I just saw some incredibly, horribly, unbelievably bad zombie movies, appareltry a channel was running them late nite for a week or so. A couple of them were just blatantly bad, and openly revelled in it. I mean they not only mocked themselves but the whole zombie genre.

It made me think about how popular zombies are in movies and now even games, with all flesh must be eaten and so on. Hell, I got "the zombie survival guide" for christmas, and it was pretty good. (Thinking of getting WWZ, is it any good?)

So why are zombies so popular? One guess is thsat when it comes to movies zombies are pretty cheap to do. A little pale makeup, some dark circles under the eyes, maybe some dirty or ratty clothes and PRESTO! Zombie! (Ok, some zombie movies go futher than this, with animatronics and so on, but most don't)

Also playing a zombie doesn't require a lot of acting talent, so you don't need expensive actors to play them.

Ok, so they're popular in movies because they're cheap and easy. Why the popularity in games? Maybe the same reasons. Zombies don't require a lot of deep thinking on the GMs part, it's not like one requires extensive role playing. Making plots for them aren't hard, they don't need complex motivations, they don't acquire XPs, are quite easy to keep track of, etc.

It's easy to do a zombie rpg session, it usually becomes a series of hide rolls or to hit rolls, as the players use the zombies for target practice. Also zombies are pretty generic, you can use one NPC sheet for a lot of them.

So I guess zombies are the fast food or movies and rpg's. It's Ok now and then but how the hell can anyone make a steady diet of it?

I feel that Undead are way overused in RPGs especially CRPGs. As to why bad zombie movies are so popular, who can say. I think people just have bad taste

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie

I'm not really a big fan of the "zombie genre" or whatever.  It can occasionally be fun, like that Brainbread game for Half-Life.

I'm big on the whole necromancy thing though, for some damn reason.  I like the idea of summoning shambling hordes of walking dead to do my bidding, or sucking the life force from a living being.

I'm wierd that way.

Quote from: J ArcaneI'm not really a big fan of the "zombie genre" or whatever.  It can occasionally be fun, like that Brainbread game for Half-Life.

I'm big on the whole necromancy thing though, for some damn reason.  I like the idea of summoning shambling hordes of walking dead to do my bidding, or sucking the life force from a living being.

I'm wierd that way.

You should be using lord xykon for an avatar then.

Zombies are popular because you can be as absolutely disgustingly over-the-top violent against them as you want to be with no qualms that you might experience were they living people. Similar to the reason Nazi's as bad guys are so popular.

I don't get the zombie fixation of late. Yeah, zombies can be scary. But shit, I just don't get the recent fascination with them. A zombie invasion might make for a good one-off adventure or brief campaign side trek, but I can't see playing a long-term zombie campaign. There really is no winning against them, when you boil it down, and I just don't like hopeless scenarios. To each his own, I guess. Hell, if I were to make a zombie movie, I'd just go to the logical conclusion, and show the world after the living have ceased to exist. At least that's one idea that hasn't been done.

Coming from someone who has run and is about to run All Flesh Must Be Eaten I have to say Zombies can be fun.

Maybe its the weird undead creatures hunting down humans, or maybe its just the endless zombie kills that make it fun but to me it is.  It's hard to say what makes it so fun, but it is.

I think that, fundamentally, zombies are about how human beings are at their core.  Most zombie tales involve desperation, with people doing anything to survive.  What is moral, then?  What would a normal person do when faced with such horror?

Zombies also serve as an excellent villain without those very moral questions, when need be.  They have no mind and their intent is wholly evil.  This makes them a great force to stand together against.

Quote from: C.W.RichesonI think that, fundamentally, zombies are about how human beings are at their core.  Most zombie tales involve desperation, with people doing anything to survive.  What is moral, then?  What would a normal person do when faced with such horror?

Zombies also serve as an excellent villain without those very moral questions, when need be.  They have no mind and their intent is wholly evil.  This makes them a great force to stand together against.

Yes, I caught that in the remake of NOTLD, where the redhead, played the telepath on Babylon 5, made that observation at the end.

One thing I notice in some zombie movies is the way that the humans could win, if they worked together but don't.

Quote from: Dominus NoxOne thing I notice in some zombie movies is the way that the humans could win, if they worked together but don't.

Maybe this is what the Zombie genre is really about. The fact that we could win if we just work together. I mean, even though they probably don't know it, zombies are bound by their undead existence. Humanity of course has a lot more going for us, but we would rather fight amongst ourselves even in the most extreme situations, which makes us so very weak. I admit, I have some interest in this genre, a few books, movies and comics, for very specific reasons.

Regards,
David R

i am a confessed zombie film fanatic since i first saw Day of the Dead when i was 15 years old. i love every one i can see, even the bad ones.
yeah, even Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things.

this is probably the Main reason why i enjoy them:
the survival horror aspect mesmerizes me.

how clever and how well can they get along to survive. how long before they break down mentally and go psychotic on each other. how long before someone is infected by a bite (if that's the type of zombie involved) and what will they do to fix the problem. how long will the food, water, ammo, and shelter last.
how long can they cheat death.

it's like a car accident you see about to happen in another lane but can't stop it, can't warn the drivers involved, and can't look away from it.

i have the same love and feelings for post-apocalyptic survival genre: Damnation Alley, Def-Con 4, Mad Max films.

the world is a hard place and it sucks but maybe they can find a better tomorrow.

i also enjoy the "nonserious" zombie flicks. obviously Shaun of the Dead but also Dead Heat and Return of the Living Dead were amazing, cheesy but fun to watch.

Survival Horror RPG'S......................
the players can really shine, that is why i enjoy running or playing in these types of games. watching developing relationships between PC's and interaction with the NPC's is fascinating. in isolated survival horror they have no one else to depend on, they must rely on each to a greater degree than what is normally found in other types of games. because of lack of resources and support,the characters must trust and help one another or most likely die.
 
i've run about a dozen of these scenarios over the years (mostly zombie with one or two Vampire World's) and each time the player's seemed to invest more time and dedication to their and their fellow PC's survival. they took the game more seriously. they actually seemed to care about these pc's more. perhaps they identified with them more? i dunno. but it was nice.
i'm sure not every group has found this to be true, but with the people i've played with it has.




dave




edited: for clarity

In the universe of horror, there is a 'sweet spot' for monster IQ. Too dumb and they can't play hide and seek. Too smart and they use teamwork too effectively. Smart animals, animated machines and zombies are popular because they have just the right amount of brainpower to threaten but not overwhelm normal protagonists.

Zombies are just fun.  You can get megaviolent with them without any qualms.  They can be a metaphor for damn near anything - conformity of thought, consumerism, a reflection of man's inhumanity to itself... you can do things with them, and still have a kick-ass action story.

(WWZ, btw, is a fantastic book, much recommended.  It's not so much an action story as it is about how the zombie Apocolypse affects the survivors.  I couldn't put it down.)

Movie monsters frequently represent some more abstract fear or societal concern, and their popularity usually reflects some anxiety in the general population.  You can look at movie history and match up periods of monster movie popularity with times of societal change / tension.  With recent world events and their focus by the media I wasn't at all surprised to see a monster movie renaissance.

Zombies are frequently used as a metphor for consumerism (mindless consumption :haw:) as well as being of more interest recently due to societal fears of infectious disease (AIDs, Bird Flu, Monkey Pox, Influenza Pandemic, etc)

@baran_i_kanu -- good call on linking them thematically with post-apocalyptic survival horror.

I just saw an unorthodox "survival horror" movie last night: Idiocracy. :raise:

I find most zombie movies lame, with a few exceptions (army of darkness, though that's just as much a skeleton movie...)

But I'll say, I've been really impressed with the coolness of zombie gaming products I have recieved. Not enough to run a whole campaign around, but enough to inspire me for an adventure or two.