Zombie Apocolypse
It's the Year 2022. Six months ago, international space observation equipment sighted several small pieces of meteorite debries moving on an intercept course with Earth. The meteorites were noted, catalogued, and deemed to be too small to be a terrestrial threat as it was assumed they would burn up on atmospheric entry.
Four months ago, those meteorites struck Earth in multiple locations, not only intact after entry, but growing in size as they hit the oxygen rich sections of the atmosphere. In the sprawling metropolitan Los Esperanzo, several objects struck in various places in and around the city, detonating on impact causing widespread damage and releasing thick greyish dust into the air and water. Emergency response was prompt, and National Guard relief forces poured into the city. Two weeks later, the infection showed it's first major signs. The dead seemingly rise from their graves, attacking any living beings they can find, delivering disease via their mucusy bites. Local animals and populous infected by these "Carrion Carriers" quickly begin to mutate into horrific animals, seemingly fueled by organic tissue and consuming everything in their path. Even plants begin to mutate into strange, mutated fungus. Chaos sweeps the city and martial law is declared. Two weeks later, the United States officially abandons and quarintines Los Esperanzo.
Three months ago the citizens of Los Esperanzo and the National Guard left behind in the wake of the bug-out were cut off from the rest of the world with no knowledge of what was happening to them, the city, or the rest of the country. The U.S. Military destroys all bridges and tunnels out of the city and strategically bombs the airfields, effectivly sealing the survivors inside with the infected. Those left quickly band together in disparate groups, fighting over resources and safe havens from the infected. At Saint Samaritan hospital in central Los Esperanzo, Doctor Abraham Van Hesslinger, pHD and genetic researcher manages to isolate the protien chains the infection capitalizes on to consume living beings, and creates a shor term vaccine. He quickly establishes a command center with remainders of the National Guard, and spreads his knowledge to the other inner city hospitals. Word soon spreads this network of hospital based safe havens taking all comers willing to cooperate. Wild rumors that they have a cure for the infection spread, and masses flock to the hospitals for shelter and protection. Others scoff at the rumors as a sham and form their own bands, living in the waste of the city like tribal bandits, concerned only with their own immediate survival. The infected populous meanwhile retreat mysteriously from sight, entering a gestation in the cities underground and sewers, forming complex hives. Humans are given a brief reprieve to gather themselves unmolested. All attempts to leave the city however meet with instant lethal force from the military, and all attempts to communicate are ignored.
Present day, the infected are emerging from their underground gestation in new frightening forms, but the survivors are prepared. They've dug into the cities major hospitals, fortifying themselves with scavenged weapons and supplying themselves with hoarded food and medical supplies gathered over the intervening time. Hesslinger cooperates with the medical professionals at the other hospitals to work on a proper cure via short wave radio, while manufacturing as much as the enzyme that provides temporary immunity to infection as they can for those who venture outside the safety zone of the Hospital-Fortress's. The infected meanwhile awaken to find their sentience remains, but they are now a part of a mysterious hive mind that connects them all. Empowered to superhuman levels by their mutations, the infected find themselves driven by an almost unbearable urge to consume living tissue to fuel their bizzare changes. Some embrace their new forms as the next evolution of humanity, some try to resist, but the hunger controls all. Some however, wonder at their changes, and seek to discover just as much as the humans exactly -what- is going on.
Reguardless of who or what you are, four things for sure. Your scared. Your hungry. You have no idea what is going on. And before it's all over, brains will spill.
Concept
A zombie MMORPG is a tricky thing. There's no 'tanking' or magic spells in the world of Zombie Horror. The survivors best bet is to aim for the head and keep moving, and above all don't get grabbed. The infected's best bet is to not get shot and also aim for the head (mmm, brains). It's tricky- people need to feel vulnerable in order for it to be horror, which means they have to be vulnerable. At the same time, no one wants to play as either side if they're wussies that die like flies. You need to empower players while keeping them on edge, and keeping them balanced. Traditional RPG mechanics don't exactly cut it when you need mook zombies to be as dangerous at lvl 100 as they were at lvl 1 - as long as they're in large groups as any good mook zombie is. In this spirit, a Zombie MMORPG should focus on posistioning and terrain. There's no quick magical way to heal damage. At best you get a first aid kit which requires you to be out of combat to use but cures status effects, or an experimental tonic that rapidly generates health, but doesn't do anything for status ailments. And when your dead, someone has to drag your carcass out of combat before the zombies eat it. Man thinking of a respawn mechanic when you die is gonna be hard...
More later.
It's the Year 2022. Six months ago, international space observation equipment sighted several small pieces of meteorite debries moving on an intercept course with Earth. The meteorites were noted, catalogued, and deemed to be too small to be a terrestrial threat as it was assumed they would burn up on atmospheric entry.
Four months ago, those meteorites struck Earth in multiple locations, not only intact after entry, but growing in size as they hit the oxygen rich sections of the atmosphere. In the sprawling metropolitan Los Esperanzo, several objects struck in various places in and around the city, detonating on impact causing widespread damage and releasing thick greyish dust into the air and water. Emergency response was prompt, and National Guard relief forces poured into the city. Two weeks later, the infection showed it's first major signs. The dead seemingly rise from their graves, attacking any living beings they can find, delivering disease via their mucusy bites. Local animals and populous infected by these "Carrion Carriers" quickly begin to mutate into horrific animals, seemingly fueled by organic tissue and consuming everything in their path. Even plants begin to mutate into strange, mutated fungus. Chaos sweeps the city and martial law is declared. Two weeks later, the United States officially abandons and quarintines Los Esperanzo.
Three months ago the citizens of Los Esperanzo and the National Guard left behind in the wake of the bug-out were cut off from the rest of the world with no knowledge of what was happening to them, the city, or the rest of the country. The U.S. Military destroys all bridges and tunnels out of the city and strategically bombs the airfields, effectivly sealing the survivors inside with the infected. Those left quickly band together in disparate groups, fighting over resources and safe havens from the infected. At Saint Samaritan hospital in central Los Esperanzo, Doctor Abraham Van Hesslinger, pHD and genetic researcher manages to isolate the protien chains the infection capitalizes on to consume living beings, and creates a shor term vaccine. He quickly establishes a command center with remainders of the National Guard, and spreads his knowledge to the other inner city hospitals. Word soon spreads this network of hospital based safe havens taking all comers willing to cooperate. Wild rumors that they have a cure for the infection spread, and masses flock to the hospitals for shelter and protection. Others scoff at the rumors as a sham and form their own bands, living in the waste of the city like tribal bandits, concerned only with their own immediate survival. The infected populous meanwhile retreat mysteriously from sight, entering a gestation in the cities underground and sewers, forming complex hives. Humans are given a brief reprieve to gather themselves unmolested. All attempts to leave the city however meet with instant lethal force from the military, and all attempts to communicate are ignored.
Present day, the infected are emerging from their underground gestation in new frightening forms, but the survivors are prepared. They've dug into the cities major hospitals, fortifying themselves with scavenged weapons and supplying themselves with hoarded food and medical supplies gathered over the intervening time. Hesslinger cooperates with the medical professionals at the other hospitals to work on a proper cure via short wave radio, while manufacturing as much as the enzyme that provides temporary immunity to infection as they can for those who venture outside the safety zone of the Hospital-Fortress's. The infected meanwhile awaken to find their sentience remains, but they are now a part of a mysterious hive mind that connects them all. Empowered to superhuman levels by their mutations, the infected find themselves driven by an almost unbearable urge to consume living tissue to fuel their bizzare changes. Some embrace their new forms as the next evolution of humanity, some try to resist, but the hunger controls all. Some however, wonder at their changes, and seek to discover just as much as the humans exactly -what- is going on.
Reguardless of who or what you are, four things for sure. Your scared. Your hungry. You have no idea what is going on. And before it's all over, brains will spill.
Concept
A zombie MMORPG is a tricky thing. There's no 'tanking' or magic spells in the world of Zombie Horror. The survivors best bet is to aim for the head and keep moving, and above all don't get grabbed. The infected's best bet is to not get shot and also aim for the head (mmm, brains). It's tricky- people need to feel vulnerable in order for it to be horror, which means they have to be vulnerable. At the same time, no one wants to play as either side if they're wussies that die like flies. You need to empower players while keeping them on edge, and keeping them balanced. Traditional RPG mechanics don't exactly cut it when you need mook zombies to be as dangerous at lvl 100 as they were at lvl 1 - as long as they're in large groups as any good mook zombie is. In this spirit, a Zombie MMORPG should focus on posistioning and terrain. There's no quick magical way to heal damage. At best you get a first aid kit which requires you to be out of combat to use but cures status effects, or an experimental tonic that rapidly generates health, but doesn't do anything for status ailments. And when your dead, someone has to drag your carcass out of combat before the zombies eat it. Man thinking of a respawn mechanic when you die is gonna be hard...
More later.
