Attention Zombie Lovers

Yesterday I posted some links to some interesting flash games and experiments.  However, after I did the post I realised there was one project I left out.

I've always been a zombie fan... well... not zombies really but a fan of horror which captures that claustrophobic feel of a encroaching menace surrounding the protagonists.  This doesn't have to be zombies to portray this kind of horror.  Geiger's Aliens, Hitchcock's birds... hell, even the Triffids meet this definition.

Within games this horror has been lost.  Situations aren't so much a case of life and death due to generous saves systems, to get out a hairy situations you just need to swing an uzi around with infinite bullets and the worse sin within zombie horror is that nothing has long term consequences (e.g. a bite)

I chat occasionally to a friend of mine, who like me, have a whimsical love of games.  We often chat about the "perfect" zombie game.  We worked out it would have the following features:

• The world starting off normal, then with the zombies spreading everything slowly falls apart
• A bite would be fatal, no exceptions
• There is no "cure"
• Zombies walk, none of this running crap
• Psychological effects, paranoia, panic attacks, etc...

And you know what... not only is one team making this now, but two separate teams on two separate projects!

The first there is very little information apart from a few screenshots and a FAQ, swing over to Doublebear Productions to find out more.  The second project interests me a bit more, if not only for the fact it's more grim.

Project Zomboid is being developed by a team of four.  Their intention is create a game about "How you died".  They've released a pre-Alpha tech demo where you play as a middle aged, balding man three days into the zombie outbreak.  During the demo you attempt to secure a safehouse whilst taking care of your wife with a broken leg.  I really don't want to say anymore past that, just have a go.

The team has some impressive goals in their sights, and they are offering people the chance to invest in the game for £5 with promises of free updates leading up the release similar to Minecraft or Terraria.  So, if you like it... perhaps take a risk and invest in what could be an awesome grim little game/story.

Oh, and one last thing - this is the last game link post I'm going to do for a while (this blogs is more about videos and animations after all) but there was one last flash game I left out from yesterdays links.

SPENT is an American interactive flash game which aims to highlight unemployment issues, workers rights and minimum wages in America.  They do this by putting you in the shoes of a single parent with only $1000 left.  The aim?  To not go broke in one month.  The design and concept I personal think is stunning, head over and have a look.