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Author Topic: Zombie Settings/Features  (Read 23917 times)
micks
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« Reply #30 on: July 16, 2009, 07:18:38 pm »

Someone has recently revived this old thread: http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1072&start=25&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=joe+clerk over at the Codex.
Jokes aside, most ideas there are actually cool (the name-picking dialogue seriously beats anything of the sort I've seen in a game so far). With a correct dose of tongue-in-cheek humour, serious focus on character development and story, I can't see how this could end up not being great fun to play.
Also, I'd definitely vote for the FedEx package as the game's ultimate McGuffin. Smile
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kronos
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« Reply #31 on: August 07, 2009, 04:16:08 pm »

With a correct dose of tongue-in-cheek humour

Speaking of tounge in cheek, what's the expected tone of this game?
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VonVentrue
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« Reply #32 on: August 07, 2009, 04:47:18 pm »

With a correct dose of tongue-in-cheek humour

Speaking of tounge in cheek, what's the expected tone of this game?

The less "lulz" (colloquially speaking) makes it into the game, the better. 
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Bloodsausage
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« Reply #33 on: August 07, 2009, 07:09:05 pm »

Subtle satire and in-setting humor are welcome in any genre as far as I'm concerned,  and there's no way to completely separate the humor inherent in munching on brains from the zombie genre.  

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Annie
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« Reply #34 on: August 08, 2009, 12:33:27 am »

As said, serious, but if someone uses the term "dark and gritty" I will seriously facepalm, as that's become the catchphrase for overly grim tone where any humor is about as jarring as someone's wet fart during a wedding.  Moments of levity are possible - as you run into any even in the most dire of situations - but it's more about asking what we do if we CAN'T laugh.  That'll drive you crazy quicker than anything.

But as a simple answer?  It WON'T be campy, it WON'T be goofy, and no jokes about BRAAAAAAAAINS (unless it's BRIAAAAANS which always make me snicker) as a major element since that's Return of the Living Dead and aforementionedly campy.
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Brian
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« Reply #35 on: August 08, 2009, 03:13:30 pm »

With a correct dose of tongue-in-cheek humour

Speaking of tounge in cheek, what's the expected tone of this game?

Horror. The realization that things aren't going to get better. The understanding that people you become attached to could die anytime you leave the shelter. Unlike classic monsters like vampires, aliens, and Teen Wolf, there is no way to kill the monster and restore a sense of safety. With zombies, there are too many and they just keep coming, growing in number all the time. All you can do is adapt to that kind of threat.

Of course, I subscribe to the Hitchcock method of horror, in that you have to have some humor/high points to really terrify people when you hit them with the low ones. Otherwise horror is just a droning, relentless downer and that's depressing.

Not everyone deals with a crisis in the same way, and while some might get stronger as time goes on, some of the dependable types can start to lose their nerve. Sometimes when things seem to be going well, events can arise that challenge any perceived safety. One of the goals we set going in was to keep the atmosphere tense, for the survivors to feel like they're living in that perpetual state of being really tired but never able to settle into a deep sleep without being woken up. To keep the game from being linear, we've got a method of ensuring that some problem or problems will continually challenge the player and their group, internally and externally. We'll be explaining this system in future updates.

b
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puppyonastik
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« Reply #36 on: August 09, 2009, 04:44:31 am »

How much of a dive into philosophy should we expect? I'm hoping for lots of moments where I'm challenged in that area, just like with a good book, I enjoy games that make me take a moment to sit back and think, which I think your setting has the ability to offer a lot of. Can you provide any examples/descriptions of what you plan to do?
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inhuman
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« Reply #37 on: August 09, 2009, 05:41:22 pm »

It would be nice if the player, depending on how (s)he played and what (s)he learned during his travels, would occasionally given false hope, maybe about a cure vaccine to be resistant or even immune to zombie bites, about rumoured survivor camps with lots of resources, about a reconstructing army helping people etc. things to give player hope and motivation, and crush it later on. The tone of 28 Days Later was great in this aspect.
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