming the sassy show cat into one of the series' two central protagonists.

Even Princess Donut's ridiculously elaborate name has a basis in Dinniman's real-life experiences with competitive cat shows. Her full name is actually GC, BWR, NW Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk, which stands for "Grand Champion, Breed Winner Regional, and National Winner." These aren't just fancy titles, as they reflect Donut's impressive pedigree and success as an award-winning show cat before entering the dungeon.

In fact, Donut's full title has become something of an inside joke within the fandom, with Renegade Game Studios even hosting a trivia challenge asking fans to identify her complete name, including the additional "Best in Dungeon" honor she adopts during her adventures with Carl in the World Dungeon.

You can preorder Dungeon Crawler Carl's Deluxe Edition of Book 1 here, which includes an exclusive "interview" with Matt Dinniman conducted by Princess Donut herself.

While Donut's larger-than-life personality certainly makes her one of the series' funniest characters, she's also become its emotional heart in many ways. Her relationship with Carl has evolved substantially over the course of the books, giving us some of the most genuinely touching moments amid the ridiculously violent setting.

It's difficult to imagine Dungeon Crawler Carl achieving quite the same explosive popularity without Princess Donut. Carl may be the titular protagonist, but the unlikely partnership between a foul-mouthed former Coast Guardsman and a pampered, talking Persian cat is arguably the franchise's greatest selling point.

Dungeon Crawler Carl