Oh no more Zombies!

Sagrilarus wrote: if you set it in 400s France and made them drug-induced cult automatons . . . now you're talking.

I really like that idea. Brandon Sanderson toyed with this with Hemalurgy in the Mistborn Trilogy and again with the Derethi monks in Elantris. They were some of the most mysterious and interesting parts of those books.

I already posted this in the mirror thread at BGG but I really like post-apocalyptic stuff like Mad Max, Gamma World, or Fallout. I also really like the way Earth Reborn did zombies, an that they weren't really zombies (nudge/wink) but had a different backstory. I like Castle Panic and if Dead Panic had been post-apoc instead of zombies I would have it; as it is I have almost no interest in playing it.

How about a 12 Monkeys future? Everything is bleak and grown over and there's all kinds of weird stuff in the city that isn't supposed to be there.

Also, we're overdue for another good Judge Dredd game.

My main problem with zombie or the infected or similar is that everyone already has preconceived notions about what that is and what it should be. If the zombies are dumb, then they're just zombies and I really don't feel any connection to them even if they have an interesting backstory. For a dumb zombie game to work it's going to have to have stellar focus on the human characters and their interactions, which is my hope for Dead of Winter. If the zombies are smart or have some non-brain-eating motivation I can get more on board, but that's been done pretty well by Incursion and Earth Reborn.

Market saturation is a killer too. The number of kill the zombies games on store shelves is starting to approach the number of please the nobles games, and neither holds any interest for me anymore. We've got a number of good aliens on a space station/ship/planet type games as well, with Doom, Level 7 Omega Protocol, Theseus, Awful Green Things, etc.

I don't think the success of zombie games on Kickstarter (I'm looking at you, Zombicide) is a good indicator of market demand for zombie games, as a lot of those backers were throwing money at the miniatures as much as the game.

You know, the more I think about it, the more I think that the theme you choose isn't so important. What is important is that it's one you are excited about.

Honestly, your last two games were such that your name alone will get me to at least try it. After that the game itself, if you make a great game, will carry it and drive the sales. For that to happen though I think you yourself have to dig the theme. If you really dig zombies then go for it. If you get jazzed about something else then do that.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you've got enough cred that no matter what you make will get the hype machine rolling and drive initial sales and word of mouth. For it to be the best game, the theme should be dictated by your tastes not perceived fashionability.

Haven't read the thread, but I'll just throw in my idea here...

I have a zombie game concept, which has two core currency: Survival and Humanity. You can gain and lose both. Both will force you to do things. Both will allow you to do things. Both will limit you at things. Some NPC will lean more toward Survival and other toward Humanity, to the point they can leave or being really supportive of you (and unlock their super special abilities, whee!).

Sadly, I haven't found a decent implementation of this concept. Everything I tried ended up just like Bioware morality system, you use Survival, to gain more Survival so you can use Survival more. That just doesn't work. In my concept they're not mutually exclusive. No matter what, you need a decent amount of Survival & Humanity. You will kill yourself trying to help others if you have high Humanity and very low Survival.

The grand idea is to have a big map of the country in hex. You start at the center, in a big city, and tried to reach one of several destinations (an isolated island, military base, a rural fortress, etc). Each hex is an encounter that's resolved in simple tactical combat involving combat scape no bigger than 49 hexes, with scenarios from a (thick scenario book). There will be recurring NPCs (that may join you).

And oh, you'll almost always die last, because you can always shed some Humanity for Survival by sacrificing your friends...

Not sure on the multiplayer thing. Just something I developed in my mind.

To be honest, yes, zombies are overdone, but like many other genres, I haven't found a really good one.

Marcussen wrote: Although not as original, a western zombie setting would be really cool as well. I considered a western M&M at one point. So many cool locations and weapons - and it lends itself naturally to scarce resources.

I'll tell you what -- land yourself the IP rights to the coolest science fiction show in television history and you're all set for zombies and a western theme combined -- Wild Wild West. That show had some of the coolest ideas ever on the TV. Or just cozy up to the concept. God every time I think of that show I have the theme song in my head for the next three days.

I'd like to repeat the McZombie point though. I don't think the concept of "zombie" is overused, I think the vanilla version, set in modern day, that mumbles brains, needs to be shot in the head and and walks with a limp is overused. If you changed the setting and put some new spirit into the story I think you can make it inviting. I scatted 4th century France but it could be 1800 Haiti very easily (which would be an ass-kicking DoaM idea) or a Medieval Seige and you'd have a lot of fresh ground to cover.

S.

An interesting approach to an alien invasion would also be cool. I don't want I dumb Zombies. I want a smart enemy to fight. I would rather fight Starship Trooper Insects than Zombies. Space cadets away missions does some of this but there's room for other games fighting intelligent enemies.

Future wish list: Clash of Cultures in the future - Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri type game. At least I'm not asking for a M&M in space game any more after Firefly came out.

KingPut wrote: An interesting approach to an alien invasion would also be cool. I don't want I dumb Zombies. I want a smart enemy to fight. I would rather fight Starship Trooper Insects than Zombies. Space cadets away missions does some of this but there's room for other games fighting intelligent enemies.

Future wish list: Clash of Cultures in the future - Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri type game. At least I'm not asking for a M&M in space game any more after Firefly came out.

I would let a small species of mammal go extinct for a Star Wars licence.

Sevej wrote: Haven't read the thread, but I'll just throw in my idea here...

I have a zombie game concept, which has two core currency: Survival and Humanity. You can gain and lose both. Both will force you to do things. Both will allow you to do things. Both will limit you at things. Some NPC will lean more toward Survival and other toward Humanity, to the point they can leave or being really supportive of you (and unlock their super special abilities, whee!).

Reminds me a of variant I saw for Vampire:The Eternal Struggle which introduced Mages. You have a capacity (hps basically) but they were in two colours and I think if either colour became the only colour that was very bad.

So for your example you could have 10 counters for your life, 5 for Survival and 5 for Humanity. Various actions would allow you to swap them around, and perhaps you roll dice/get bonuses for the number of one type for tests. If wounded you lose counters and you decide which side of your 'personality' is weakened.

Sam

to me its all a case of spin and presentation. Overs have talked this a little. You can do a game about dehumanised people hunting a few survivors, but its a question of how its presented.

Deadwinter for instance will probably succeed in part because it plays down the zombies and presents the isolated arctic environment.

If i were you, i'd make it as weird and unusual as possible, don't just give us another rehashing of the staple Romero movie. If you make your horde of enemies something other than zombies, even better, sapient killing machines, the ancient snake people, aliens, anything.

DukeofChutney wrote: to me its all a case of spin and presentation. Overs have talked this a little. You can do a game about dehumanised people hunting a few survivors, but its a question of how its presented.

Deadwinter for instance will probably succeed in part because it plays down the zombies and presents the isolated arctic environment.

If i were you, i'd make it as weird and unusual as possible, don't just give us another rehashing of the staple Romero movie. If you make your horde of enemies something other than zombies, even better, sapient killing machines, the ancient snake people, aliens, anything.

Where is the great Terminator board game?

First of all, having a leveling system is a great decision on your part. It's always deflating to realize that a cool tactical minis/dungeon crawl game has a campaign but no character advancement or persistence from mission to mission.

Second, as others have said, go nutty with the theme. Others have mentioned an alien invasion, and I think zombies could be easily incorporated if you cast them as nearly brain-dead cyborgs (think System Shock) in thrall to their alien controllers. Then it would be easy to have a bunch of different types without it seeming contrived.

I'd also be intrigued by Romero-esque zombies in other settings, historical or otherwise. I once read a session report of a fantasy RPG that had modern zombies running amok in a town. Granted, I know you're not doing an RPG, but it was interesting to read about how fantasy weapons, spells, and magic items were used to combat zombies.