Yet Another Zombie Game.. Or Not!

Zerb Games

Member
@Phil Strahl I think that you could be interested in this.

Hey guys, I think we all can say to some extent we are a little burned out on zombie games, but gosh darn't it's such a scapegoat for game developers. Essentially I am making a platformer zombie shooter. I don't want it to be like other games, I've already made 2 rough modules and can say that I was quite happy with the gameplay. One thing I'm not too fond of is using zombies, or at least traditional zombies. I want the game to have some enemies that are like zombies, they walk slow, are predictable, and can have deadly consequences in high numbers. However I don't want the game to have zombies like we see in the Walking Dead, The Last of Us, Dying light, or any other mainstream form of media containing zombies. Any ideas on something to spice up the zombies, but still have them be "zombies." Thanks guys!

The Art style I'm going for:
upload_2016-8-24_3-49-35.pngupload_2016-8-24_3-49-1.png
 
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Darren

Guest
Well there are a few ways to tackle this.

28 Days Later showed us fast running Zombies can be effective, adding a sense of urgency to getting away.

War Z showed us sheer numbers of Zombies could change the genre a bit, there were so many they scaled walls like ants.

The Last Of Us added a human aspect, scientifically explaining the way parasites effected humans and made them become these crazed creatures.

Just wondering, why do you want to use Zombies knowing it's been done to death and that traditional Zombies are uninteresting to you? Why does it have to be Zombies? They're quite constricting in what you can do with them.
 

Zerb Games

Member
Well there are a few ways to tackle this.

28 Days Later showed us fast running Zombies can be effective, adding a sense of urgency to getting away.

War Z showed us sheer numbers of Zombies could change the genre a bit, there were so many they scaled walls like ants.

The Last Of Us added a human aspect, scientifically explaining the way parasites effected humans and made them become these crazed creatures.

Just wondering, why do you want to use Zombies knowing it's been done to death and that traditional Zombies are uninteresting to you? Why does it have to be Zombies? They're quite constricting in what you can do with them.
There's 2 reasons 1) being that Zombie Games are still very popular, just look at the new ones coming out, and 2) I want them to behave like zombies for a reason, I've always liked the aspect of survival in a zombie apocalypse, this is a wave based game so zombies are an effective enemy.
 
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Darren

Guest
I always liked the sections in Resident Evil 4 where you had to barricade houses by putting tables and beds over the doors and windows to stop the Zombies getting in. Maybe add environmental elements to keep the game fun, like building barricades.

What about Zombies that work from a Hive mind like bees? When the waves begin the Zombies are slow and aimless, but the closer they get to each other they gain speed and get more focused. You'd have to kill the groups before they got too big and overwhelming like a swarm, adding a tactical element where you don't want them to get too close to each other.

Or maybe make these Zombies blind and only use sound and smell to detect you, firing your weapon at a distant wall could distract them from your scent and send groups of Zombies stumbling away from you, saving you at the last minute.

Just a few simple ideas but there's a lot you can do with it, surviving a zombie apocalypse is always a fun scenario in a game. :)
 

Yal

šŸ§ *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
How about using skeletons? They're cooler than zombies, relatively easy to justify dying easily (since they lack muscles and stuff keeping their bones together), and can more easily be varied (just stick other bones into them to replace human parts with cooler ones like dinosaur feet). Not to mention parts scattering everywhere when they're killed looks cool.
 

Zerb Games

Member
I always liked the sections in Resident Evil 4 where you had to barricade houses by putting tables and beds over the doors and windows to stop the Zombies getting in. Maybe add environmental elements to keep the game fun, like building barricades.

What about Zombies that work from a Hive mind like bees? When the waves begin the Zombies are slow and aimless, but the closer they get to each other they gain speed and get more focused. You'd have to kill the groups before they got too big and overwhelming like a swarm, adding a tactical element where you don't want them to get too close to each other.

Or maybe make these Zombies blind and only use sound and smell to detect you, firing your weapon at a distant wall could distract them from your scent and send groups of Zombies stumbling away from you, saving you at the last minute.

Just a few simple ideas but there's a lot you can do with it, surviving a zombie apocalypse is always a fun scenario in a game. :)
I already have the whole barricade system as a plan. You can also place turrets, spiked barricades, dummies that the zombies will attack, etc.

As for a hive mind idea, I think that would be awesome. I love programming AI especially in regards to nature, and the natural world. However it would take quite some time, but I think I can make it work.

With the dummies they are covered with blood, that's why zombies attack them. So this is already a plan in place, but they will always be moving towards the nearest target sorta like COD Zombies, it just makes the game more convenient if you don't have to go on a wild goose chase every time you get down to the last few zombies.
 

Zerb Games

Member
How about using skeletons? They're cooler than zombies, relatively easy to justify dying easily (since they lack muscles and stuff keeping their bones together), and can more easily be varied (just stick other bones into them to replace human parts with cooler ones like dinosaur feet). Not to mention parts scattering everywhere when they're killed looks cool.
They're also sorta scientifically inaccurate, the won't be able to move under standard conditions, that's not what I'm really going for. However I like the idea, it's fairly original perhaps there can be a really skinny subtype of zombie that is "all skin and bones," or has an exoskeleton. About the parts scattering everywhere I have a ragdoll, and dismemberment system. I'm actually making a dynamic system for animation that uses lengthdir functions, sin, and cossine. I'll post a screen of what I call an asset sheet, I know gamemaker already does this by itself, but I like to come up with my own systems. Yeah and with skeletal zombies, or enemies they would break a lot easier, but can still move perhaps unless you shoot them in the head.

Asset Sheet (WIP):
upload_2016-8-24_11-59-44.png
 
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