Jason
02-13-2010, 03:32 AM
Zombies are cool. Anyone who argues with this is lying. This isn't so much an opinion as a cast-iron statement. They've been responsible for making sure entire generations have spent many a night debating the merits and drawbacks of edged weapons versus firearms when the zombocalypse finally hits.
However, despite there being more MMOs around these days than you could shake a very, very large stick at, there are very few relating to zombies. I play one of them, a browser-based affair by the name of Urban Dead (http://urbandead.com), and whilst it's good fun, it doesn't really scratch that itch we all have deep inside - the need to get out there and bust some undead skulls with our buddies.
Well that's where the folks at Undead Labs (http://undeadlabs.com/) step in. They're zombie fans. Big zombie fans. Oh, and they've got quite a bit of history in MMOs, too:
Enter Jeff Strain. If you've played a massive RPG in the past ten years or so, there's a chance this guy had his finger in the pie. He was lead designer for a little-known game called World Of Warcraft apparently, as well as having credits on other little-heard of games like Starcraft, Diablo, Guild Wars and Warcraft III. This guy knows his stuff.
And now he's formed his own company, the aforementioned Undead Labs, and they're doing things their way.
First and foremost, this is going to be a console-based MMO. That much has been made clear. Now, I know already that coffee cups are being hurled across living rooms and offices, and teeth are being gnashed. Yes, console MMOs so far have been... quite frankly, awful. However, Jeff believes he's onto a winner - In an interview with Destructoid (http://www.destructoid.com/jeff-strain-talks-undead-labs-and-its-console-zombie-mmo-155866.phtml), he states that "I'll tell you why there haven't been that many successful console MMOs, it's because there haven't been that many serious attempts at them, and because most of the people who are making console MMOs are doing it in the context of taking an existing PC MMO, and porting it to consoles or developing a hybrid design that is going to supposedly appeal equally to PC and console gamers,"
He then goes on to point out that until Halo showed us it was possible, no-one ever thought FPS games could really work on consoles either. Whilst PC supporters will still argue that the PC does them better, the fact is that Bungie did something we, the gamers, didn't think was possible. And he's right, to be honest. I certainly didn't think that we'd see the day when FPS games on consoles were giving PC games a run for their money.
However, the MMO has an image problem. With the exception of a few brave souls, the majority of them are very stuck in a rut genre-wise. If I say MMO, you think of elves, orcs and dragons (and acne). Because of that, they've almost formed a kind of 'template' for MMOs - the way you gain XP, the way you have to level up, the way missions come about... that kind of thing. It's all very samey.
This is where Undead Labs are looking to break the mould:
"One of the things that is key in [the zombie] genre is really giving players a sense of purpose that is not just kill monsters and level up. MMO players like to have a home, and that is one of the reasons I'm not going to throw them out into a post apocalyptic world. The goal here is to make them feel like there is a purpose. You're trying to restart society. You're trying to reclaim the world. One of the very first goals is going to be to get together with other players and establish a place that you can call your own that you must actively maintain and defend.
From what is described in the article, it looks like the majority of the action will centre around survival. Building and (more importantly) protecting your town. Nights will roll in, and bring with them ever-larger hordes, meaning that expanding too far before you're ready will probably end up with you getting your ass handed to you by the undead.
Of course, patience is not a virtue held by many gamers, particularly of the console shooter variety, and there will be the option to go running out into the wilderness either on a random hunt or to go searching for valuable items.
Finally, it's the big question. Fast zombies or slow zombies? Left 4 Dead got quite the panning from hardcore zombiephiles for failing to live up to their expectations of 'Romero zombies' that shuffle at you slowly but won't go down.
"I personally am of the younger generation/fast zombie club. I think what you're really at though is if the tension or danger is through overwhelming masses or is it through a smaller number of enemies who are a bit more capable. What I will probably do is integrate both ... People are almost religious about this, but I think in the game both types will work because then you can play off the two,"
...what a cop-out. :D
Anyway, once again, the full interview/article is here (http://www.destructoid.com/jeff-strain-talks-undead-labs-and-its-console-zombie-mmo-155866.phtml).
I don't mind telling you that I'm already salivating at the prospect of this. The very thought of a decent zombie MMO is good enough, but when you have a team with this kind of experience and knowledge behind it, it's rather difficult not to get excited about it.
However, despite there being more MMOs around these days than you could shake a very, very large stick at, there are very few relating to zombies. I play one of them, a browser-based affair by the name of Urban Dead (http://urbandead.com), and whilst it's good fun, it doesn't really scratch that itch we all have deep inside - the need to get out there and bust some undead skulls with our buddies.
Well that's where the folks at Undead Labs (http://undeadlabs.com/) step in. They're zombie fans. Big zombie fans. Oh, and they've got quite a bit of history in MMOs, too:
Enter Jeff Strain. If you've played a massive RPG in the past ten years or so, there's a chance this guy had his finger in the pie. He was lead designer for a little-known game called World Of Warcraft apparently, as well as having credits on other little-heard of games like Starcraft, Diablo, Guild Wars and Warcraft III. This guy knows his stuff.
And now he's formed his own company, the aforementioned Undead Labs, and they're doing things their way.
First and foremost, this is going to be a console-based MMO. That much has been made clear. Now, I know already that coffee cups are being hurled across living rooms and offices, and teeth are being gnashed. Yes, console MMOs so far have been... quite frankly, awful. However, Jeff believes he's onto a winner - In an interview with Destructoid (http://www.destructoid.com/jeff-strain-talks-undead-labs-and-its-console-zombie-mmo-155866.phtml), he states that "I'll tell you why there haven't been that many successful console MMOs, it's because there haven't been that many serious attempts at them, and because most of the people who are making console MMOs are doing it in the context of taking an existing PC MMO, and porting it to consoles or developing a hybrid design that is going to supposedly appeal equally to PC and console gamers,"
He then goes on to point out that until Halo showed us it was possible, no-one ever thought FPS games could really work on consoles either. Whilst PC supporters will still argue that the PC does them better, the fact is that Bungie did something we, the gamers, didn't think was possible. And he's right, to be honest. I certainly didn't think that we'd see the day when FPS games on consoles were giving PC games a run for their money.
However, the MMO has an image problem. With the exception of a few brave souls, the majority of them are very stuck in a rut genre-wise. If I say MMO, you think of elves, orcs and dragons (and acne). Because of that, they've almost formed a kind of 'template' for MMOs - the way you gain XP, the way you have to level up, the way missions come about... that kind of thing. It's all very samey.
This is where Undead Labs are looking to break the mould:
"One of the things that is key in [the zombie] genre is really giving players a sense of purpose that is not just kill monsters and level up. MMO players like to have a home, and that is one of the reasons I'm not going to throw them out into a post apocalyptic world. The goal here is to make them feel like there is a purpose. You're trying to restart society. You're trying to reclaim the world. One of the very first goals is going to be to get together with other players and establish a place that you can call your own that you must actively maintain and defend.
From what is described in the article, it looks like the majority of the action will centre around survival. Building and (more importantly) protecting your town. Nights will roll in, and bring with them ever-larger hordes, meaning that expanding too far before you're ready will probably end up with you getting your ass handed to you by the undead.
Of course, patience is not a virtue held by many gamers, particularly of the console shooter variety, and there will be the option to go running out into the wilderness either on a random hunt or to go searching for valuable items.
Finally, it's the big question. Fast zombies or slow zombies? Left 4 Dead got quite the panning from hardcore zombiephiles for failing to live up to their expectations of 'Romero zombies' that shuffle at you slowly but won't go down.
"I personally am of the younger generation/fast zombie club. I think what you're really at though is if the tension or danger is through overwhelming masses or is it through a smaller number of enemies who are a bit more capable. What I will probably do is integrate both ... People are almost religious about this, but I think in the game both types will work because then you can play off the two,"
...what a cop-out. :D
Anyway, once again, the full interview/article is here (http://www.destructoid.com/jeff-strain-talks-undead-labs-and-its-console-zombie-mmo-155866.phtml).
I don't mind telling you that I'm already salivating at the prospect of this. The very thought of a decent zombie MMO is good enough, but when you have a team with this kind of experience and knowledge behind it, it's rather difficult not to get excited about it.