Apocalypse sim

[Walsingham]

I'm just re-watching Dawn of the Dead (latest remake), and a thought occurs:

 

Left 4 Dead was cool, but it missed some of the best bits of the genre. Survival isn't just about guns and shooting. It's about other stuff.

 

It occurred to me that what we should do is compile a list of all the key aspects of survival post-apocalypse, be it meteorite strike, plague, zombies, nukes you name it.

 

The idea I had for the game, and it could be a board game or a video game, is divided into a few of stages. Basically, looking at it logically, the tougher you make things for yourself in teh short term, the more likely you are to make it the whole distance.

 

- Pre- event

Go active too soon and you may fall foul of the law, get arrested for being insane or looting etc.

 

- During event

 

Nature of event is random. Won't be clear immediately.

Tactical action. Survival is difficult, but this is going to be crucial to the later game, because this phase is where you accrue assets: other survivors, an immediate bolt hole, weapons, supplies. Go for the richest sources of each and you will come into more competition, and probably have to travel further.

 

- Bolt

 

Almost any event is going to involve an immediate phase of bolting. That means going to ground in a location that will permit basic needs to be maintained, such as sheltering you from volcanic ash, or smallpox victims. The bolt hole will make physical survival a bit easier. However, this is where you enter another tricky stage. A good short term bolt will be small, with plenty of ready food and water, and be occupied by only a couple of people. Your other group members will be a big issue. A disparate group from lots of backgrounds will be difficult to lead and control. They may freak out. they may try to kill you. They may be drunk or lazy or philosophers. You have to maintain yourselves, and somehow forge a working community.

 

- Intermediate existence

 

Survival in the mid-term will involve more than just food and water. Long-term psychological health needs space, and a working group dynamic. You need to decide how you are going to be organised, and make some tough decisions about whether you can cope with the only doctor's bad attitude, or the mechanic's criminal tendencies. If you choose to move locations at this stage the tactical situation could be extremely tricky. Do you encounter more survivors? Are they competitors or do they want to join? Do you want them?

 

- Long-term existence

 

In the long term we're talking about fully sustainable amenities and food. But we're also talking about the next generation. Will they grow up educated? Tribal warriors? Retro-democrats? Will they be able to maintain the loaction you have chosen? Will they try to overthrow your rule? You are also going to earn points based on long-term competition with other survivors. can you recolonise the country?

 

~~~

 

Ambitious, but it could perhaps be broken into chunks, with each release taking data from games from the previous stage. Eventually building into a total survival simulator.

[Oner]

It is important to never give up.

[Walsingham]

Cool cartoon, man. I'm showing that to my mum.

[Meshugger]

That cartoon was simply wonderful.

[Aristes]

I have to admit, I laughed out loud.

[Calax]

... why am I seeing the show "the colony" in my minds eye?

[Walsingham]

The Colony?

 

What dat?

[Blarghagh]

I love that Minus cartoon. I have a print of it framed in my living room.

 

Anyway, some of this description reminded me of the Stephen King adapted film "The Mist". Something like that would kick ass, because monsters are more fun to design than zombies are.

[Walsingham]

Good thinking. Monsters would be a cool scenario. Would that fall under a kind of Day of the Triffids feel, or The Leviathan Wakes? In the latter the monsters engage in planetary engineering.

[Calax]

The Colony?

 

What dat?

It's a show on Discovery about a group of people who are living as if the world ended. I only saw the Ads so I don't know how good it is, but apparently they had taken a string of Car batteries and used them to power every thing they needed, but the batteries dried out or something

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colony_(TV_series)

Edited August 7, 2009 by Calax

[Blarghagh]

Good thinking. Monsters would be a cool scenario. Would that fall under a kind of Day of the Triffids feel, or The Leviathan Wakes? In the latter the monsters engage in planetary engineering.

 

I'd answer this, but I don't know The Leviathan Wakes.

[Oner]

In the latter the monsters engage in planetary engineering.

You've got my attention.

[Walsingham]

Aliens come to Earth, at first they just attack shipping. Then it turns out the sea levels are rising. Basically it's about how an alien species could go about knocking the hell out of us and we'd be totally incapble of doing anything to stop them. Very very good.