KickStarter Dead State: Reanimated

[IHaveHugeNick]

I think MC being in charge of shelter was necessary for the player to feel that he actually has a reason to come back there. You just picked clean an entire supermarket, have enough supplies to sustain yourself for a year, you have a truck of DVDs, you have batteries for your Sasha Grey Special Edition Fleshlight. Why not just lock yourself up in a basement and be living a dream? Why even bother going back to shelter to do the bidding of some asshole leader?

 

[Lhynn]

So, you want every character be similar to Mia (stupid sister of that science chick)? If the characters were as stupid and illogical as they are in Walking Dead, then the game would've been even worse and practically unbearable. I hate this trope that in zombie apocalypse people magically become retarded (PTSD doesn't work that way), nobody is thinking straight and everyone is making stupid decisions. If anything, I'd wanted somewhat more capable people in my shelter, in the vein of that Vietnam Vet and Faggot Ranger. Instead I get rapist nerds and manipulative preachers and retarded alt-rock female singers.

Yeah, but theres no meaningful conflict there unless you are retardedly bad at the game. The basic idea is that there should be conflict no matter how good you are, because most factors arent actually controlled by you.

Not only that, if you have ever worked at an office youll get to see plenty of retards in action that would be absolutely doomed in case of an emergency. Heck, we all know how most women are. Imagine having a couple SJWs there.

Why not just lock yourself up in a basement and be living a dream? Why even bother going back to shelter to do the bidding of some asshole leader?

He has the cure, he holds a member of your family hostage, you are addicted to a drug, wont be able to survive withdrawal in the zombie apocalypse, only you know what he is capable of, everyone else thinks he is a good guy, they saved your life, he is the only doctor around and you are sick/received a transplant . Pretty sure you can come up with a reason to stick around.

 

[Mortmal]

See its forgettable but we are still talking about it!

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

That's because some weirdo made a mod that nobody here will even bother to install.

 

[Stainless Veteran]

Yeah, but theres no meaningful conflict there unless you are retardedly bad at the game. The basic idea is that there should be conflict no matter how good you are, because most factors arent actually controlled by you.

Not only that, if you have ever worked at an office youll get to see plenty of retards in action that would be absolutely doomed in case of an emergency. Heck, we all know how most women are. Imagine having a couple SJWs there.

See, I agree with you on that game needs more conflict and danger, but I think it should be external, like your shelter's inhabitants caught a bad case of dysentery and you desperately need antibiotics and such, like zombies can actually damage and trample your defenses and you need to make a perimeter of traps&pits, or like marauder groups who are actually dangerous and can bust your gate, and either try to kill all your people, or something more insidious, like poisoning the well or stealing your food, etc. Smarter enemies also would've made for more interesting combat, give them variety of roles and scripts in addition to new scenarios, and you'll get way more interesting game.

As for people being idiots - sure, but in WD and some other zombie fiction even leaders are idiots too, not just some randos. I just think, as centuries of war, famine, epidemics and such showed us, not only humanity in the whole, but individual people can both adapt and survive in most hostile environment. Those who live were staying alive not only just by dumb luck, but also by adapting, learning, and making the most from the shittiest situations. Sure, people can be stupid, but stupidest and unstablest of them will die very quickly in any apocalypse. All and all, I prefer not to manage stupid and irrational people in the game, I have enough of that in real life.

 

[Zombra]

I hate this trope that in zombie apocalypse nobody is thinking straight and everyone is making stupid decisions.

Yeah ... sorry man, that is the genre. Next you're going to say you wish all those murder mysteries didn't have people suspecting each other, why can't there be trust? You know what I hate about beach party movies, all that rock music and bikinis, why can't they have classical music and Victorian attire? Bartender, gimme another martini, I hate martinis, hurry up.

 

[Stainless Veteran]

I hate this trope that in zombie apocalypse nobody is thinking straight and everyone is making stupid decisions.

Yeah ... sorry man, that is the genre. Next you're going to say you wish all those murder mysteries didn't have people suspecting each other, why can't there be trust? You know what I hate about beach party movies, all that rock music and bikinis, why can't they have classical music and Victorian attire? Bartender, gimme another martini, I hate martinis, hurry up.

That's not the genre, that's just one of its tropes. You can have murder mysteries without closed rooms and 10 Little Negroes, as for beach movies - well, dunno, never ever watched one, but probably you can make a decent Victiorian comedy about a beach, which can cleverly play on usual cliches. Apocalyptic fiction themes can also vary, and "people behaving like retards" is just pervasive lazy writing, which allows for cheap conflicts.

 

[Zombra]

That's not the genre

Yes it is. But you be you, keep ordering those martinis and hoping you'll get one that was made wrong.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

There's no reason to argue, you're both right.

When George Romero made The Night of Living Dead and zombie genre (in it's current form anyway) was born, people acting like idiots was certainly a required and very unrealistic trope.

50 years later though? Half of adult women can't cook anything if microwave brakes, half of men have never done any physical or mechanical work, and have never been in a fight since kindergarten. 90% of people wouldn't be able to start a fire even if you gave them box of matches and gasoline. Zombie apocalypse is the world gone back to basics, and we've long forgotten the basics because we have a device or app for almost everything now.

I acctually think the game handled that part rather well. Older people or people in more traditional professions (trucker, soldier, cop, cook) where useful. Priest, office bureaucrat, stoner chick, a hippe were useless. It drove the point well without resorting to political agendas.

 

[Jimmious]

Yeah I prefer zombie movies/books where the people involved are somewhat competent and logical. I do not consider the opposite necessary for the genre. World War Z -THE BOOK- is a decent example of nice zombie fiction without too many retards doing stupid stuff all the time

 

[Turtle-Zone 3000]

So the Mitsoda's careers are dead with no chance of a comeback?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

So the Mitsoda's careers are dead with no chance of a comeback?

I suppose you say their careers are... In a dead state.

 

[Lhynn]

So the Mitsoda's careers are dead with no chance of a comeback?

This has been the case for over a decade.
Dead state fundamentally fails at what it sets out to do, by refusing to approach the material in the only way it could have succeeded. The reasons have been given by zombra and others.

 

[circ]

Dead State was lots of fun despite all the flaws. People keep forgetting that shit was made with 10% of funds PoE or WL2 had. There's only so much you can do with 300k. More unique locations without constant reuse of assets, more late game content and shelter events, couple of changes to combat and it could've been something amazing.

Since some people still seem to think KS funds actually fund game development for established studios - they don't. KS covers a portion of the advertising cost at best, the project relies on outside investment such as VC. This is why Fig came to be for example, to consolidate VC investment.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Yeah, they seem to be finished. Brian deserves better, but it's a brutal industry for a writer. One day you're working on a legendary classic like VTMB, but eventually that's done, and if the phone doesn't ring for a week or two, you start working on your own franchise of lesbian visual novels just to put food on the table.

 

[Lhynn]

Is marriage the worse thing that can happen to a creative soul?

 

[Mortmal]

That's because some weirdo made a mod that nobody here will even bother to install.

True that..

Yeah, they seem to be finished. Brian deserves better, but it's a brutal industry for a writer. One day you're working on a legendary classic like VTMB, but eventually that's done, and if the phone doesn't ring for a week or two, you start working on your own franchise of lesbian visual novels just to put food on the table.

Is it true he works on that now ? Maybe you are joking, but its very plausible in today's world.

 

[Stainless Veteran]

That's because some weirdo made a mod that nobody here will even bother to install.

True that..

Yeah, they seem to be finished. Brian deserves better, but it's a brutal industry for a writer. One day you're working on a legendary classic like VTMB, but eventually that's done, and if the phone doesn't ring for a week or two, you start working on your own franchise of lesbian visual novels just to put food on the table.

Is it true he works on that now ? Maybe you are joking, but its very plausible in today's world.

He means Annie's otome game.

 

[Mortmal]

That's because some weirdo made a mod that nobody here will even bother to install.

True that..

Yeah, they seem to be finished. Brian deserves better, but it's a brutal industry for a writer. One day you're working on a legendary classic like VTMB, but eventually that's done, and if the phone doesn't ring for a week or two, you start working on your own franchise of lesbian visual novels just to put food on the table.

Is it true he works on that now ? Maybe you are joking, but its very plausible in today's world.

He means Annie's otome game.

That's because some weirdo made a mod that nobody here will even bother to install.

True that..

Yeah, they seem to be finished. Brian deserves better, but it's a brutal industry for a writer. One day you're working on a legendary classic like VTMB, but eventually that's done, and if the phone doesn't ring for a week or two, you start working on your own franchise of lesbian visual novels just to put food on the table.

Is it true he works on that now ? Maybe you are joking, but its very plausible in today's world.

He means Annie's otome game.

That's really sad, worse than working on some lesbian visual novel. I bet it wasnt very successfull either, as if you have a look at steam forums, the only questions are if the game is like dead state. Ffew comments and they are likely from codex residents...

 

[Stainless Veteran]

That's really sad, worse than working on some lesbian visual novel. I bet it wasnt very successfull either, as if you have a look at steam forums, the only questions are if the game is like dead state. Ffew comments and they are likely from codex residents...

~150k vs 744, so "it's not being very successful" is an understatement.

 

[Morality Games]

I suspect the 'goofy' visual novel was just a trial for a future, more appealing visual novel.

 

[Roguey]

Speaking of Brian's career, I've been waiting for the proper segue to gossip about this twitter thread Annie made a few months back.

Dunno if my dumb story helps here but like - when having issues w/ my first marriage my (soon to be ex) was like - talk to this lady -

She had written a bunch of books and I was like fine, ok It cost $75 for 30 min of her time ON THE PHONE she kept talking about HERSELF

My favorite part was when she said the person I liked, "who worked on computers," must be obsessed with porn cuz "everyone in computers is"

I was like um my current partner is also and so am I I don't even think she heard me because she kept talking about her own accomplishments

The ONE PIECE OF WORTHWHILE ADVICE I got from her was that 2 things cannot be resolved in a marriage: kids & religion. Thanks for that, $75

Anyhow. Eventually I found a GREAT therapist. Diagnosed my anxiety disorder AT LAST. It felt great. You'll get there. We're rooting for you.

You see, some years back I was cracking wise in a Dead State thread about Brian cucking Annie's ex-husband based on the tone of their 00s myspace comments while she was still married. She politely requested I not talk about such matters in a PM, and part of her reasoning was that she was concerned such talk would hurt Brian's career. I happily agreed, because I love polite requests and it's not a problem for me not to talk about something. However, since she's talking about it now so openly and casually, I figure Brian's career won't be affected either way and my NDA has expired. All right, carry on.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Jesus Christ Roguey, you're the biggest weirdo I've ever met on the Internets, and I knew a guy who traveled from UK to Canada to try and fuck a girl who was freshly out of brain surgery.

 

[Zombra]

Jesus Christ Roguey, you're the biggest weirdo I've ever met on the Internets, and I knew a guy who traveled from UK to Canada to try and fuck a girl who was freshly out of brain surgery.

Please don't talk about such things in public as they may hurt my career.

--------

Seriously though, quite a revelation. I don't know whether to be disappointed for Brian's private life or excited that he'll get some of his single guy sex repression back and write it into a new game.

Ohhhh I get it.

 

[Roguey]

I don't know whether to be disappointed for Brian's private life or excited that he'll get some of his single guy sex repression back and write it into a new game.

There's been an error in communication here. Their current marriage is fine.