So what is this game? Well, it's a strange hybrid of Harvest Moon, I Am
Legend and Resident Evil, inspired by Max Brooks' Zombie Survival Guide.
Zombies
have started appearing around the region, and overrun Sean's hometown.
He, and a party of numerous people, survive and find their way to the
zombie survival base and from there, have 2 possible ways to win the
game.
Lame goal: Zombie only live about 5 years
before decomposing (read the survival guide if you want to understand
that) so if you live until year 6, you see the credits and allegedly
win, but will be given the option to continue.
Awesome goal:
Build walls and liberate the cities in the region, ranging from a small
mountain town to a large metropolis, and then eliminate the occupying
zombies to created havens where other survivors will set up shops and
enhance your arsenal and your safe zones. Once you've managed this,
discover the reason behind the outbreak and develop a cure to give me a
reason not to make a sequel.
Decided Features:
Multiple Save SlotsYou
can save up to 50 files, and the save screen shows your party members,
their levels and names, maps, map names, playtime, and your current
cash.
Numerous skills:Wood Cutting
Basic Chemistry (making medicine)
Crafting (things like ladders and rope that can help you explore, or weapons and armor to keep you alive)
Fishing (you need food, yo)
Lock-Picking
Cooking
HP/EP system:Ever played Harvest Moon? Similar energy system.
For
those of you who haven't, EP is your energy points. You need them to
use most skills, in and out of combat, and to do some slightly
strenuous activities like riding a bike.
Relationships:Depending
on who you have in your party when, and what you say during cutscenes
some people will like you, and others will not. This can influence what
they say to you as well as their actions when, say, they might have to
save your life.
Better mind your company, kids! Your relationships with others can
impact still other relationships as well. (If you're really friendly
with someone's girlfriend, they might not be happy with you~)
Vehicles:Nobody really wants to run around on their feet all of the time. So, we've got vehicles in the works.
Bike: Consumes energy but is fasting than Walking/Running
Horse: Needs to be fed and if left alone at night may be targeted by Zombies. (Might take this one out...)
Car: Consumes no energy, but gas, which is a rare commodity after a panic.
Zombies Aren't OmniscientThe
zombies have a cone of vision and if you step inside of it a few
omnious sounds let you know- YOU'VE BEEN FOUND! You have to run to
another map (out of the area, into a building, etc.) to get off of
their radar. If they run into you, you can fight or try to get away.
HEADSHOTS!More
or less a given, but not recognizable to anyone who knows the game
engine. The familiar 'Critical hit' has, for obvious reasons, been
replaced by a 100% effective headshot, no matter the weapon.
Monsters On the Map:I
don't think random encounters in this sense would make much sense. O.o
So the zombies appear on the map and you know when they're coming! If
they touch you, you enter a turnbased style battle.
Monster BookWhile
in context this really needs a better name... (suggestions?) This is a
list much like what's found in the tales games that incorporates all of
the things you've fought. It will range from the small, furry animals
you hunt to bandits to zombie animals and people, giving you
information like drops and stats.
Skill TrainingYes,
that's right, levels don't count worth shit. You can level up skills by
performing them (causing them to consume less EP and have a higher
success rate) and stats by training them in special facilities, which
will impact your skills and your abilities in battle. Your actual LEVEL
will only impact your overall HP and EP levels.
Time/Weather SystemThe
game relies heavily on time for some of its finer points, so there is
an in-game time system. At the moment I'm thinking 1s=1m, but some
feedback would help out. Certain events only occur at certain times
during the day or on certain days of the week, and at night all
available zombie forts lock down and you're stuck outside with the
living dead if you aren't already at home.
There is also a
weather system for the sake of realism, with different percent chances
for it to be sun, rain, or thunder storm on any day. I think this
should impact EP consumption as well as success rates for outdoor
skills like fishing. Opinions?
Fire Emblem Style AvisI
don't know about you, but a badly cropped face in a box doesn't do it
for me. The avatars in this game go from the shoulders up so you
ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT PEOPLE LOOK LIKE O.O WOW.
On the note of
somewhat inconsequential features, the music will not be crappy Midi
files, but instead high quality shiz from Newgrounds.com used under the
standard share alike CC liscense.
Potential Features:
Anything can be a weapon.Feel like throwing eggs at zombies? Go ahead! You might no get anywhere, but this homage to Dead Rising would be a fun feature.
Clicking InterfaceBy
default the engine uses the arrow keys to move and other buttons to
activate menus and such. This script (path finding included) would let
you click your way around the maps instead.
VOICE ACTING!I
want to have the entire game voiced over, but this will have to wait
until I'm finished with rest of it because A: the script needs to be
finalized and B: I'm going to need a LOT of DEDICATED voice actors, but this is for later consideration.
The Team:Team member
| Role
|
Scyoni
| Project Leader/Writer/Artist/Concepts/Characters/ETC
|
Khrysteen Drowdagger PumaConrad
| Consulting/Betatesting Betatesting Betatesting
|
Development Screenies: