Codex Interview RPG Codex Interview: DoubleBear on Dead State

[EG]

Can zombies change the undefined nature of RPGs?

Find out Friday.

 

[Wyrmlord]

The art of the XIXth century was the novel as defined by Flaubert and the russian writers. The one of the XXth was cinema and movies. The one of the XXIst is video games. In 20 years, it leaped from Méliès to Michael Bay. RPG design is the future of the video game but nobody who's a bit clever can't get to ffinish these moronic designs nowadays. For me FO:NV was the last engrossing RPG since the demise of Troïka: the rest was stupid. Even the japanese incline (Shin Megami Tensei on DS) doesn't cut the mustard as much as Might & Magic (and god knows that Might & Magic is perfectly stupid but it's at least fun).

Yeah, look, they are not trying to develop a new art form; they are just trying to make a fun little zombie game.

It's just a different niche from your personal preferences.

Still, if you are seeking one of those artistic pseudo-movie, pseudo novel videogame works, I am certain you'll enjoy Heavy Rain, Indigo Prophecy, and other QTE masterpieces.

 

[Beautiful Clown Painting]

I didn't like Indigo Prophecy (never tried Heavy rain: I don't have a console). I just loathe pseudo-intellectual shit such as Sword & Sworcery. Sorry mate, intelligence for me is different from pretention. If you think that Indigo Prophecy is art, it's your problem, not mine.

 

[Beautiful Clown Painting]

I'd rather play really stupid games, even in stupid settings such as Pacland or Moonwalker on MAME, or moronic arcade games on the C64 than fucking Indigo Prophecy.

 

[Wyrmlord]

That's great, so why all the high-minded talk about wanting games to be art, when a relaxing arcade game is more than fine? What DO you want, anyway?

 

[commie]

Generally speaking, what will be the distinctive features of each group of enemies?

early game - looters
mid game - gangs
late game - militia

In other words, the same enemies with a re-skin and HP bloat.

 

[Mozgoëbstvo]

Generally speaking, what will be the distinctive features of each group of enemies?

early game - looters
mid game - gangs
late game - militia

In other words, the same enemies with a re-skin and HP bloat.

There's only one kind of videogame "looters", for me, and they're rigorously dressed in short pants and sometimes phrygian caps.
If they're not in Dead State, they're all a buncha posers.

 

[EG]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=OYqHliyQdVk

Oh God. The glory. It's heaven.

 

[Wyrmlord]

By the way, I am still amazed by one first page user complaining about there being combat in a zombie game.

Have some cRPG fans really become so delusional that they want dialogues and diplomacy with zombies?

Generally speaking, what will be the distinctive features of each group of enemies?

early game - looters
mid game - gangs
late game - militia

In other words, the same enemies with a re-skin and HP bloat.

Unless Elhoim, @Annie Carlson, and co. say otherwise.

 

[Infinitron]

the original idea: elves.

oh wow, really?

seriously a survival game versus inhuman fae humanoids would be awesome

you would get more than the rethreaded 'why zombies happen wtf' background mystery, plus fae can do some really weird shit or go by weird rules other than needing to be shot in the head and not needing to breathe or eat

so the survival horror aspect stays intact while being refreshed with the new unknowable antagonists, that you can have the luxury of being able to speak extremely cryptically every so often and perhaps with certain hunting phrases that you can grow to recognise

picture the concept artwork of bullets bouncing off a laughing female with flowers in her hair, a strange gown with sigils you cannot focus on and blood in her teeth

They sort of did that in the Discworld with Lord and Ladies.

 

[hiver]

It was done much better in "Wee Free Men!". Only, sgc_meltdown idea is much better and much less "human" than Pratchett.
Infact ... he shouldn't just throw out this stuff without charging money for it.
Lets talk about a fae game instead.

 

[Grunker]

So many people willing to play the same fantasy setting over and over and over flinch at the mention of zombies. I don't care about fucking zombies I care about how the game is going to play. Right now that looks promising.

 

[Infinitron]

It was done much better in "Wee Free Men!".

Meh, not enough crossbow headshots through keyholes and maniacal laughing

 

[Niektory]

 

[Gakkone]

I don't care about fucking zombies I care about how the game is going to play. Right now that looks promising.

 

[hiver]

It was done much better in "Wee Free Men!".

Meh, not enough crossbow headshots through keyholes and maniacal laughing

Maximum Nac Mac Feegle`s.





`nough said.

 

[JarlFrank]

Well, I think the zombie apocalypse setting is the most boring setting ever, and it's also overused.
Some of the answers in this interview made me go from "meh, zombies" to cautiously optimistic, though, because it does appear that human survivor interaction and survival are the focus points of the game, while the zombies are just a backdrop.

 

[hiver]

Funnily enough, when they started publicly talking about it - it was "zombies are so under-used".
Then in years that passed by there was a veritable sludge of various zombie games popping all over and now its the opposite.

 

[Roguey]

Generally speaking, what will be the distinctive features of each group of enemies?

early game - looters
mid game - gangs
late game - militia

In other words, the same enemies with a re-skin and HP bloat.

They'll also have better weapons that do more damage! Hopefully with noticeably different AI. I expect militia to be a bit more smarter with their tactics than gangs or looters.

I mean what else can you expect? They're humans. Unless you believe it's a mistake to make an urban fantasy game where the only enemy types are zombies and humans.

 

[sgc_meltdown]

They sort of did that in the Discworld with Lord and Ladies.

I rather liked Lords and Ladies. Don't remember much about it other than the fact that Weatherwax was a total boss and once again a prime candidate for nano-enhancement and taking bob page's place.

 

[SerratedBiz]

Funnily enough, when they started publicly talking about it - it was "zombies are so under-used".

What? No it wasn't.

When did they start, 2010?

By then you already had Cod: Zombies, Dead Rising games, Fort Zombie, any House of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Left 4 Dead, Plants v Zombies, Stubbs the Zombie, to name some of those I actually know about (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_zombie_video_games). No one was saying "alas, if only there were MORE zombie games!" when Dead State was announced.

Which shouldn't even be a factor in the discussion, given that the zombie setting is something of an excuse for the actual theme of the game, ie management of your base and survivors. You could pretend it's T-800s out there without the weapons, who gives a damn?

 

[hiver]

Actually, if i recall correctly, first posts about it on Iron Towers started in 2009.
And i seem to remember Brian talking about the zombie setting as underused.
I can only remember L4D from that time as anything with more media presence. CoD zombies was just a small addon to the game.
And i remember more of them started to appear at that time though i never paid any attention to any of them.

He may have been referencing to RPGs but to me it seems like it was meant more generally.

And ...what kind of factor in the discussion do you think im making it to be at all? What discussion?

 

[bussinrounds]

Well I didn't pay attention to any of these shitty new zombie movies/games in recent times, so it's not played out for me.

Zombies to me are Romero's first 3 'Dead' movies (which the ideas of DS remind me of), some of the old school Italian movies, like Fulci's Zombi 2... not this modern bullshit.

 

[sgc_meltdown]

to be honest there's been hardly any negative response to it being about zombies on the other gaming sites
and absolutely none about zombies being unintelligent opponents

most of the complaints have been about it being turn based

 

[commie]

The problem I have with zombies is that they are limited as fuck as an adversary. It's not like they can be anything but shambling hulks making a beeline for your face. The real challenge in this game will be to utilize the environment and limited ammo to maximise the chance of slaughtering the hordes before you are overwhelmed. That's cool and all for a few missions, but there better be something more elaborate than just this tower defense style of combat otherwise it will get old pretty fast. Adding human groups certainly helps, unless they use the same zombie AI.