Zombies vs. Infected

[Deef]

The actual answer is because IRL, there is a possibility of a 'zombie' apocalypse. Scientists all over the world have confirmed the existence of natural viruses similar to the T-Virus or those in 28 Days Later, I Am Legend, and so on. Therefore the most likely scenario is 'Infected' rather than the traditional 'Zombie'. IRL, there is a small chance that a 'zombie apocalypse' may occur so the fictional trend is simply keeping up with the real life possibilities. Simple as that.

EDIT: There is no possible way to dispute this, BTW, since this is what has been repeatedly confirmed by biologists and other scientists for at least the past decade, and is grounded therefore in fact. So this is a true [/thread] answer, anyone posting contradictory stuff after this is just an ignorant idiot. I'm sorry, but it's true.

Well, if you say so dear. I could ask for mutually supporting evidence from university or medical websites, but then I'd be an ignorant idiot, so I'll do the scientific thing and take your word for it, Mr, ah... ...sorry, who are you and what are your credentials again?

Hey, I never said that I was a scientist or anything. I was reporting what many different scientists have deduced, and as it happens there are such things in nature (an example is described here, it only takes a slight mutation in the virus itself to cause zombie-like effects. So there. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis )

Yeah. You lose, mate.

Wikipedia does not count as evidence.

 

[The Shade]

I think it's your second thesis: It's more realistic to assume the shuffling army will be born out of some insane disease thingy rather than climbing their way out of the grave, still wearing their burial suits and dresses, at the whim of some bearded mischief-maker waving a bone staff and chanting because he didn't get enough hugs in his youth.

Or something like that.

 

[Specter_]

Wasn't it a virus in I Am Legend? Also they weren't zombies at all. In the films at least.

It's a bacteria in the book and a virus in the movie, but in the movie they are more zombie-like, compared to vampires in the book. In the book there is a distinction between the infected, as the bacteria infects living and dead, the living turning into infected, the dead into vampires (those are similar to the infected in the movie, but smarter).

In the book the end is quite different, since it turns out the infected are actually the "good guys", trying to rebuild society with the infection being considered normal and Neville is the boogeyman of their stories (thus the "I am Legend"). This relevation is included in the movies Special Edition DVD.

 

[beddo]

Recently, I've noticed a trend: the "zombies" in games have been replaced with the "infected" (Resident Evil, Left 4 Dead, etc.). This shift has also been going in movies (I am Legend, 28 Days/Weeks Later, etc.). While zombie games are still prevalent (House of the Dead, Dead Rising, CoD:Waw zombie missions), why do you think game creators have recently started to use "infected" rather than "zombie"?

Personally, I have two theories:
1) It's simple market mentality. "Zombies" are getting old, so "infected" brings a "fresh" face to survival horror games.

2) Game creators are looking to immerse players in a more realistic setting by giving a more scientifically plausible situation. This is, essentially, giving games more background/storyline depth.

Zombie is a term where the dead have been reanimated. General zombies are seen to come from a supernatural power. Infected is a sub category of zombies which has arisen from a plague of some type; virus, parasite or bacteria, in some cases even direct or general mutation.

 

[ChromeAlchemist]

Infected are still Zombies, just faster and stronger, so developers would use them to make things harder than a horde of slow-moving apes.

Not true. Zombies are reanimated dead who want to eat flesh. Infected are basically Millwall fans. The exception to this rule being the Resi Evil series where the T-Virus both reanimated and mutated the dead, and infected the living.

And for those of you who aren't English/British, replace 'Milwall fans' with 'rioters' and you're close enough.

 

[NeedAUserName]

Infected are still Zombies, just faster and stronger, so developers would use them to make things harder than a horde of slow-moving apes.

Not true. Zombies are reanimated dead who want to eat flesh. Infected are basically Millwall fans. The exception to this rule being the Resi Evil series where the T-Virus both reanimated and mutated the dead, and infected the living.

And for those of you who aren't English/British, replace 'Milwall fans' with 'rioters' and you're close enough.

I dunno, Millwall Fans have eaten a lot more flesh then the average infected. Also, I thought the infected were the fast ones, whereas zombies were the slower ones, Just going by the old Dawn of the Dead, Night of The Living Dead, etc films... could be wrong though.

 

[BlackJack47]

infected are scarier than zombies, they sprint and scream at you, sometimes in hordes...Zombies slowly shuffle towards you like bad, smelling targets.

 

[ChromeAlchemist]

Infected are still Zombies, just faster and stronger, so developers would use them to make things harder than a horde of slow-moving apes.

Not true. Zombies are reanimated dead who want to eat flesh. Infected are basically Millwall fans. The exception to this rule being the Resi Evil series where the T-Virus both reanimated and mutated the dead, and infected the living.

And for those of you who aren't English/British, replace 'Milwall fans' with 'rioters' and you're close enough.

I dunno, Millwall Fans have eaten a lot more flesh then the average infected. Also, I thought the infected were the fast ones, whereas zombies were the slower ones, Just going by the old Dawn of the Dead, Night of The Living Dead, etc films... could be wrong though.

Well that's what I was going by as well.

 

[Raziel_Likes_Souls]

The infected have more of a chance of becoming real. All it could take is some hyper advanced mad cow disease.
Zombies have been real already. Voodoo "priests" have already brought people back to life in Haiti to work on plantations.

 

[wordsmith]

On another note, L4D is kind of on the fence here. Although they typically say infected, the enemies are also referred to as zombies, both in achievement titles (ie Zombie Genocidist) and in some of the survivors' conversations (ie the No Mercy elevator). What do we make of that?

"FOUR SURVIVORS in an epic struggle...
...fighting HOARDES of SWARMING ZOMBIES

Can you survuve the ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE?"

"... 'the AI Director' which changes the zombies"

"Features 100s of zombies"

On the fence? Hell naw.

All of those quotes are taken from the back of the UK PC case by the way.