I personally like the thought of having a sort of fort for people to hide in, which gets relentlessly assaulted by zombies and doesn't end, having NPCs to help out a bit. A bit newish, but I like it.

A lot of people are talking about the death system; I noticed someone saying something with a download in a system - kind of like a clone - as much as I'm not all that great on ideas, you could make the "fear" of dieing in the sense that you can "respawn" with a clone, but just have a considerable rate of decrease in stats or something. I'm not talking about "Res. sickness" or something of that sort, and I can't really think of a Great solution, but doing something that's permanent and not reversible like the 10 minute cool down - or even easily taken back like Debt in City of Villains. Make it some kind of horrible thing to die, but not That horrible. Just a thought; obviously needs criticism.

Also, I sadly do like the idea of classes like Pre-NGE of SWG. Being able to craft and all, it's a nice thought - along with weapons and all.

It would be nice to see some sort of zombie MMO, as long as it's done correctly. Not half-assed.

Overall i thought it was a great article...however i wouldnt say this is a "new idea".

Exanimus was in development for some time but either through a loss of funds or something else..development stopped and it was put on hold.

On the indie side of things there are also quite a few Zombie games being made.

Z-Day www.zdaygame.com for one.

The articles author is stating that, if limited to his own preconceptions about how EXACTLY a zombie MMO must be made, it would fail to develop any of the traits common to current MMO gameplay

If a game were so severely restricted, i agree completely that it would fail as an MMO.

The point he is missing about what zombie represent to fiction, (at least when they are used correctly and to maximum impact) is that th zombie invasion is never more than a backdrop, in place to force tension, making and breaking survivor relationships.

Zombie stories always follow a typical formula:

 1. Severe and shocking begining for lone characters. 

2. Racing for shelter as fast as possible while avoiding random encounters. 

3. Reinforcement from act 2 character arrivals.   

4.Fortification, making use of all resources previously gathered or discovered.

5. Final immense onslaught, which leads to ultimate victory for successful survivors, or death to all, depending on the quality of preperation of step #4.

A Zombie MMO could very easily thrive, if a way was found to segment the gameplay temporally into step like these.   A finite timetale would be needed, as in 7 days of real time passing between story opening, and closing.   During this period,  Zombies would have to slowly increase in number, and be drawn to the largest group of nearbye survivors possible.

during this, the players who start with nothing, would have to survive each encounter, gather weapons and supplys,  find and establish a secure base, and the most thrilling element, survive/destroy rival survivor groups.

If the final step onslaught was sufficiently deadly, you could reward perennial survivors with persisting characters, toons able to being the restart with some or all of gear gathers, while toons that died were erased.

this would be an excellent template for an open pvp, sandbox, GVG, PvE, Area style game.  all you would need to do is design a single city, full of buildings of various shape and size.  have randomly spawning "crates" of supplies to be found and fought over by survivors.  you could even have a number of skill points to enhance player control features, such as stealth, or physical strength etc.

the zombie would serve only as a plot piece and back drop.  as all well crafted MMO's, interplayer struggle would have to be the true focus.

or you could design World of Ghoulcraft and fail, as the author of this article is only able to percieve.

i figure a nice combination or SWG and tabula rasa would work really well. SWG crafting and skill system, and tabulas run and gun, with the control point features. hunting parties would leave small forts looking for supplies(weapons, scrap metal, medical supplies, oil, gas, and most inportantly FOOD). one of the most important part of a zombie mmo, is running a engine capable of pushing HUNDREDS of mobs smoothly, even if a graphic quality hit is required. the zombies should be easy to kill, but actually swarm you, and ten mobs isn't going to cut it all the time.

forts should be defended, if the survivors don't take the time to clean up the zombie horde amassing, they will lose the fort, and have to try and take it back. skills would be needed to repair damage, and to re-inforce weakness. forts should be upgradable.

as for being bitten, one bite should not turn you, as long as you get it looked after, a timer should appear, that will be sped up by multiple bites. being turn should be perma-death, but i'm going to go one further. not only should you turn, but you lose your character slot, till your zombie is killed. though, you can't control your zombie, you can log in, and see what they are up too. it could be considered personal quests for your friends and allies, to make sure you are put down. as a bonus for losing your character, some kind of inherited system could be used to gift some skill xp, or items, for that slot.

i for one, would play the hell out of that game :)

It is challenging and ambitious, but if they pull it off, it actually be a Herald of WoW's Downfall from my prophecy.

Yes, I have a prophecy about it, I spend way to much time on the net.

"In a hero story, the hero conquers the main villain at the end and saves the world. In a zombie movie, usually either everyone dies or there are a couple of survivors, but their fate is uncertain. There is never a montage in a zombie movie showing the main characters becoming more skilled. "

Let me get this straight....the thematic story that has a beginning, middle, and END (hero's journey) is more appropriate for the "never ending" mmo genre than the thematic story that just goes on and on (survival)?  Really?  Did I just read that correctly?  You don't see that as backwards Mr. Webb?

Did you really praise on the fittingness of the "hero's journey" as an mmo concept while completing glossing over the fact that NONE of the players REALLY get to be the sole "hero" in the game?  Did you miss the fact that EVERYONE gets to kill the dragon, or "big bad", at the END, on purpose, or did you realize it just doesn't fit with the point you were trying to make?

"However, in most zombie movies, the main characters stay put. Their experience is about keeping the zombies "out". Exploration is only ever done out of absolute necessity. Usually, when the characters go exploring, they die."

Why would you ever leave the tutorial area, or your "races" home, in a traditional fantasy mmo?  Because your access to suitable resources is limited?  Because you are given important pieces of "story", aka missions, to complete?  To help/assist other real life players?

All the same apply to a zombie themed mmo, no?  In zombie stories, to players leave the safety of their hidey hole to save someone in distress?  To use Zombieland as a reference:  Would players risk their characters to rescue Emma Sone?!?!?!?!?!

"Guns are Weird. No-one blinks twice in WoW if you swing at point-blank range with a sword and get a MISS. However, it becomes aesthetically really weird if you shoot a shotgun at point-blank range and miss. That level of abstract nonsense becomes hard to grok. It's OK (but silly) to have to hit a monster with a battleaxe 20 times before it dies, but it feels wrong if you replace the battleaxe with a shotgun and get the same result. "

In zombie stories, when characters shoot parts of the body OTHER than the head, say the arm, legs, torso...does the creature die?  Wouldn't you call that a "miss" without it being "aesthetically really weird"?  Would it  bother players if a zombie got shot in the chest a few times?  Then blow off their legs, but have them continue coming at the character at full strength.  Or do crawling zombies not exist in the source material?

" In a zombie movie, if you get bitten, it's game over. You have a few hours before the zombie bacteria kills you, and then you come back as a zombie. No-one ever survives a zombie bite. You don't "get better". So, if you are making a zombie MMO, you have to have an answer for his too (probably some kind of cheaty vaccine). "

Or....they could grab, scratch, punch, hit, tackle, and just generally beat you, causing injury,  BEFORE biting you.  Heck..they even did that in Shaun of the Dead.  As I recall, Zombies don't always attack "teeth first", but more often than not, act as a violent mob that, after some subduing, finally "bite/eat" their victims.  Of course, a little body armor or protective gear helps with that too.

Granted, it's not as "clean" as when a giant orc hits me in the head with a tree-trunk sized club that doesn't kill me, or a wraith with a giant sword stabs me through the chest yet I still fight on...but I guess we'd just have to make do.

"If I'm a character in a zombie movie, my motivation is survival ... pure and simple. In a zombie MMO though, what does my character aspire to? What's the item/skill/ability/achievement/thingy I can achieve or acquire that's going to keep me playing for a few more days, or a few more months. What are the carrots? Guns and the zombie rules above can be overcome with some hand-waving. However, what the player's motivation is is the most important question that must be answered when making a zombie MMO. You need players to keep playing (and paying)."

Maybe the toughest question of the bunch.  As some have said, there might need to be a resource component to this, ie, run out of resources, need to move on.  Or, a mechanic that lets you recapture the land...imagine RvR combat, but instead of factions, it all the players vs. the zombies.

Here's a "creative" idea.  Instead of getting SKILLS at each level, what if you were given NPC characters to PROTECT.  The higher your level, the more people you have to protect.  The more people you have to protect, the more supplies you need, the bigger the hiding place, the more weapons, etc.....Take City of Heroes sidekick system, but make it ever increasing NPCs, say.  So the motivation of playing on and on ISN"T just your survival, but the survival of everyone...maybe, even, the human race.

But I'm no talented mmo developer, so what do I know.

I gotta say...three strikes Mr. Webb.  Not impressed at all. 

the authors arguements are very superficial.  i dont even know why he himself thinks what he does.  hes just sort of mocking a game that was never made, as tho he is unable to concieve of an idea larger than what he thinks is stupid.

Originally posted by hogscraper

 Get felled by a horde of undead and you have to play as one. The server cap would be X number of people  and if you became a zombie, you have to play as one. 

Actually, the caps on being a zombie could be managed too. Hunger can drive them. No fresh food ingested after a period of time and your hit points decrease. Zombies only regenerate when "fed". Otherwise the body decomposes to a useless heap. 

 

 

Wait... did he say something about zombie level?  WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU MAKE A ZOMBIE MMO LEVEL BASED!?  There is a thread buried somewhere on this forum where a poster gave a GREAT breakdown of new and very innovative ideas to work with this genre.  One was a "dungeon" crawl where you would need to break into a facility and a timer would start, the longer the timer runs the more zombies have picked up on your sent and are intent on making you lunch.  I apologize to the original poster of this idea but it was too long ago.  There was even discussion during the thread about exits of these areas.   While a facility may have x amount of exits, only 1 or 2 is actually unbarred for whatever reason.  Finding these exits  would force players to either send a group of scouts to find working exits and report back to the group.  The scouts would then have to defend these exits while the rest of the team attempts to furiously loot whatever they can without being overrun.  Conversely, the whole group could attempt to attain as much resources/loot/etc as possible but the exits would be unknown and it would be much more frantic and exciting.

A zombie MMO would have to be skill based with VERY serious consequences for death.  However, the run of the mill zombies you would run into outside of your rickety encampment would be trivial, if nothing else it would be target practice.  Moreover, zombies would need to be able to attack and DESTROY these safe havens forcing the players to get out of dodge and set up camp somewhere else.  Resources would be rare and highly contested by the various factions that would inevitably pop up. 

The "endgame" (how I loathe that term) would have to be the accumulation of resources and the eradication of the zombie hordes from vast complexes such as an oil refinery or a water treatment plant.  In theory this genre and what it could do is mouthwatering for MMO burnouts like myself.  However, the scope for a project like this is huge.  You would literally need a world similar in size to Earth.  There has to be places to run and settlements to be created or taken from hordes of hungry zombies.

The key to a zombie MMO is capturing the fear and panic caused by the undead hordes.  Death must be costly and avoided at all costs, but death cannot be so brutal that only hardcore gamers would even dare venture out past the mine fields.  A succession of children could potentially fill this role.  If you die you would spawn as a child with a % of the skills your "parent" character had.  I'm sure people will HATE this idea claiming that they shouldn't have to lose what they had worked hard to earn... blah blah blah...see various posts on full loot, perma death etc.

Capturing the essence of a zombie apocalypse in an MMO must be similar to the chaos and dread that movie patrons experience.  What a better way to do this than removing permanent safe havens.  Once zombies realize your hold up in the old highschool with scores of others the zombies will come.  Your success depends on whether you outpost has secured the necessary components for survival.  Did you go scavenge for ammo?  Is there enough fuel for the wall mounted flame-throwers?  Were the doors/gates/etc reinforced?

Unfortunately, after reading this article it is clear that a zombie MMO is a terrible idea for the current sea of game devs out there.  A zombie MMO where you spawn at a safepoint with all of your gear and limbs intact is just awful.  There needs to be real consequences that will send a tinge of fear up your spine as you realize what you thought was 5 zombies is actually 50 and you are not sure which way leads to safety (Oh ya, NO MINI-MAP!  Bring back Cartography!).

There is just so much to say about this genre... I know some will agree and many more will disagree, but without terror and consequences a true zombie MMO will never arise.

(sorry for the ragtag nature of this post, just typing what comes to mind.)

EDIT: Took me so long to write this that many of the ideas I proposed have already been stated.  I have to say the posts made before my own are very interesting and give me a glimmer of hope for a zombie MMO.

Originally posted by Hathi

Originally posted by hogscraper

 Get felled by a horde of undead and you have to play as one. The server cap would be X number of people  and if you became a zombie, you have to play as one. 

Actually, the caps on being a zombie could be managed too. Hunger can drive them. No fresh food ingested after a period of time and your hit points decrease. Zombies only regenerate when "fed". Otherwise the body decomposes to a useless heap. 

 

 

"having" to do anything is not somthing MMO player generally like.  i dont think forced turning would be a popular option at all, tho it certainly sounds cool on the surface.  maybe as a limited time option.  but why would anyone want to play as a shambling and easily killed gimp?  with your former allies shooting you and running away faster than you?

the zombie aspect would have to just be a setting like a type of weather effect, this would have to be a pvp game, with zombie hordes just adding tension and difficulty to the gather and exploring aspect of solo or GvG.

 a close ended cyclical period would be the only way to deal with mounting tension, shared by all players of a certain revolution.  rising tension and scarcity of resources is the fuel for PvP, and if zombie spawn faster and faster the closer to the end, gathering supplies and building defences/fighting other groups for good hideouts for the final massive attack would be the best way to mitigate struggle and achievement.

 the pac man analogy does poke my interest. Most of these MMOs have leaderboards. A zombie game is no different. Days of survival, zombie kills, npc rescues, most resources gathered, items crafted, etc.  Can be a part of this. Perma death is mandatory.  

Why Permadeath?  All toons will eventually die. when they do, you can have the option to play as zombie (then go for zombie progression leaderboard stuff like : days of existence, human kills, camps conquered, gear "acquired", evolution stages ( maybe zombies evolve like others have said)

Now the replayability comes in because you create a family or "House"  you have to manage. You, a spouse and a child.  Three slots. Spend time and resources on the family to expand playable slots. The spouse always stays home so you can always play. However, the spouse gameplay is limited (can only participate in home /village/fortress defense. Primary focus is keeping the bloodline alive - this is where an interactive metagame with other players can come in to play, but I digress). All other toons are expendable.  However, you want to play these toons to show off your skills in leaderboards and unlock skills.

Full loot PvP should also be part of the mix as well. Because loot is rare and death is so high - you keep what you kill. Storage space should be rare. A zombie may pick up a machete from a fresh pvp kill, but they have to figure if they should go back to a cave (with your zombie life timer clicking ) or forge ahead with your killing attacks enhanced. If your zombie body dies, your machete stays there lootable by anyone. More valuable items might have a drop protection % on it. Meaning a small chance your item falls to the ground unnoticed except you.

Originally posted by Hathi

 the pac man analogy does poke my interest. Most of these MMOs have leaderboards. A zombie game is no different. Days of survival, zombie kills, npc rescues, most resources gathered, items crafted, etc.  Can be a part of this. Perma death is mandatory.  

Why Permadeath?  All toons will eventually die. when they do, you can have the option to play as zombie (then go for zombie progression leaderboard stuff like : days of existence, human kills, camps conquered, gear "acquired", evolution stages ( maybe zombies evolve like others have said)

Now the replayability comes in because you create a family or "House"  you have to manage. You, a spouse and a child.  Three slots. Spend time and resources on the family to expand playable slots. The spouse always stays home so you can always play. However, the spouse gameplay is limited (can only participate in home /village/fortress defense. Primary focus is keeping the bloodline alive - this is where an interactive metagame with other players can come in to play, but I digress). All other toons are expendable.  However, you want to play these toons to show off your skills in leaderboards and unlock skills.

Full loot PvP should also be part of the mix as well. Because loot is rare and death is so high - you keep what you kill. Storage space should be rare. A zombie may pick up a machete from a fresh pvp kill, but they have to figure if they should go back to a cave (with your zombie life timer clicking ) or forge ahead with your killing attacks enhanced. If your zombie body dies, your machete stays there lootable by anyone. More valuable items might have a drop protection % on it. Meaning a small chance your item falls to the ground unnoticed except you.

 

Quite interesting concept, the "family" based character slots and way to dodge permanent death... of your bloodline.

Originally posted by Hathi

 the pac man analogy does poke my interest. Most of these MMOs have leaderboards. A zombie game is no different. Days of survival, zombie kills, npc rescues, most resources gathered, items crafted, etc.  Can be a part of this. Perma death is mandatory.  

Why Permadeath?  All toons will eventually die. when they do, you can have the option to play as zombie (then go for zombie progression leaderboard stuff like : days of existence, human kills, camps conquered, gear "acquired", evolution stages ( maybe zombies evolve like others have said)

Now the replayability comes in because you create a family or "House"  you have to manage. You, a spouse and a child.  Three slots. Spend time and resources on the family to expand playable slots. The spouse always stays home so you can always play. However, the spouse gameplay is limited (can only participate in home /village/fortress defense. Primary focus is keeping the bloodline alive - this is where an interactive metagame with other players can come in to play, but I digress). All other toons are expendable.  However, you want to play these toons to show off your skills in leaderboards and unlock skills.

Full loot PvP should also be part of the mix as well. Because loot is rare and death is so high - you keep what you kill. Storage space should be rare. A zombie may pick up a machete from a fresh pvp kill, but they have to figure if they should go back to a cave (with your zombie life timer clicking ) or forge ahead with your killing attacks enhanced. If your zombie body dies, your machete stays there lootable by anyone. More valuable items might have a drop protection % on it. Meaning a small chance your item falls to the ground unnoticed except you.

 

CYCLICAL GAMEPLAY.  PERIOD BEGINS. SET TIME PASSES.  GIANT ZOMBIE ONSLAUGHT.  PERIOD ENDS. SERVER RESETS AND ERASES EVERYTHING EXCEPT SURVIVING PLAYERS.   PVP SHOULD BE HUMAN SURVIVOR AGAINST HUMAN SURVIVORS.  ORGANIZED GROUPS OF ZOMBIES ARE A LAME IDEA THAT WOULD RUIN THE GAME. READ OTHER PEOPLES POSTS.

Originally posted by Bacaudae

Originally posted by Hathi

 the pac man analogy does poke my interest. Most of these MMOs have leaderboards. A zombie game is no different. Days of survival, zombie kills, npc rescues, most resources gathered, items crafted, etc.  Can be a part of this. Perma death is mandatory.  

Why Permadeath?  All toons will eventually die. when they do, you can have the option to play as zombie (then go for zombie progression leaderboard stuff like : days of existence, human kills, camps conquered, gear "acquired", evolution stages ( maybe zombies evolve like others have said)

Now the replayability comes in because you create a family or "House"  you have to manage. You, a spouse and a child.  Three slots. Spend time and resources on the family to expand playable slots. The spouse always stays home so you can always play. However, the spouse gameplay is limited (can only participate in home /village/fortress defense. Primary focus is keeping the bloodline alive - this is where an interactive metagame with other players can come in to play, but I digress). All other toons are expendable.  However, you want to play these toons to show off your skills in leaderboards and unlock skills.

Full loot PvP should also be part of the mix as well. Because loot is rare and death is so high - you keep what you kill. Storage space should be rare. A zombie may pick up a machete from a fresh pvp kill, but they have to figure if they should go back to a cave (with your zombie life timer clicking ) or forge ahead with your killing attacks enhanced. If your zombie body dies, your machete stays there lootable by anyone. More valuable items might have a drop protection % on it. Meaning a small chance your item falls to the ground unnoticed except you.

 

 

CYCLICAL GAMEPLAY.  PERIOD BEGINS. SET TIME PASSES.  GIANT ZOMBIE ONSLAUGHT.  PERIOD ENDS. SERVER RESETS AND ERASES EVERYTHING EXCEPT SURVIVING PLAYERS.   PVP SHOULD BE HUMAN SURVIVOR AGAINST HUMAN SURVIVORS.  ORGANIZED GROUPS OF ZOMBIES ARE A LAME IDEA THAT WOULD RUIN THE GAME. READ OTHER PEOPLES POSTS.

CAPSLOCK TURNS OFF FOR A REASON!!!!

jackass

Wow, the article reads as a total lack of imagination. There are so many ways to get around the so called "limits" the author suggests. In fact, much of what the author assumes is incorrect anyway. I would go on, but its not even worth it. Just pathetic...

Originally posted by Nikopol

The zombie apocalypse is a fantastic setting for an MMO. You just have to let go of what's becoming a stagnating attachment to the Diku paradigm. A zombie-infested world is a dynamic and hectic place  where being equipped with the right skills is vital (har har). So, at the outset, this type of setting should lend itself very well to variety in character setup and crafting.

Also, the definitive story for the zombie apocalypse setting is in fact not one of the zombie movies. It's a vampire story: Richard Matheson's novel, "I Am Legend". It may not be a zombie story, but in terms of narrative tradition it has influenced, even defined the genre like no story ever has. Even "Night of the Living Dead" can be thought of as a derivation of it. So someone taking on the genre in a fresh medium would do well to analyze it. How Neville gets through the day there, his daunting daily routine and his semi-long-term plans. And of course, his ultimate hope and ultimate fear which make up the heart of the lore. So we have a setting that's big in both routine and constant change and it surprisingly has a horizon as well... It's pretty fitting to a persistent world.

The thing that's really going to be a pain in the rear end for any developer making a zombie MMO is the concept of infection itself. Just having a vaccine for it pretty much negates the whole point of a zombie-infested world. That's like having a Twilight vampire in place of a real vampire (Twilight vampire meanin: the vampire with no true inconveniences but a lot of brooding over what looks to be residues of real inconveniences of its ancestors in the genre). You just can't ditch the contagious nature of the zombie condition, or you have next to no concept. Anyone who's going to tackle the zombie MMO has to go for broke on this, in my opinion. Hard, yes, but fun and original ideas thrive in hard circumstances and unlikely setups.

After all, who in their right mind would think a FPS with no killing and just puzzles could be good? And then came Portal. :)

 

 THIS.

Justin, I like that you have at least a basic understanding of zombie lores, but you're being a little close-minded. A zombie MMO has to differ from this formula formula you speak of. In fact, there should be more games doing that. Why do you think the genre is at such a stand still? No one wants to do anything different.

You're absoutely right, it NEEDS to be about survival. But there isn't a lack of progession as you claim. To survive in a zombie outbreak you need to develop skills that will help you and others survive. It is a very community oriented idea. Isn't that what MMOs were about in the first place?

Just because you're not working towards the next Blue Awesome Possum Sword of Power with + 5 Mana, doesn't mean the game doesn't have progression.  I like that you wrote an article on this, I just wish you didn't put it in such a negative light.

There are some of us (like myself) that are completely dead on fantasy. I just don't feel right unless I'm in a zombie game. I can play other games, and have fun, but I don't feel complete (sounds lame, and maybe it is, but my obsession with zombies is unquenchable). I NEED a zombie survival MMO to come out, or I'll never be able to have a game I can call home. I'm trying to create a simple zombie MMO myself, but it just won't be the same as a AAA quality game. And who knows if I can even get it to a point where I can call it a game.

I hope this new zombie MMO does things right. My future of playing MMOs depends on it.

Originally posted by Gestankfaust

Originally posted by Bacaudae

Originally posted by Hathi

 the pac man analogy does poke my interest. Most of these MMOs have leaderboards. A zombie game is no different. Days of survival, zombie kills, npc rescues, most resources gathered, items crafted, etc.  Can be a part of this. Perma death is mandatory.  

Why Permadeath?  All toons will eventually die. when they do, you can have the option to play as zombie (then go for zombie progression leaderboard stuff like : days of existence, human kills, camps conquered, gear "acquired", evolution stages ( maybe zombies evolve like others have said)

Now the replayability comes in because you create a family or "House"  you have to manage. You, a spouse and a child.  Three slots. Spend time and resources on the family to expand playable slots. The spouse always stays home so you can always play. However, the spouse gameplay is limited (can only participate in home /village/fortress defense. Primary focus is keeping the bloodline alive - this is where an interactive metagame with other players can come in to play, but I digress). All other toons are expendable.  However, you want to play these toons to show off your skills in leaderboards and unlock skills.

Full loot PvP should also be part of the mix as well. Because loot is rare and death is so high - you keep what you kill. Storage space should be rare. A zombie may pick up a machete from a fresh pvp kill, but they have to figure if they should go back to a cave (with your zombie life timer clicking ) or forge ahead with your killing attacks enhanced. If your zombie body dies, your machete stays there lootable by anyone. More valuable items might have a drop protection % on it. Meaning a small chance your item falls to the ground unnoticed except you.

 

 

CYCLICAL GAMEPLAY.  PERIOD BEGINS. SET TIME PASSES.  GIANT ZOMBIE ONSLAUGHT.  PERIOD ENDS. SERVER RESETS AND ERASES EVERYTHING EXCEPT SURVIVING PLAYERS.   PVP SHOULD BE HUMAN SURVIVOR AGAINST HUMAN SURVIVORS.  ORGANIZED GROUPS OF ZOMBIES ARE A LAME IDEA THAT WOULD RUIN THE GAME. READ OTHER PEOPLES POSTS.

 

CAPSLOCK TURNS OFF FOR A REASON!!!!

 

jackass

actually, caps exist for a several reasons, and somtimes its ok to use it, if someone is missing a point over and and over again. and you want to bring it to their attention by catching their eye.  do caps hurt your mind or somthing? dont take it so seriously, troll.  contribute, if you have any thoughts worth sharing :)

Death in a zombie mmo is a toughy. I think permadeath is about the only way for it to be done right but lets face it not many would like the idea of permadeath so other ideas are needed. Perhaps after death a timer starts and someone has maybe an hour to get to your corpse and get you back to a safe zone or you become a zombie and after you are killed as a zombie you have to start a new toon. When they get you back to the base you would be "cloned' and brought back though you could lose anywhere from 1% to 10% of all your skills. It would enforce some player interaction and help to keep people in line a bit. Let's face it if someone has been an asshat to everyone when he dies few people will risk their lives to save his toon.

Your Zombie lore is very one sided. Not all zombies die when shot in the head. Not all zombies infect you when they bite you ethier. There are many other zombies from all over the world. Just going with the mainstream zombies is why you may think a zombie MMO wouldn't work. I still think you could have progression somewhat with PCs. There have been some zombie movies were if you bothered to pay attention you'd notice the protagonist DOES progress from noob with shotgun to badass who can kill zombies with his bare hands. (Or just from noob to badass zombie slayer.) Even Ash was a noob in the first movie. He was a lot more cowardly too.

Personally, I would like to play an Angels vs Demons MMO. I think it would be fun!

Also, Zombie MMO sounds like a great time and lots of PEWPEWPEW!