Ways to make a Zombie game innovative again.

[Ruzzian Roulette]

They could play it as you actually being a survivor of a zombie apocalypse. What I mean here is that you have to barricade yourselves in safe houses, go out and try to find needed supplies, and basically just survive.

Could play out a bit like this. You're trapped in 'big arse city' which is currently overrun with the undead, curiously enough though, they're only really active during the night. So, with this game we have a set day/night cycle and a sandbox type of world going on already. Now then, you need to make it to the other side of the city to an evac point. The catch is that you won't be able to make it in just one day, and you're still going to need food and everything else to make it, so you'll scavenge during the day and try to find a safe place to hole up at night. During the course of the game you'll meet other survivors that you can more or less recruit, some have special abilities to be able to make things for you, some help scavenge, some will actually join you on hunts, etc. Throughout the whole thing you'll be given a choice of moving your base or to just fortify the hell out of your starting one, even if it does end up being very cramped. You'll also have the option to spread out your survivors to multiple bases, or clump them up, or if you're a jerk, clump them up and make them zombie bait while you sneak towards safety. There's safety in numbers, but then the larger the group of people, the more zombies you'll have heading for them.

Best idea in the thread so far. It'll need up to 4 person online co-op though.

 

[Thirdman]

Lots of lavish musical numbers

 

[Naterstein]

I'd say use of ALOT of actual zombies and civilian weapons (semi auto). I like L4D alot, tho it needs more campaigns already, but I was never a fan of running "zombies"/infected. I would rather see like 5-8x the number of slo moving zombies with access to a more realistic civilian arsenal (pump shottie, turn the auto shottie to semi, mini14 were all good.)

 

[nigelwaters]

An arcade-style game where you're a crazy bus driver under the zombie apocalypse. The goal is to run over as many zombies as possible with your bus, and as you get more points (For killing zombies) you can upgrade your bus with spikes, weapons and so on.

 

[Zersy]

They could play it as you actually being a survivor of a zombie apocalypse. What I mean here is that you have to barricade yourselves in safe houses, go out and try to find needed supplies, and basically just survive.

Could play out a bit like this. You're trapped in 'big arse city' which is currently overrun with the undead, curiously enough though, they're only really active during the night. So, with this game we have a set day/night cycle and a sandbox type of world going on already. Now then, you need to make it to the other side of the city to an evac point. The catch is that you won't be able to make it in just one day, and you're still going to need food and everything else to make it, so you'll scavenge during the day and try to find a safe place to hole up at night. During the course of the game you'll meet other survivors that you can more or less recruit, some have special abilities to be able to make things for you, some help scavenge, some will actually join you on hunts, etc. Throughout the whole thing you'll be given a choice of moving your base or to just fortify the hell out of your starting one, even if it does end up being very cramped. You'll also have the option to spread out your survivors to multiple bases, or clump them up, or if you're a jerk, clump them up and make them zombie bait while you sneak towards safety. There's safety in numbers, but then the larger the group of people, the more zombies you'll have heading for them.

this is actually a amzaing a original idea

developers should look up to you

dam this is a wicked idea

thumbs up to YOU !

 

[brettman170]

They could play it as you actually being a survivor of a zombie apocalypse. What I mean here is that you have to barricade yourselves in safe houses, go out and try to find needed supplies, and basically just survive.

Could play out a bit like this. You're trapped in 'big arse city' which is currently overrun with the undead, curiously enough though, they're only really active during the night. So, with this game we have a set day/night cycle and a sandbox type of world going on already. Now then, you need to make it to the other side of the city to an evac point. The catch is that you won't be able to make it in just one day, and you're still going to need food and everything else to make it, so you'll scavenge during the day and try to find a safe place to hole up at night. During the course of the game you'll meet other survivors that you can more or less recruit, some have special abilities to be able to make things for you, some help scavenge, some will actually join you on hunts, etc. Throughout the whole thing you'll be given a choice of moving your base or to just fortify the hell out of your starting one, even if it does end up being very cramped. You'll also have the option to spread out your survivors to multiple bases, or clump them up, or if you're a jerk, clump them up and make them zombie bait while you sneak towards safety. There's safety in numbers, but then the larger the group of people, the more zombies you'll have heading for them.

Goddamn psychics, I had this idea too! *shambles away from topic*

 

[Sir Pysco Sexy]

-Free Roaming.
-Interaction with civillians.
-Set in a proper sized city/town.
-Realistic weapons. (If it was set in England then there wouldn't be many guns lying around.)
-Massively Co-Op?

 

[Iron Mal]

Well, seeing as almost every zombie game is set in the same damn 1990-2010 time period and drenched with social commentary and attempts at black humor that are never really that funny (useually they end up being quotes from either Evil Dead or a George Romero movie) how about we change the time period?

Zombies have appeared in other times in games but useually they make a cameo appearance for the one 'yes, this is a serious game' level (like Ravenholm in Half Life 2).

Imagine a sci-fi zombie game, lasers, aliens and robot like tanks vs. the endless zombie hordes. That would be cool.

Could even go historical with it, the Vikings or Romans vs. zombies would be refreshing and I've never seen anyone do a game about the undead on the streets of Victorian London. Again, would be cool.

 

[Healey]

They could play it as you actually being a survivor of a zombie apocalypse. What I mean here is that you have to barricade yourselves in safe houses, go out and try to find needed supplies, and basically just survive.

Could play out a bit like this. You're trapped in 'big arse city' which is currently overrun with the undead, curiously enough though, they're only really active during the night. So, with this game we have a set day/night cycle and a sandbox type of world going on already. Now then, you need to make it to the other side of the city to an evac point. The catch is that you won't be able to make it in just one day, and you're still going to need food and everything else to make it, so you'll scavenge during the day and try to find a safe place to hole up at night. During the course of the game you'll meet other survivors that you can more or less recruit, some have special abilities to be able to make things for you, some help scavenge, some will actually join you on hunts, etc. Throughout the whole thing you'll be given a choice of moving your base or to just fortify the hell out of your starting one, even if it does end up being very cramped. You'll also have the option to spread out your survivors to multiple bases, or clump them up, or if you're a jerk, clump them up and make them zombie bait while you sneak towards safety. There's safety in numbers, but then the larger the group of people, the more zombies you'll have heading for them.

Also this. I've thought of an open-world zombie game before, but not one as well-thought-out as this. I (though this is just me) would probably also want to put in some light RPG aspects; eg, you have certain skills that determine what guns you'd want to use, how good you'd be at constructing barricades, giving medical attention to survivors, et cetera.
Ooh, also liking the idea of a different time period. Nothing too radical, though, it'd probably have to be set in the 20th or 21st century. I think it'd be interesting to see how much a change in location/time setting can affect gameplay. As someone's already said, you won't find as many guns in Britain, so you'd have to focus your searches on possibly Police Stations or Rural areas.

 

[ultimasupersaiyan]

I think it may be impossible to make zombie games innovative again but maybe a stealth style survival horror might work... in theory. You know hide in shadows like MGS, blend in with them like Assassin's Creed stuff like that. Also Dead Rising is the best zombie game I've ever played even though the story was mediocre it's probably one of the top zombie games made along with Left 4 Dead and if it can be considered a zombie game series Silent Hill.

 

[Arsen]

Make the bullets ridiculously scare.
Add physics that are equal to Half Life 2 when creating barricades.
Allow gamers to make traps Home Alone style.

 

[thiosk]

l4d not innovative? They have redefined cooperative gameplay in a way gears and its ilk can never touch. Oh and they made boomers, which is way cooler than any of RE's zombie monsters.

L4d is a run and gun coop shooter, its not a survival horror game. what you seem to want is a return to resident evil from the early days, 3 bullets with 80 zombies clawing their way in from the next room.

I would love to see this too, im a hopeless zombie nerd, im just saying l4d is plenty innovative.

check out the shirt i bought:
http://shirt.woot.com/friends.aspx?k=5120

 

[1337mokro]

L4D opened up coop in ways games have failed to for the last decade. The next step would be COOP saints row style. In there being a huge massive city with several levels spread out. Each lasting about an hour like L4D. But instead of survive from point A to B it will also be get to point B from A with as much stuff as you can fit in your jacket and snacks or try and hold out at point A| if you think it's to dangerous to cross.

This will consist of L4D game play of make it to the next safe house only it will incorporate survival horror elements already mentioned above, like daytime scavenging, early afternoon barricading and all night zombie stomping.

A most brilliant idea L4D provided us with is the tank. IT will show up randomly through out the city and will attack you if you are within it's attack radius. Now should this happen in the middle of the night your barricades are fucked and you need to escape. Now cue a huge chase over the rooftops whilst panicking survivors struggle to make it to emergency safe houses, able to house you for about 4 hours before the tank pounds through the wall, food runs out or whatever.

This is the only way I see to breathe new light into a genre that has been worn down to a stump. IF and only if everything is executed in perfect order in that you don't grow hungry to fast, hunger doesn't cripple you but makes you less fast or something or reduces your melee attack strength.

But none of that grow hungry and die bullshit or where you need a snack every 3 minutes like some patient with a severe case of diabetes. And this would be a great game seeing as it is COOP your human companions can also be huge dicks like throwing you of a roof or leaving you behind thus making for that zombie horror movie aspect all you nerds like of survivor conflicts.

Valve get cracking on this and team up with Volition to get that level of customization and open world aspect exactly right and make some great new special zombies and you have a game.
Honestly you could easily crack any sandbox crime game port the L4D engine in it and make a game I just described and than sell it for 50 bucks.

 

[Abako]

I put down all of my major ideas in my Zombie Outbreak MMO idea thread so I will just link that to this one.

[link]http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.69587#672793[/link]

 

[Iron Mal]

I think it may be impossible to make zombie games innovative again but maybe a stealth style survival horror might work... in theory. You know hide in shadows like MGS, blend in with them like Assassin's Creed stuff like that.

There actually is a game like that, it's called Vampire Rain and it's a tad bit on the murderous side difficulty-wise.

And all of this intense flattery of l4d seems a bit undeserved to me, for starters they deviated from zombie lore shamelessly in the fact that the zombies sprint and can be brought down with things besides headshots (traditionally removeal/destruction of the head/brain is the only way to stop a zombie along with setting them on fire). Also, it's just another zombie game. Besides the fact that it's got 4 player co-op and aggressively reminds us of that, there is actually very little that's unique about this game. I could go on but I believe I've made enough of a point already.

 

[USSR]

A zombie game game, where you could colonize your own army of the undead. You would work your way up from the bottom, starting with small infected groups, but eventually be able to create an unstoppable army of infected and plagued soldiers with no fear of dying twice.

 

[Automind]

They could play it as you actually being a survivor of a zombie apocalypse. What I mean here is that you have to barricade yourselves in safe houses, go out and try to find needed supplies, and basically just survive.

Could play out a bit like this. You're trapped in 'big arse city' which is currently overrun with the undead, curiously enough though, they're only really active during the night. So, with this game we have a set day/night cycle and a sandbox type of world going on already. Now then, you need to make it to the other side of the city to an evac point. The catch is that you won't be able to make it in just one day, and you're still going to need food and everything else to make it, so you'll scavenge during the day and try to find a safe place to hole up at night. During the course of the game you'll meet other survivors that you can more or less recruit, some have special abilities to be able to make things for you, some help scavenge, some will actually join you on hunts, etc. Throughout the whole thing you'll be given a choice of moving your base or to just fortify the hell out of your starting one, even if it does end up being very cramped. You'll also have the option to spread out your survivors to multiple bases, or clump them up, or if you're a jerk, clump them up and make them zombie bait while you sneak towards safety. There's safety in numbers, but then the larger the group of people, the more zombies you'll have heading for them.

Also this. I've thought of an open-world zombie game before, but not one as well-thought-out as this. I (though this is just me) would probably also want to put in some light RPG aspects; eg, you have certain skills that determine what guns you'd want to use, how good you'd be at constructing barricades, giving medical attention to survivors, et cetera.
Ooh, also liking the idea of a different time period. Nothing too radical, though, it'd probably have to be set in the 20th or 21st century. I think it'd be interesting to see how much a change in location/time setting can affect gameplay. As someone's already said, you won't find as many guns in Britain, so you'd have to focus your searches on possibly Police Stations or Rural areas.

Isnt that like Fallout 3 with Zombies?

 

[Aiden Rebirth]

They could play it as you actually being a survivor of a zombie apocalypse. What I mean here is that you have to barricade yourselves in safe houses, go out and try to find needed supplies, and basically just survive.

Could play out a bit like this. You're trapped in 'big arse city' which is currently overrun with the undead, curiously enough though, they're only really active during the night. So, with this game we have a set day/night cycle and a sandbox type of world going on already. Now then, you need to make it to the other side of the city to an evac point. The catch is that you won't be able to make it in just one day, and you're still going to need food and everything else to make it, so you'll scavenge during the day and try to find a safe place to hole up at night. During the course of the game you'll meet other survivors that you can more or less recruit, some have special abilities to be able to make things for you, some help scavenge, some will actually join you on hunts, etc. Throughout the whole thing you'll be given a choice of moving your base or to just fortify the hell out of your starting one, even if it does end up being very cramped. You'll also have the option to spread out your survivors to multiple bases, or clump them up, or if you're a jerk, clump them up and make them zombie bait while you sneak towards safety. There's safety in numbers, but then the larger the group of people, the more zombies you'll have heading for them.

I read this idea in a magazine once. the only diff was that it was gonna be an online oriented game.

 

[Aiden Rebirth]

I still want to see a stealth zombie game. I think that would kick.