TheRPGSite

I have an idea for a game of the same name as the title of this thread.

Are there too many Zombie games out there already?

Which ones do you like and why?

If possible, give a one liner summary of your fav zombie game.

Thanks,
Bill

Zombiepocalypse - because you're going to do it.

Not too helpful, but heartfelt. I wanna see a Bill zombie game. Want help? ;)

Quote from: One Horse Town;266354Zombiepocalypse - because you're going to do it.

Not too helpful, but heartfelt. I wanna see a Bill zombie game. Want help? ;)

Sure. This is still in the thinking up the concept phase. I like the idea of making it after the initial rush. Combine two genres I like which is zombie (ala 28 days later) and post apocalypse (I like survivable apocalypse so not nuclear). Elements of the game would be stuff like resource gathering, dealing with serious scum of the world and, of course, zombies and variants. I don't seem magic playing any part.

Bill

Quote from: HinterWelt;266364Sure. This is still in the thinking up the concept phase. I like the idea of making it after the initial rush. Combine two genres I like which is zombie (ala 28 days later) and post apocalypse (I like survivable apocalypse so not nuclear). Elements of the game would be stuff like resource gathering, dealing with serious scum of the world and, of course, zombies and variants. I don't seem magic playing any part.

Bill

So this would not be squirrels of the living dead, then?

I don't have it, but on the resource gathering part, i believe One of The Living by Eden for AFMBE covers this in some detail. Might be worth having a look, both for research and avoiding too much overlap if you plan this to be a part of the game.

Can there ever be too many well done zombie games?

AFMBE because of its fairly straightforward system and multiple "zombie worlds" to play in.

Well I dont know if their are too many zombie games out there. But the zombie wave of popularity has passed. Not to say their would not be people interested in it. But if released a couple years ago I think it would due/done better. If that makes sense.
I really think AFMBE has got the complete range of zombie stuff covered. Decent/good system rules, and info to get you started on just about every zombie background/setting you can think of. I think it would really be tough to compete against.
Then again people who really enjoy the zombie stuff. May pick it up anyways to mine awesome from. I guess it would come down to, how does yours do it better or different? What would make me purchase this instead of use an exsisting product?

I love zombies.
But I love originality more.
So it's hard to reconcile those two.
Decide what aspect(s) of the zombie genre you want to focus on, and then make sure those haven't been done before (or at least, not done well).
I think the post-apoc choice is a good one, provided these two questions are answered in a smart, original manner:
1. What caused said apocalypse?
2. How long has it been since then?

My thoughts when I started work on the Dead (http://prettyfuckingsweet.com/thedead/) were "What would make this different from any other game where you just drop in Zombies as the big-bad?"  So, my question would be, "What sets your game apart from, say, AFMBE?"

Not sure if there's a "best" zombie game...i would assume AFMBE due to market-share, although I've never actually played it.

The world definitely needs more focused zombie RPGs.  AFMBE nails the generic zombie game well but I'd like to see a well detailed world infested with the walking dead.

Honestly a classic zombie survival type game with a detailed setting would be impossible for me to pass up.

We have AFMBE.  That is enough.

Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;266506We have AFMBE.  That is enough.

I like AFMBE, and think the books show 10x more creativity than many games out there, but I hardly think its the end-all, be-all of zombie rpgs.

One could certainly create an interesting new game with simpler mechanics and a specific world vision.  For example, a Resident Evil RPG with a cinematic system would be cool (based on the video games, mind you, not the godawful movies).

>Are there too many Zombie games out there already?

Nope.  Zombies are perpetually good enemies, but so few people have done anything interesting with them.   28 Days gave us running zombies which is considered revolutionary.   In 40 years since Night of the Living Dead, the biggest deal is x4 movement?  So yes, there is a lot of room for innovation!


>Which ones do you like and why?

Not overly impressed with AFMBE.   I like Unisystem, but I don't think it does zombie horror very well.   That said, they have done a smart job making AFMBE dominate the niche.

CoC has been often used for Zombies and BRP / CoC is a reliable workhorse.  SAN loss works fine and the system is open enough to do what you want.

Chill, like CoC, worked for Z-games.  Maybe even better than CoC because the fear rules and the "guns are good and dangerous" philosophy in Chill made the combat faster and more brutal.

Dead Reign in the Rifter was quite interesting.   I have not seen the final book so I can't comment on that.   The Rifter version however had some cool promise by adding necromancy and variant zombies.

>If possible, give a one liner summary of your fav zombie game.

Sun & Storm was a crap system with a terrific idea of a utopian techno-fantasy society that suffers an undead apocalypse.   I approached the author of the rights a few years ago, but he declined.

I've been playing the Left4Dead demo a bit lately and really like the mutant zombies. They add spice to the genre.
Bill, what do you think about adding multiple zombiforms?

Quote from: jgants;266369So this would not be squirrels of the living dead, then?

No, actually that has been discussed before in other threads. I think All Nuts Must Be Eaten would be a good title but I also like the Squirrels of the Living Dead. Unfortunately, the boss thinks the idea sucks.

Quote from: Ronin;266402I guess it would come down to, how does yours do it better or different? What would make me purchase this instead of use an exsisting product?

Simply, the setting. I am not big on selling the system but I think it would be somewhat lite but not what folks would call lite. I will get into that more below. The setting would be, most likely, a mixture of genres. Currently, I was talking post apoc and zombie but I might throw sci-fi in there as well. Again, more below.

Quote from: dsivis;266408I think the post-apoc choice is a good one, provided these two questions are answered in a smart, original manner:
1. What caused said apocalypse?
2. How long has it been since then?

1. The first idea I have is a alien space ship crashing onto Earth. I mean crashing, like tons of dust and a year without a summer. Possibly an extended darkness. Then, a bioform nanite that was meant to terraform a primitive planet (i.e. was never designed to interact with anything more complex than single celled animals) is released. This is the "finishing blow" but we were on the ropes before that.

2. I am really torn. I like the idea of just after the Darkness. Say, maybe 6 months to a year?

Quote from: dsivis;266626I've been playing the Left4Dead demo a bit lately and really like the mutant zombies. They add spice to the genre.
Bill, what do you think about adding multiple zombiforms?

I like it. I would go one further and stat out a couple of versions not seen a lot. Stuff like zombie birds, constructs (protein matter that the bioform has reorganized), herd animals and what I call group zombies (a malfunction of the bioform and its ability to communicate basically links several zombies into one).

Here is my first thoughts:
Alien unmanned probe (big mother) malfunctions and fails to do a close approach analysis of Earth. It tries to land but instead crashes in North America doing some serious damage. The world reels from the environmental damage but the effects are survivable (probably not so much for the US). Then a team investigates the crash site and is surprised to find a relatively intact ship. They are quickly infected and the bioform spreads fast from there.

...Zombiepocalypse...

Now, I have a couple of competing ideas.
1. The bioform mostly creates zombies but in those it does not kill, it "enhances" them. So, you end up with exaggerations of existing abilities. Enhanced characteristics, sight, hearing, smell and in rare cases things like ESP, telekinesis, telepathy and pyrokinesis.

2. The alien ship has an AI on board that has gone mad in the millennia between the stars. It now is dedicated to terraforming this planet at all costs. It has limited control over the zombies.

3. The characters come from a bunker/think tank that is now trying to find the source of the infection and to retake the surface. There are still those that live above ground but they are some tough mofos.

For the system:
1. three stats Mind Body and Spirit. Linda has suggested taking 3d10 and taking the highest to generate them. I kind of like a d6 system.

2. Infection meter. Say, eight levels of infection with points of no return. So, you might be able to get bitten 3 times but then be able to recover on your own. 4-6 times and you need an anti-viral or a special herbal medicine. 7-8 times and you need that anti-viral. Beyond three times you slowly gain infection levels.

3. I think I will need a good auto-fire rules and maybe a targeting system.

4. Some sort of feat/stunt/super skill system to juice up skills to cinematic levels. So, the ability to take a Running skill and spend a point/make a roll and suddenly you can run through the complex maze of pipes in the old abandoned power station.

Anything else you like your zombie game to do? Comments? Suggestions?

Thanks,
Bill

Quote from: HinterWelt;266352Are there too many Zombie games out there already?

I don't think there are that many.

Quote from: HinterWelt;266352Which ones do you like and why?

All the ones I tried didn't work out. Which is why I'm up for a great Zombie game.

Quote from: HinterWelt;266352If possible, give a one liner summary of your fav zombie game.

I can't, but I can say what I am looking for:

I think I would preferably want a generic Survival Horror roleplaying game. But barring that, I would be down for a generic Zombie Roleplaying game.

I don't want a setting in my main book, maybe a few examples taking a small place but not insipid descriptions of flavorless "dead worlds" such as AFMBE taking a major chunk of the book.

I'd prefer a game with random chargen. I usually dislike randomness but somehow, survival horror cries out for this to me. Ideally, I'd want a very simple mix of random generation, and a sort of very simplified lifepath/career system. A bastardization of templates such as AFMBE, lifepaths such as Talsorian games, and the very cool yet "unfair" careers of warhammer. With random generation a la D&D thrown in the mix.

I'd like the genre and feel to be supported mechanically. I don't want some flowery stry game aberration but at the same time, I think running horror with GURPS, Unisystem, etc... is a waste. I want systems for cooperation between survivors, fear, dissension, insanity, panic, betrayal... the type of stuff that is actually at the CORE of the genre.

The system needs to disappear. Especially as far as verisimilitude and laws of physics are concerned. It should be quick to run. No bullshit like secondary attributes. No lengthy skill list and crap. Not an endless list of attribute, dmg modifiers and everything. Something quick.

Where AFMBE actually stands out is the zombie creation system. Make something similar, a little more generic and if possible, even simpler.

The icing on the cake is two sections:

One covering all the ways you can spice your setting. Equipment, towns, NPCs... tables to quickly generate that stuff

And of course, a GM guide to run horror properly, and the game should support one-shots as much as lengthy campaigns, with advancement that is tangible yet outside the standard "level up" paradigm.

All of this package should come preferably at 200 pages or so.
It's kind of sad but looking at AFMBE, it is almost at the opposite of what I want in a survival horror game, yet is praised as the best.

The best zombie game currently on the market is Dead of Night. And it's not even a zombie game...

The (long distant) second best is Vermine but it is out of print and again, not a zombie game.

New thread started up in Design.

Thread here (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?p=267072#post267072)

Thanks everyone.

Bill