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[Cassyblanca]

Cassyblanca

Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

Let's face it - every one of us, from the bottom of their hearts, prays for the day when the Umbrella Corporation or some other overzealous genetic engineers find the answer to death (or just cancer) and accidentally unleash an all-consuming horde of zombies upon the earth.It's in our nature as humans. Zombies are fun to shoot - it's one of those animal urges passed down through genetics, and it's crying out to be let free. I know I have a Zombie Safehouse stock full of RPGs, fully-automatic Shotguns, Zombie repellent, and (most importantly) cans of soda to use as grenades. Whether it's the zombies that die in a fiery explosion with the shot of a squirt gun, or the ones that slowly shamble towards you until you've blown off every limb that allows them to crawl towards you with the intent of eating your flesh, Zombies are fun to kill, and people will always buy a game that lets them kill teeming hordes of zombies. The Zombie apocalypse is preordained, there is no avoiding it. If you haven't already, you may want to prepare yourselves.

I have recently decided that it's time for me to step out into the light of commercial-level independent game development, rather than staying inside of the comforting shadows of the fan game underground. And so, in an attempt to make a splash into the indie gaming world, I am working on everybody's favorite type of game theme - the zombie apocalypse. I already have a number of concepts, ideas, and features that I'm planning out for the game, among which stands networked multiplayer (cooperative and competitive), but I figured that, to be sure, I would listen to ideas of people in my target audience.

Basically, what I want from this post is any ideas or concepts, as vague or specific as you like, that you're willing to give me. Just as a disclaimer, in case you're one of the types who refuse to give out ideas and thoughts to commercial game ventures that may not directly involve you in either the development cycle or the payroll, I do intend to sell this game. While I will be adding a note of thanks to those who give me exceptional ideas that end up getting incorporated and playing a decent part in the game, I make no obligations to credit you with specific the specific ideas that you helped to contribute to (though contributors will find their names listed under the "special thanks" section of the Credits screen), nor do I make hold any obligations to accept your idea - as is or with modification - as a definite component of the game. I don't like having to put this here, but it helps keep me from having to explain myself if I miss a name.

Along with gathering ideas for what people would like to see in the game, I am also looking for prospective members of the development team. This would be a paid position, the payment coming as a percentage of the income per-game, but details on that will only be discussed with members who are sincerely interested and competent in their field. If you're interested in joining the development team, feel free to send me an email at ken@minalien.com, or a personal message on this community, and I'd be happy to discuss options with you.

Major contributors will, beyond getting their names mentioned (by internet alias or by name) get either a free copy of or a discount on the game (which it is will be determined by the size of the contribution and the final price of the released product).

Any help in this matter is welcome!

Just a little bit of information on the game, so that you don't see me as some incapable fool seeking somebody to make a game for him
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Theme: Zombie Apocalypse
Genre: Shoot 'em Up
Platforms: Microsoft Windows (XP-7 Supported officially supported) and Apple Mac OS X (10.4 Tiger - 10.6 Snow Leopard supported)
Possible Ports: Possible ports planned for XBOX 360 (via XBOX Live Arcade), Nintendo Wii (WiiWare), and iPhone - depending on success of the project
Target Audience: Zombie enthusiasts and casual gamers
Similar Games: Gameplay similar to what is currently planned can be found in games such as Zombies Ate My Neighbors (LucasArts, 1993) and Ghoul Patrol (LucasArts, 1994) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Technology: The game will run on a custom build of Torque Game Builder, using the INDIE license from GarageGames.com

Currently Planned Features
There are currently several features planned and already under prototype development for the game.

• Single-player campaign mode, stretching across a number of themed levels. This campaign mode will feature a storyline, but will focus more on getting the player in the thick of zombie-bashing action than it will on story advancement.
• "Competitive Cooperation" multiplayer, in which players cooperate to complete the game's campaign (but with more zombies to account for more players), while simultaneously working to rack up more points than the others by killing zombies
• "Horde Bashing" multiplayer survival mode, in which players work together to survive as many waves of Zombies as possible
• Large variety of weapons for the players to use - from shotguns to zombie repellent
• Variety of settings for the game maps. Each set of game maps will feature a similar theme, each theme ending in a "boss fight"
• Survival mode will have its own, specific maps enhanced for survival play, but based upon themes from the campaign modes
• Several avatars to choose from
• In-game achievement system, tied into the online leaderboard system.

Unfortunately, most of the aforementioned features are rather vague. Right now, my concern is on getting a working sandbox prototype. At the moment, I am the sole developer on the project, and am using pre-created (ripped) content from similar games, primarily Zombies Ate My Neighbors and Ghoul Patrol. Please bare in mind that I have no intention of releasing a game that is "just a clone" of one of these games - I want the end result to be a unique (or rather, as unique as you can be within the Zombie Apocalypse themes).

For the game's graphical style, I am currently favoring a cartoonish, "cel shaded" appearance, though this will likely change a lot, depending on the artist I hire for the project. Again, if anybody is interested in being a part of the development team, feel free to email me (ken@minalien.com) or send me a personal message asking for more information. if you send a message, however, please tell me in the message what experience you have, what position you are interested in, and (if possible) somewhere that I can see examples of your work. I will not answer inquiries about being a member of the team on this post, as it is intended as a post for generating ideas within the game's target audience.

Thank you

There's such a double standard about religion in the modern world. Catholics can gather, wear white robes, and say "In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti" and be considered normal.

But if my friends and I gather, wear black robes, and say  "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn", we're considered cultists.

• 

[Theforeshadower]

Theforeshadower

Re: Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

   I love the zombie genre.  One thing I think would be great in a zombie game which I think has been lacking is the real "surviving" aspect.  Games today provide way too much ammunition.  I always felt that if I was to make a zombie game(which I kinda am at the moment), I would really limit the ammunition.  Another thing is the amount of items that the player can hold.  Realistically, you cannot have 20 weapons for an inventory.  Yeah, I know it's a videogame.
Going back to the ammunition idea, players should not be able to have 1000 bullets for a given weapon.  I always felt that a least in the beginning of a zombie game, the player should be limited on their inventory.  Maybe a shotgun-sized weapon strapped to the back, a sidearm in a pocket, baseball bat in hand, etc.  As you progress through the game you can find, shoulder harness to hold 2 sidearms, fanny packs to hold ammunition, leg holsters, backpack to hold smaller smgs like an mp5.  You could even go crazier with ankle holsters, a lower back strap to place a shotgun horizontally behind you.  Again, I don't know quite what you are going for so you may not want to take it that far.

As far as story, I started to think about rabies.  Rabies is kind of a real world zombie virus.  I always thought of a company trying to make a cure to irradicate rabies but it backfires somehow.  Also, one of the supporting characters to the story would have had a major hand to play in the distribution or whatever.  The player would have the choice to continue if/when they find out based upon story to leave that person behind or continue on as it would provide another body for help.

Gameplay wise, I would love hundreds of zombies coming at you.  Kinda like L4D but they wouldn't be as easy to kill so that you give the player a more "oh !@#$%, if I don't think of something quick, I'll die" feeling.  That would open doors to possible environmental uses of the playarea.  The player could jump up on a dumpster to provide a higher advantage point.
The player could push over garbage cans to trip up zombies to try to escape.  The player could grab tables or chairs to make a shitty blockade to slow down the zombies.
Multiple paths to the endgame is also something I would like.  Like if you had to get to the airport to finish the game, you could go through the buildings, go through the sewers, go through a subway, go straight forward on foot through the streets, or whatever.  Just trying to give you ideas.

Character wise, I would love to be able to play as different people with pros and cons similar to Resident Evil Outbreak but with more distinct characteristics.  SWAT character could start with armor, an MP5, and a higher stamina rate, where as a college kid could start with higher speed, a backpack, and baseball bat or something.  Just throwing it out there.

Lighting is another crucial issue for me.  A zombie game MUST BE DARK.  The ideal apocalypse would be in the middle of the night.  Street lights would flicker.  The character would use a flashlight to see where everything else other than street lights or indoor lights is your only other source of light to see.


Just some ideas, probably alot you won't use but it could give you some ideas though.

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[Cassyblanca]

Cassyblanca

Re: Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

Unfortunately, most of your ideas seem best suited for a three-dimensional game. As the first foray into commercial game development that Segault Studios is taking, I'm want to keep this more on the 2D level - I already have another commercial project that is in the concept works that I'm going to be spending time with in the 3D realm. For the sake of being able to complete this game, I'm not venturing into the third dimension, as of yet.

I do, however, like the idea of making lighting pay a large role in the game. I already intended to make lighting a key player, but your thoughts have given me some ideas as to what, specifically, I can do with the lighting engine. It'll require a bit of playing around with the TGB source to get it to work, but at least it'll be fun (and by that, I mean challenging).

I don't care too much for having rabies being the cause behind the zombies. I kind of like the pre-Resident Evil "people are coming back from the dead. What do you do?" thoughts. I will keep these ideas in mind, though. As well, I'm not focusing too much on incredible realism - it's a two dimensional video game, after all. However, I do agree that ammunition conservation should play a large role in the game.

While I do intend to have multiple avatars for the player to select from, and each will have their individual back-stories, I don't plan to have a statistics system in the game. I don't think it fits all that well with the real-time system that I am more interested in implementing. If you could elaborate on some more ideas on it, though, I'm all ears.

There's such a double standard about religion in the modern world. Catholics can gather, wear white robes, and say "In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti" and be considered normal.

But if my friends and I gather, wear black robes, and say  "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn", we're considered cultists.

• 

[Mitsu]

Mitsu

Re: Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

Zombies... ON A PLANE!!!!!  Like snakes, but much much worse.  And your main weapon is a pocket knife 'cause your only gun is a small pistol with 9 bullets and there's not an ammunition crate in sight.  Shazaam.  That would make for some epic zombie-ness.  Not quite apocalyptic though...

Actually...  Canada was infested with zombies and the protagonist tried to use the plane to get to the safety of Switzerland, but zombies got on board, and if he doesn't eliminate them, the infection will spread to Asia and Europe... EGAD!!!!!   Since the zombies are horrible swimmers, crashing into the ocean would kill them all, but Mr. Protagonist isn't willing to make a self sacrifice.

[W2link1]

W2link1

Re: Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

Gah I love zombies!!

Anyway, maybe you should include something like a sanity meter (a la Eternal Darkness) or an overheat meter (which was supposed to be in RE5 but wasn't included). I've always like the idea of not only your physical body being in danger, but your emotional side is also challenged to the point of insanity.

And the world rolls on...

[Cassyblanca]

Cassyblanca

Re: Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

Does anybody have any serious, and perhaps (dare I say it) original suggestions?

There's such a double standard about religion in the modern world. Catholics can gather, wear white robes, and say "In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti" and be considered normal.

But if my friends and I gather, wear black robes, and say  "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn", we're considered cultists.

• 

[Theforeshadower]

Theforeshadower

Re: Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

Does anybody have any serious, and perhaps (dare I say it) original suggestions?

Did you get my PM?
The question at the end heavily influences any ideas I would have.

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[Cassyblanca]

Cassyblanca

Re: Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

Yes, I did Foreshadower. Give me a second, I've got like, half a million things I'm trying to do on a slow connection, and haven't really had the chance to respond yet. I want ideas and thoughts from more than just you, but unfortunately you're the only one who's offered serious ideas (though some of them are less original than I'm shooting for).

There's such a double standard about religion in the modern world. Catholics can gather, wear white robes, and say "In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti" and be considered normal.

But if my friends and I gather, wear black robes, and say  "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn", we're considered cultists.

• 

[Mitsu]

Mitsu

Re: Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

   It's pretty hard to be serious when we're talking about zombies.  Frikkin' zombies.  Not very serious subject matter.  Also, original ideas don't exist, sorry.  They've all been done before to some extent.

That being said, I wasn't being completely silly in my last post.  I personally think the idea of having an incredibly easy solution to the zombie invasion, but at the cost of something dear to the protagonist, is a pretty darn good proposition.

[TheDarkJay]

TheDarkJay

Re: Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

If you ask me, in the Zombie genre the "Heroic Sacrifice" only works if it's ultimately a completely pointless gesture =P

Mitsu: Except planes are quite small, relatively speaking...Hmm, I don't think I've seen a zombie film/game/etc set on a large boat (though It's probably they've been done somehow), and if you advertised something as "It's like Titanic but with zombies" I would buy that sh!t so fast Just throwing that idea out there ^_^

Actually there is something painfully isolated about a being the only survivor on a boat filled with zombies and drifting in the middle of the ocean filled with zombie whales.

[Zaeranos]

Zaeranos

Re: Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

I don't like Zombie games. I have played some yes, but I never bought or owned a zombie game. But when I would end up in a Zombie Apocalypse, I probably wouldn't have a gun. An iron pipe maybe or even a sword, but I would run like hell. And when I can't go on anymore, I keep on running.

Maybe that is something for your game. Run away from the zombies and quickly dodge or slice any zombie obstacle in your way.

[Mitsu]

Mitsu

Re: Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrier_(video_game)

It's not zombies, but it's close.

[Zhello]

Zhello

Re: Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

if you cant beat em, join em lol.  Can you imagine you are in a house and theres atleast 15 zombies inside while your hiding and the exit is on the 1st floor while you hide in the 12 floor with NO widows.  The only wepaon you have is a wooden board.


what about zombi dogs/birds xD?

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[Theforeshadower]

Theforeshadower

Re: Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

Another way to go is back to the basic premise of the origins of zombies aka necromancy.
If memory is correct, zombies or the undead stems from the idea of black magic and some possible demonic power.

May not seem that "cool" though.  Might end up being a bit too deep, but during the !@#$% at work today I was thinking about this game you want to make and one thought that came to mind, but is probably too cliche:

A rare eclipse (or arrangement of planets) occurs after which the dead begin to rise.
Somehow at somepoint you find out that it is the work of a bunch of necros trying to destroy( or rule in their case) the world by raising the dead and possibly summoning demons.

I do happen to have the Necronomicon(not that I follow it).  It has alot of the original demonic spells and stuff of which I speak.

Not only would it give you your "bread and butter" zombies, but it would give you some great boss ideas as well.

Again, that kind of zombie game may go a bit too deep for the casual gamer.

• 

[Cassyblanca]

Cassyblanca

Re: Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

TFS, I love you. We'll have to work on the concept a little, and bring it to be a bit up-to-date (modern necromancers just seem SO much more fitting if we slap them in high positions of various corporations ;3). I'll have to get hold of a copy of the Necromonicon for... "research purposes"... yeah.. has nothing to do with my being the High Priestess of the Sisterhood of Lord Snickers at all :3

Most of the suggestions I've been getting from Metroid: Fan Mission have revolved around the A.I. related to the zombies. People seem to want more intelligent, somewhat organized zombies, and this plays well into that plan. Any knowledgeable Necromancer would want to instill some sort of hierarchy system and make Zombies that are more intelligent than brain-munching shufflers.

-- AND NOW I GOTTA GO. I'll finish later.

There's such a double standard about religion in the modern world. Catholics can gather, wear white robes, and say "In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti" and be considered normal.

But if my friends and I gather, wear black robes, and say  "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn", we're considered cultists.

• 

[TheDarkJay]

TheDarkJay

Re: Your Ideal Zombie Apocalypse?

Zombies come originally from Voo Doo culture, then they got combined with vampire folklore (thanks to I Am Legend and Night of the Living Dead) and...yeah, you get 'zombies' as they are in pop-culture nowadays =P

The Necronomicon was invented as a generic-all-purpose 'devil book' by H.P. Lovecraft for his stories, and keeping it as such he never wrote a 'real' copy of it. It's where the oft-repeated "That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even death may die." is said to come from in his stories. A few people wrote there own after he died as hoaxes, and at least one collection of his stories was released as "The Necronomicon" =P

I actually tried to write a short story about 'vampires' awhile ago, and had it that if a person died whilst 'infected' with the vampirism virus they came back as a 'ghoul', literally: All the strengths and weaknesses of a vampire, but with no conscious processing skills so nothing more than rapid, powerful animals that functioned somewhat like packs of wolves.

Since they don't know when to stop feeding, tend to kill when they feed, have no qualms with feeding off of bodies, and infect those they fed from they tended to cause large amounts of such 'ghouls'. However, they also emit a pheromone which drives the vampires to hunt down and kill the ghouls. Since most vampires and therefore potential ghouls lived in cities, this wasn't such a problem. The British government dedicated to 'supernaturals' was interested in using them as a weapon (something which the previous head of that branch had been preventing, for good reason).

Long short-story short the idea was for the British government to test ghouls as a method of wiping out a 'large terrorist cell' (or something like that), following 3 characters: A British sniper whose job is to stop anybody (living or ghoul) from escaping, a vampire driven by the pheromones to kill the ghouls and a terrorist trying to survive against them. My idea was for, eventually, the terrorist to kill himself, then an assault team sweeps in and kills the ghouls and the vampire.