I can't help but noticing how many games are related to the Zombie theme today. I mean There are like 1000 games about Zombies out there today, and it's almost like if your game is about Zombies, it will get noticed no matter what.
Are there any other topics like Zombies that get this kind of unquestioned love from the gamers?
I can't help but noticing how many games are related to the Zombie theme today. I mean There are like 1000 games about Zombies out there today, and it's almost like if your game is about Zombies, it will get noticed no matter what.
Are there any other topics like Zombies that get this kind of unquestioned love from the gamers?
Superheros
you know, dudes that got bitten by stuff, or born with weird things or extra parts
I can't help but noticing how many games are related to the Zombie theme today. I mean There are like 1000 games about Zombies out there today, and it's almost like if your game is about Zombies, it will get noticed no matter what.
Are there any other topics like Zombies that get this kind of unquestioned love from the gamers?
Superheros
you know, dudes that got bitten by stuff, or born with weird things or extra parts
Superheros? I don't think it's as popular as Zombies.
Plus you get fan bases for individual heros, like Spiderman and Batman.
Zombies are frightening and represent a very painful death. Horror, dread, fear and terror in spades.
They are a logistical and martial challenge that is interesting, while actual war these days has become complicated, technological, political and morally challenging. That is, uninteresting.
Zombies cause an apocalyptic setting - they are not the only danger, but the environment they create is antagonistic as well. The apocalypse is always exciting, because it boils down life to either becoming a badass or dying (and thus no longer having to worry about being a badass) - none of the half-cooked or partial.
Zombies are interesting from a societal and geopolitical standpoint (see Max Brooks). Zombies are interesting enemies in themselves because they are humanoid enemies that still can't be sympathized with, and any qualms about killing them is window dressing. They remind us that humanity does not lie in the form.
I say all of the above makes for great videogames. In fact, I think the entire package is pretty alluring to a lot of modern people - men in particular.
Zombies are frightening and represent a very painful death. Horror, dread, fear and terror in spades.
They are a logistical and martial challenge that is interesting, while actual war these days has become complicated, technological, political and morally challenging. That is, uninteresting.
Zombies cause an apocalyptic setting - they are not the only danger, but the environment they create is antagonistic as well. The apocalypse is always exciting, because it boils down life to either becoming a badass or dying (and thus no longer having to worry about being a badass) - none of the half-cooked or partial.
Zombies are interesting from a societal and geopolitical standpoint (see Max Brooks). Zombies are interesting enemies in themselves because they are humanoid enemies that still can't be sympathized with, and any qualms about killing them is window dressing. They remind us that humanity does not lie in the form.
I say all of the above makes for great videogames. In fact, I think the entire package is pretty alluring to a lot of modern people - men in particular.
Great Analysis!
And I think the fact that we (men) get to kill these Zombies without guilt (since they're "dead already") also encourages it.
Both Kastanj and Remington are very correct. Whats better than facing an unbeatable hoard of the most horrific terror (that doesn't actually exist... yet) with a chainsaw or lawn-mower? Or even a stuffed animal?
For me, the excitement comes from the forced adaptability to a new enemy, yet somehow a very real enemy. Zombies can be in the form of a stranger or a loved one, bringing the terror even higher. The tough decisions like killing an infected-but-still-human-friend or leaving behind your team on Left 4 Dead are the icing on the cake.
Basically, zombies put you in situations that really stretch the limits of the human soul.
Has there ever been a game in the "classic" zombie theme? Like, slow Romero zombies, just trying to survive. Maybe hole up in a house somewhere. And have to deal with other people cracking up.
It seems like it would make the best RPG ever, and it's never been done. The only two I can think of are Fort Zombie, which is bad, and the one from Double Bear, which will never come out.
Not to mention a zombie horde is much easier to model and simulate in-game than a squad of intelligent soldiers. You don't have to worry about tactics, or coordination, or situation awareness.
All you need is: see brains -> follow brains -> eat brains.
Which lets you craft a "realistic" setting where you won't be jarred out of your suspension of disbelief by your enemies doing idiotic things AI tends to do, like getting stuck on geometry or running in circles or ignoring cover or any of a million other poor choices for a real soldier. Because hey.. They're just zombies.
Has there ever been a game in the "classic" zombie theme? Like, slow Romero zombies, just trying to survive. Maybe hole up in a house somewhere. And have to deal with other people cracking up.
It seems like it would make the best RPG ever, and it's never been done. The only two I can think of are Fort Zombie, which is bad, and the one from Double Bear, which will never come out.
Honestly, the original Resident Evil fits that bill pretty well. Sure, they add fast enemies to offset the slow zombies. But the opening of the game is lifted from NOTLD, basically. Replace normal folk with S.T.A.R.s and creepy country house with creepy mansion in the middle of nowhere...
Sorry, but what is a recent game with zombies as the main focus? It's a game-mode in some FPS's now, like CoD: WAW but what straight-up zombie oriented games have gotten lots of attention and did well outside of Dead Rising and Resident Evil? RE's not even about zombies anymore...
EDIT: I always forget about L4D despite putting loads of hours into it. Heh.
Faffel on
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jefe414"My Other Drill Hole is a Teleporter"Mechagodzilla is Best GodzillaRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
Well it isn't just games. A slew of movies (both theater release like Zombieland and B/D films like Dead Snow) plus a TV show is coming out based on a comic right?
I have yet to see a zombie, robot, ninja, space marine game in a fantasy World War 2 setting.
There was a strategy RPG for the 360 with werewolves, vampires, and lots of other crazy shit set in WW2. I forget the name of it though, it looked pretty awesome but turned out to just be mediocre.
I have yet to see a zombie, robot, ninja, space marine game in a fantasy World War 2 setting.
There was a strategy RPG for the 360 with werewolves, vampires, and lots of other crazy shit set in WW2. I forget the name of it though, it looked pretty awesome but turned out to just be mediocre.
Operation Darkness (Name didn't sound right to me but google confirms it. Good game but took way too long to play)
Has there ever been a game in the "classic" zombie theme? Like, slow Romero zombies, just trying to survive. Maybe hole up in a house somewhere. And have to deal with other people cracking up.
It seems like it would make the best RPG ever, and it's never been done. The only two I can think of are Fort Zombie, which is bad, and the one from Double Bear, which will never come out.
I played a freeware game years back that was sort of like that. You had to wander around a city between safehouses, bartering for ammo and food.
I don't remember that much about it, other than that attempting to establish your own safehouse resulted in a bajillion zombies pouring in all at once for no apparent reason.
Has there ever been a game in the "classic" zombie theme? Like, slow Romero zombies, just trying to survive. Maybe hole up in a house somewhere. And have to deal with other people cracking up.
It seems like it would make the best RPG ever, and it's never been done. The only two I can think of are Fort Zombie, which is bad, and the one from Double Bear, which will never come out.
I played a freeware game years back that was sort of like that. You had to wander around a city between safehouses, bartering for ammo and food.
I don't remember that much about it, other than that attempting to establish your own safehouse resulted in a bajillion zombies pouring in all at once for no apparent reason.
Has there ever been a game in the "classic" zombie theme? Like, slow Romero zombies, just trying to survive. Maybe hole up in a house somewhere. And have to deal with other people cracking up.
It seems like it would make the best RPG ever, and it's never been done. The only two I can think of are Fort Zombie, which is bad, and the one from Double Bear, which will never come out.
I played a freeware game years back that was sort of like that. You had to wander around a city between safehouses, bartering for ammo and food.
I don't remember that much about it, other than that attempting to establish your own safehouse resulted in a bajillion zombies pouring in all at once for no apparent reason.
I'm less scared of zombies, and more scared of plants now. Have you seen how crazy sunflowers are? and goddamn snow peas?
.. the horror..
Zombies are fun to kill. They aren't living humans so there's no guilt whatsoever, and they generally just come at you mindlessly and you can mow them down with guns or chainsaws or whatever superior weaponry you have, so you get to feel like a real badass. It's not hard to fathom why they show up so frequently.
You know, there isn't really a lot of (especially worth while or even decent) zombie stuff in any specific medium. Its just the combined effort that makes it notable. Comics, movies, TV shows and video games. Any one of them has a small number, but combined, just like the great zombie horde, they are a fantastic and formidable foe.
Zombie games, where zombies play a role other than low level enemy thats about as notable as toilet paper, are pretty rare. Talking in terms of proper zombies, I can't think of a single game other than the Land of the Dead game, to have such. Even then the hit collision was ass and headshots were no more effective than shooting their toes.
As far as I'm concerned, zombie games won't be tiring until we get a slew of "proper" zombie games that I can actually enjoy with a .22 hunting rifle and a machete.
Still waiting on zombie robot ninja lizardmen, anyways.
Edit: Sats, you're thinking of World at War. The nazi zombie mode is actually pretty sweet, and just about the best depiction of a zombie game I've ever seen. Slow moving, overwhelming, and headshots knock 'em on their ass faster than anything else.
Zombies are frightening and represent a very painful death. Horror, dread, fear and terror in spades.
They are a logistical and martial challenge that is interesting, while actual war these days has become complicated, technological, political and morally challenging. That is, uninteresting.
Zombies cause an apocalyptic setting - they are not the only danger, but the environment they create is antagonistic as well. The apocalypse is always exciting, because it boils down life to either becoming a badass or dying (and thus no longer having to worry about being a badass) - none of the half-cooked or partial.
Zombies are interesting from a societal and geopolitical standpoint (see Max Brooks). Zombies are interesting enemies in themselves because they are humanoid enemies that still can't be sympathized with, and any qualms about killing them is window dressing. They remind us that humanity does not lie in the form.
I say all of the above makes for great videogames. In fact, I think the entire package is pretty alluring to a lot of modern people - men in particular.
Just want to say I really like this. :^:
On a lot of other forums you'd just get answers like "Becus zOmbies R funnay HUR HUR". :?
But yeah, Zombie-genre games are interesting (to me) just because you're able to confront a specific ambiguously amoral situation you'd [probably? :P] never encounter in real life.
They are a logistical and martial challenge that is interesting, while actual war these days has become complicated, technological, political and morally challenging. That is, uninteresting.
I'd love a game that treats war as complicated, technological, and politically and morally challenging. That's far from "uninteresting." The problem with war games is, they tend to be set in either Brown Grimdarkverse or Batshit-Crazy TomClancyland.
Zombies don't generally shoot back, so they're good enemies for third-person action games and eminently suitable punching bags for wince-inducing combo melee attacks. But most importantly, they rarely talk. While most antagonists in a Capcom game will assault your brain with incoherent blather until it drains out your ears, the zombies of Dead Rising never utter a word apart from a soundtrack of groans.
Zoku Gojira on
"Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are." - Bertolt Brecht
Posts
Superheros
you know, dudes that got bitten by stuff, or born with weird things or extra parts
Being fought back by a lone Bald Space Marine™
Tychus Findlay? 8-)
Superheros? I don't think it's as popular as Zombies.
Plus you get fan bases for individual heros, like Spiderman and Batman.
They are a logistical and martial challenge that is interesting, while actual war these days has become complicated, technological, political and morally challenging. That is, uninteresting.
Zombies cause an apocalyptic setting - they are not the only danger, but the environment they create is antagonistic as well. The apocalypse is always exciting, because it boils down life to either becoming a badass or dying (and thus no longer having to worry about being a badass) - none of the half-cooked or partial.
Zombies are interesting from a societal and geopolitical standpoint (see Max Brooks). Zombies are interesting enemies in themselves because they are humanoid enemies that still can't be sympathized with, and any qualms about killing them is window dressing. They remind us that humanity does not lie in the form.
I say all of the above makes for great videogames. In fact, I think the entire package is pretty alluring to a lot of modern people - men in particular.
Great Analysis!
And I think the fact that we (men) get to kill these Zombies without guilt (since they're "dead already") also encourages it.
Pretty much this. Its the same reason Foot Soldiers were cyborgs. Its human like, but PC to kill.
For me, the excitement comes from the forced adaptability to a new enemy, yet somehow a very real enemy. Zombies can be in the form of a stranger or a loved one, bringing the terror even higher. The tough decisions like killing an infected-but-still-human-friend or leaving behind your team on Left 4 Dead are the icing on the cake.
Basically, zombies put you in situations that really stretch the limits of the human soul.
It seems like it would make the best RPG ever, and it's never been done. The only two I can think of are Fort Zombie, which is bad, and the one from Double Bear, which will never come out.
All you need is: see brains -> follow brains -> eat brains.
Which lets you craft a "realistic" setting where you won't be jarred out of your suspension of disbelief by your enemies doing idiotic things AI tends to do, like getting stuck on geometry or running in circles or ignoring cover or any of a million other poor choices for a real soldier. Because hey.. They're just zombies.
I feel like the undead are infesting more than just video games. Look at all the vampire movies that came out in the last year or two.
Honestly, the original Resident Evil fits that bill pretty well. Sure, they add fast enemies to offset the slow zombies. But the opening of the game is lifted from NOTLD, basically. Replace normal folk with S.T.A.R.s and creepy country house with creepy mansion in the middle of nowhere...
EDIT: I always forget about L4D despite putting loads of hours into it. Heh.
.. the horror..
CorriganX on Steam and just about everywhere else.
That's on my Amazon wishlist, actually. I'm nearly done with the last two books I ordered, should I pick that up next? It sounds interesting.
/thread
2008, 2012, 2014 D&D "Rare With No Sauce" League Fantasy Football Champion!
There was a strategy RPG for the 360 with werewolves, vampires, and lots of other crazy shit set in WW2. I forget the name of it though, it looked pretty awesome but turned out to just be mediocre.
Operation Darkness (Name didn't sound right to me but google confirms it. Good game but took way too long to play)
I played a freeware game years back that was sort of like that. You had to wander around a city between safehouses, bartering for ammo and food.
I don't remember that much about it, other than that attempting to establish your own safehouse resulted in a bajillion zombies pouring in all at once for no apparent reason.
Survival Crisis Z?
I think that's it.
Some occult skeletons, I think. It's been a while
Like Stubbs the Zombie, only better.
xbl - HowYouGetAnts
steam - WeAreAllGeth
Yep, it had zombies, along with almost everything else short of vampires/werewolves
Zombies are fun to kill. They aren't living humans so there's no guilt whatsoever, and they generally just come at you mindlessly and you can mow them down with guns or chainsaws or whatever superior weaponry you have, so you get to feel like a real badass. It's not hard to fathom why they show up so frequently.
Nazis
Aliens
Zombies
Joe's Stream.
Zombie games, where zombies play a role other than low level enemy thats about as notable as toilet paper, are pretty rare. Talking in terms of proper zombies, I can't think of a single game other than the Land of the Dead game, to have such. Even then the hit collision was ass and headshots were no more effective than shooting their toes.
As far as I'm concerned, zombie games won't be tiring until we get a slew of "proper" zombie games that I can actually enjoy with a .22 hunting rifle and a machete.
Still waiting on zombie robot ninja lizardmen, anyways.
Edit: Sats, you're thinking of World at War. The nazi zombie mode is actually pretty sweet, and just about the best depiction of a zombie game I've ever seen. Slow moving, overwhelming, and headshots knock 'em on their ass faster than anything else.
There are gameplay videos out for this already? I haven't seen anything via their forums recently.
On a lot of other forums you'd just get answers like "Becus zOmbies R funnay HUR HUR". :?
But yeah, Zombie-genre games are interesting (to me) just because you're able to confront a specific ambiguously amoral situation you'd [probably? :P] never encounter in real life.
prove it
I'd love a game that treats war as complicated, technological, and politically and morally challenging. That's far from "uninteresting." The problem with war games is, they tend to be set in either Brown Grimdarkverse or Batshit-Crazy TomClancyland.
Zombies don't generally shoot back, so they're good enemies for third-person action games and eminently suitable punching bags for wince-inducing combo melee attacks. But most importantly, they rarely talk. While most antagonists in a Capcom game will assault your brain with incoherent blather until it drains out your ears, the zombies of Dead Rising never utter a word apart from a soundtrack of groans.
All of a sudden I'm thinking Nazi Alien Zombies and why hasn't this been done?!