In addition to playing Left 4 Dead, I have also been reading Robert Kirkman's fantastic comic book series The Walking Dead and Max Brooks' novel World War Z. I find this type of fiction fascinating because it delves deep into the human psyche and shows how the characters are coping with the trauma that they are facing. Good zombie fiction isn't really about the zombies its about the people. Also, zombie fiction serves as a way of preparing us for the zombie apocalypse that awaits us.
If Left 4 Dead has taught me anything it is that I will probably not do too well when the apocalypse comes (statistics show with a high probability that in the event of zombie apocalypse I will fall off of a ledge and break my legs or get attacked from my back-right side). That being said, the time is now to stock up on essential supplies. The folks at coolmaterials.com have made a list of "Essential Gear to Survive a Zombie Attack"(note: some images may be slightly on the NSFW side). Highlights include a titanium cricket bat, a ballistic groin protector (you can never be too careful), a neck protector, a survival hatchet, and more. I would probably add a thick leather jacket and heavy jeans to the list (guns will probably be available at an abandoned military outpost). Or we could just plant some zombie killing plants in our gardens.
I recently played the demo for PopCap's new tower defense game (or more like flower defense game... am I right?) Plants vs. Zombies (alternate title: Lawn of the Dead) and it is an absolutley wonderful little game. Its available for $10 USD on Steam and is apparently worth every penny. According to gaming jouralist and all around good guy, Tom Francis, the minigame I, Zombie and the survival mode are incredibly addicting. I would highly recommend playing the demo.
In other tower defense game news, the game Defense Grid: The Awakening is 75% off until May 13th ($5 USD). A demo is available on steam. I played it and its pretty cool (though I utterly suck at buiding mazes).
Shalom!
ROCK ON!
Hah! Someone should make the text-based zombie apocolypse adventure game suggested by your title.
ReplyDeleteAlso, my compy is back from the dead. No, it's not a zombie, but it has been resurrected (not unlike the Messiah that you reject as a Jew). With it came those pictures that you had lost before. You'll find them in the dropbox gallery at the posted URL.
PS - The "posted URL" is the one linked to my name in the previous comment. On a related note, I got around to installing dropbox, and it works beautifully. If you want to sign up for a free account (2 Gb), I'll get an extra 250 Mb for referring you. Yeah, it's kind of pyramid-schemey, but let me know if you're thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteYa know, we could do a text based zombie game in these comments or on the blog? maybe that should be one of HL Jew Productions projects- but I think we should pitch the idea to Tim Schafer.
ReplyDeleteSo I finally got the internets at home the other day-I feel like I've missed so much useless info! Congrats on your compy coming back to life! In other news, my laptop is screwed. I'm getting this weird ethernet BSOD error before windows loads-I would try to reinstall windows, but I can't see whats going on with my screwed up LCD screen... so that kind of sucks.
As for that whole drop box thing, I'm not sure how much I need that right now but Its free and if you benefit from it I guess I could give it a try-also thanks for the pictures.
Also, LEFT 4 DEAD NO MERCY EXPERT?!! and SPACED!!!
Shalom
Tim Schafer would be PERFECT for the text-based zombie game! Also, making the game in blog form would be pretty simple: the blog entries would be the game's information and prompts ("You have entered a dark hallway. To the west, you hear the faint moaning of at least two zombies. You have 35 rounds for your pistol and your flashlight's batteries are at 78%. Exits are West and East.") and the users could provide input via comments ("use flashlight west"). It would be so easy that it would feel like the game is playing itself! You would probably want to dedicate a fresh blog to the game, though, cause it may take on a life of its own.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I re-read the e-mail regarding my new computer budget, and it says I can order it "once I arrive on campus." So that may mean we can realize those dreams of LEFT 4 DEAD NO MERCY EXPERT as early as in a few weeks. Sorry about your laptop - sounds like it may be time to throw in the towel on this one.
Correction - if I refer you to Dropbox, we both get extra storage space! Hooray! Look for the reference in your inbox.