303: How Games Get Zombies Wrong
- Thread starter Chuck Wendig
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Good points, shit writing.
Oh, and about pinball: It doesn't matter. Games have become much more complex and much more entertaining than pinball now. They have endings and resolutions. In fact, even the movies you cited have real resolutions, even if the zombie problem itself has yet to come to an end.
Oh, and about pinball: It doesn't matter. Games have become much more complex and much more entertaining than pinball now. They have endings and resolutions. In fact, even the movies you cited have real resolutions, even if the zombie problem itself has yet to come to an end.
This article reminds me a bit about a game I played a while back called rogue survivor. (check it out if you get the chance) Basically your dropped into the zombie apocalypse with nothing, and your usual first course of action is to:
1) Raid Stores for food
2) Get a follower
3) Barricade yourself in and cry yourself to sleep
4) Wander outside and get shot at by civilians because YOU HAVE FOOD (assuming you survive more than 2 days on your first try, and food starts to become scarce)
The game is really good about it too and there are tons of things to worry about. It pretty much covers what your talking about right here.
1) Raid Stores for food
2) Get a follower
3) Barricade yourself in and cry yourself to sleep
4) Wander outside and get shot at by civilians because YOU HAVE FOOD (assuming you survive more than 2 days on your first try, and food starts to become scarce)
The game is really good about it too and there are tons of things to worry about. It pretty much covers what your talking about right here.
I own around 80 Zombie films and have seen quite a few more... They can be about all kinds of things. A realistic Zombie game would probably not be that fun. You can compare it to Pinball all you want but really how profitable are those these days? I have a feeling with the way Video Game Designers write at best you would get a game at the level of Burial Ground or Hell of the Living Dead... Which while films I absolutely love probably aren't the kind of experiences you are shooting for.
And what about all the movies that treat the undead menace as something non-committal (Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue, Wild Zero, Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, Night of the Creeps etc.). Its not like all Zombie Films involve the Death of Death. Or ones where the death doesn't effect a large stretch of the population like Stacy?
It really isn't that beneficial to use firearms in Dead Rising unless its a Real Mega Buster. Oh the more I read of your article the more I think you haven't played Dead Rising...
Nevermind.
Useless.
As for using Zombies as a metaphor for Society its been done since the Original Night of the Living Dead and its Progenitor I Am Legend...
And what about all the movies that treat the undead menace as something non-committal (Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue, Wild Zero, Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, Night of the Creeps etc.). Its not like all Zombie Films involve the Death of Death. Or ones where the death doesn't effect a large stretch of the population like Stacy?
It really isn't that beneficial to use firearms in Dead Rising unless its a Real Mega Buster. Oh the more I read of your article the more I think you haven't played Dead Rising...
Nevermind.
Useless.
Just because he said it was an allegory for disease doesn't mean he was advocating it being a Disease. If anything he's thinking a Supernatural Story where death is subverted and unless your brain is destroyed you become a Zombie. Generally that line of Fiction doesn't bother with a Scientific explanation of the outbreak. The characters are more concerned (and make more progress with) with Containment and Survival.Halo Fanboy said:
As for using Zombies as a metaphor for Society its been done since the Original Night of the Living Dead and its Progenitor I Am Legend...
I agree, Dead Rising did a damn good job of showing how other people are the real threat. The psychopaths, the "stupid one" who lets the zombies in (see DR1), the terrorists who start it all (see DR1), the evil people who keep the outbreak going (see DR2).Amarok said:
Dead Rising did a great job of portraying the problem with Zombies. But with that said, it wasn't much of a zombie game since the Zombies were just kind of "there", you could actually ignore them if you wanted.
I read the article and the problem with it:
The Head Shot Still Wins!
Ever watched those zombie shows and wonder: If that idiot just raised his gun 1 1/2 foot higher, he lives? Shooting a zombie just in the heart wont do it, it has to be the head.
Look, I know what I will do if this Zombie outbreak happens. I will stick to my plan, I will not only have a useful range weapon, but I also have a melee weapon of choice. Also, one thing you never see in Zombie movies: Armor. For the love of any thing holy, wear armor. Its not hard to cover yourself from neck to foot with armor or some sort. Even wearing multiple layers of clothing stops a person from biting you.
Zombies are not that scary, just annoying. They only propose a threat to the stupid and unorganized. People who can prepare for different forms of combat vs the undead will win every time.
So yeah, I choose to Shoot it with a Gun every time. You can say I'm wrong but I will tell you this: 6 billion of us exist, if I can keep 1% of us alive, I win because I will be the "Hero." Why doesn't the article discuss about the Hero? Zombies are easy to clean up after.
1. Kill Zombie via Head Shot
2. Clear out the area and stack the bodies.
3. Stuff enough zombies into a metal crate and send it to your closes Shuttle to outer-space.
4. Set the control panel of the Shuttle to head towards the sun and the zombies will be disintegrated at a molecule level at the suns location.
5. Rinse and repeat? Also you have to dig up the ground and send that with the shuttle also. Cant leave any bloody mess behind to some how start the infection all over again.
While that is crazy, the idea that a Zombie outbreak could even occur is just as crazy. One of the best ways to deal with a crazy idea is to come up with crazy ideas to counter it. In this case, fight fire with fire, not the logical way of suffocate/water vs fire.
The Head Shot Still Wins!
Ever watched those zombie shows and wonder: If that idiot just raised his gun 1 1/2 foot higher, he lives? Shooting a zombie just in the heart wont do it, it has to be the head.
Look, I know what I will do if this Zombie outbreak happens. I will stick to my plan, I will not only have a useful range weapon, but I also have a melee weapon of choice. Also, one thing you never see in Zombie movies: Armor. For the love of any thing holy, wear armor. Its not hard to cover yourself from neck to foot with armor or some sort. Even wearing multiple layers of clothing stops a person from biting you.
Zombies are not that scary, just annoying. They only propose a threat to the stupid and unorganized. People who can prepare for different forms of combat vs the undead will win every time.
So yeah, I choose to Shoot it with a Gun every time. You can say I'm wrong but I will tell you this: 6 billion of us exist, if I can keep 1% of us alive, I win because I will be the "Hero." Why doesn't the article discuss about the Hero? Zombies are easy to clean up after.
1. Kill Zombie via Head Shot
2. Clear out the area and stack the bodies.
3. Stuff enough zombies into a metal crate and send it to your closes Shuttle to outer-space.
4. Set the control panel of the Shuttle to head towards the sun and the zombies will be disintegrated at a molecule level at the suns location.
5. Rinse and repeat? Also you have to dig up the ground and send that with the shuttle also. Cant leave any bloody mess behind to some how start the infection all over again.
While that is crazy, the idea that a Zombie outbreak could even occur is just as crazy. One of the best ways to deal with a crazy idea is to come up with crazy ideas to counter it. In this case, fight fire with fire, not the logical way of suffocate/water vs fire.
Okay, some good stuff, some not so good.dsawyers9 said:
Ranged weapon - fair enough, but the problem is ammo and stopping the 99% of 6 billion who are now zombies from killing us.
Melee weapon - mace or sword. Something for smashing heads or cutting them off. Anything that requires fuel is a liability.
Armour - yes. I reckon a wet suit would be the easiest to acquire and would prevent bites and scratches, just get a mask to cover your face. However if overwhelmed by numbers you'd still be in serious trouble. Even if they just pin you down til you die of thirst or sufficate.
Shuttle to outer space - I will take it this is the comedy answer. How many space shuttles do we have and how long would it take to build more? Can one individual fuel, programme and launch one? I think not.
Survival may be a case of hanging on until the existing zombies starve/fall apart but you're still left in a world with a decimated population, no power and lack of skills for basic survival (food, medicine, shelter). Depending on the cause, you may still have to deal with the newly dead.
Actually, Hitler was part of the point. Letting politicians dictate strategy and/or tactics.Thedek said:
In fact, he US Military made a very similar mistake in Real Life during the Vietnam War. And they've made sure not to make that mistake again.
Not to mention the USAF letting itself get shut out of the operation until that last minute, the horrendous breaches of War Correspondent protocols, bad tactics, Logistics failure, failure to properly secure the area... In short, a perfect storm of stupidity, necessary (combined with a nonsensical combination of Zombie invulnerabilities and weaknesses (PROTIP: If you can survive pressures walking on the ocean floor, a baseball bat to the head isn't going to do jack) and the author's ignorance of the effects of modern weaponry on a human body) for the plot to proceed as it did.
In short: Plot-induced Stupidity.