Zombie MMO! Hell Yeah!
Welcome, zombie fans!
And MMO fans.
Oh, and of course console gaming fans.
And if you don’t fall into one of those categories, you are welcome to hang out anyway if you are console-zombie-MMO-curious.
Today Undead Labs proudly announces… well, our existence. Here’s the official word.
So what’s this site all about? Well, you’ll notice a few non-traditional things going on here.
First, the name of the studio. It’s not “Grumpy Gopher Games” or “Silver Platter Studios” or some generic name that can be applied to any kind of game. Traditional thinking is that your studio name should be genre-neutral, the rationale being that even if you want to make a game about the rotting undead today, in five years you might want to make a pet monkey simulator, and you don’t want to tie your name to a genre.
Um, yeah. Honestly, if we decide to make a pet monkey simulator in a few years, we’ll start a studio called MönkeyWerks or something. This studio is all about making the ultimate zombie apocalypse game, so we are Undead Labs.
You’ll also note that this website is very “blog like” in its layout and focus on news-style content. The fact is that we don’t have a game to put in your hands today, or a marketing team insisting on a “marketing focused” website, so right now the focus of our website is to let you know how it’s going.
We plan to be very transparent during the development process, and to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the early life of a new development studio and the process of bringing a triple-A MMO (or, MMOZ) to life. It’s too early to build a real game community, so hang out here if you are into the behind-the-scenes stuff. If you just want to hear about the game, file all of this in your “cool stuff to check into later” box and we’ll be sure to make some noise when the time is right.
For now, you can expect a few posts a month with features on the studio, the development process, design direction, the industry, and so on. A great way to keep up with new articles is to click that big orange RSS button at the top of this page, or you can just click here to subscribe. We’d also like to encourage you to be part of the Undead Labs community by sharing your thoughts on the articles we post (after reading the Lab Etiquette Guidelines, of course). Many of the initial articles will be written by me, but as new developers come onboard you’ll be hearing from them as well.
Thanks for reading. We look forward to getting to know you. Stay tuned.
Jeff
This was a very professional way of saying ” Let the Carnage begin!!!”
Love the concept love the execution even as it (doesn’t yet) stand. Tap me for banner-waving, button-making, and hysterical pointing and screaming.
congratulations and good luck:) be sure to make another good game.
Are we talking a 3rd Gen MMO or one modeled after the 2nd Gen? By that I mean, are we going to see more interactivity in the world. More interactivity in combat, including combination attacks where one person might use one attack and another uses something different and they combine to create something wholly unique and awesome looking? Half Sandbox where yes, quests are available but you can progress how you want. Scaling dungeons (I suppose dungeons will be large buildings) based on level and number of characters. A more dynamic leveling system, allowing you to choose a base class, then skills from that class and then talent trees or some additional advancement system for those skills? Unique crafting and player housing — maybe even housing you need to defend every so often?
This is bold and awesome new territory for MMOGs! Looking forward to seeing more from you all! =D
Maybe it will take a Jeff Strain classic to actually get me to buy a console. Could be…. could be.
Good luck making what could possibly be the only MMO that I would actually play! I wish you all nothing but the best!
Lots of slow zombies please…
Good luck with it. Zombie MMO, sounds like a no-brainer (pun intended as soon as I noticed it).
I cannot wait to see more on this and for this to hit markets! I have been dreaming of this announcement for a very long time… Thank you!
This is fantastic! I’m rooting for your guys.I have a plethora of questions to ask, It would be nice if you guys had a think tank for the public where people can express what they’d like to see or expect from your game. (frankly I’m anxious for an FPS style MMO ala Huxley A. cause FPS you can still scare the bejesus out of players and B. I don’t think I’ll ever see the birth of Huxley anytime soon =( or a beautiful MMOFPS)
The closer to Dead Rising you get, and farther from Left3Dead, the better
Can’t wait for the PS3 version
Thanks for all the comments and good vibes, folks. I’ll keep a watch on the questions you ask and try to write a summary post with some answers in the next day or two.
Aw come on man. Console only? You should be making it cross platform for something like this. I’ve been waiting for a Zombie MMO for a long time, but now my PS3 is fried. Good luck with it I guess.
My friends and I have been waiting for a game like this for years. We’ve talked through the whole thing before — bases, level systems, and of course fast vs. slow zombies (I’d love to see some medium-speed ones, as in they move quickly once they know you’re there, but really, how fast can something move with rotten legs?).
This would be so awesome. If you put up a place for ideas anytime soon I’ll be one of the first to post.
I am so excited; good luck!
Oh very nice, I’ve been wanting to see a zombie MMO for awhile. The idea I had was that you, as a survivor can go to a building and barricade it and scrounge up (respawning) materials like food, ammo, or weapons, to help your character stay fed and alive. If you die, you switch sides and become a zombie and try to kill survivors… after a day or two as a zombie (or logged out), you could opt to become alive again if you wanted to.
Another feature i thought about would be that your character would stay in play for a period of time after you log off…
I would love to see what kind of game gets made out of this though. This is one kind of MMO that seems like it would work but hasn’t really been done yet. I’m definitely gonna keep looking at this.
On behalf of zombies everywhere I would beseech you to pay attention to “the zombie survival guide”, in particular the section that talks about the speed at which zombies are capable of moving. We are SLOW!
I think being transparent during the development process with day by day input will keep every idea fresh, this is fun!
this is a dream come true. if done right this may be the GREATEST game ever. Even better then RE4 or fallout 3. speaking of which i think fallout 3 would be a good basis for how you play the game. you can play in either first or third person and the control were phenomenal.
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. I’m thinking “Grand Theft Auto meets L4D…” I’ll be following this closely [gets out his zombie survival guide] Can’t wait.
Game suggestion:
As a person goes from choking a zombie with a backyard swing to having access to draw up a bridge to blockade part of a city there should be no difference in health nor damage. Every person should have the right to say they have experience with certain things. Instead of finding the best weapon in the game, you should be able to stick with a weapon you like and over time your proficiency with that weapon will be a show. Your proficiency will change the way you:
-Attack with it(how it’s handled slowly or fast, ect.)
-How quickly you recover with it (reloading a gun, the drawing back of your knife to a zombie chest, ect.)
Example: you pick up a hand gun that you found in a dresser drawer. When you first start using it you don’t grasp the concept of it right away. So you fire it and the kick back is tremendous that is when your proficiency goes up because you just learned to handle that gun more firmly so that it wont kick back as hard. Then you eventually gain a point on reloading when you learn what bullets it uses and how to reload it.
Summary: instead of leveling, the more you do something the better you get at doing it, giving people a purpose in the scarred cities of the world
YESSS!
As a huge, dawn of the dead, evil dead, left4dead, dead rising, and zombie fan in general.
As a Washingtonian, growing up in the bothell/woodinville/seattle areas.
As a console gamer…
I must say
YOU ARE SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE!!!
Thank God we need more zombie games…L4D is great but it is not the same type of genre we need. You need to beable to use your knowledge or knowledtge from the book “Zombie Survival Guide” and L4D doesnt have that. I would love PC port if possible but i understand new companies are limited…I rather see a great Xbox360 game than an alright Xbox360, PS3, and PC game.
I think it was only a matter of time until a zombie mmo was created, what with the lore and popularity. I hope you guys can bring it to life in all the exciting gameplay it has the potential to be.
There’s just so many ways you could take it… I hope there’s an opportunity to play as a zombie aswell – I think there’s something horribly entertaining about being among the undead ranks against human survivors. Anyway, whatever way you take it, I’m looking foward to it!
I’m excited about the concept nearly regardless of the direction game play takes.Looking forward to more info!
“Instead of finding the best weapon in the game, you should be able to stick with a weapon you like and over time your proficiency with that weapon will be a show.”
sooo, basically Tallahassee from “Zombieland” huh Justin? =P
Loving the idea, I’m a big fan of the zombie genre as well, and honestly I’m hoping to see some great stuff from yall. Here’s hoping to a forum being released soon though!
Dear zombie labs
congrats on the career path on this epic exclusive no brainer
i would like to note since this is a console game i was wondering what are your future endeavours will you have servers up when needed
since you may be a eager willing determined company you must know your markets as world of war craft is biggest in the world but censored in certain country’s not suitable for sale in australia and banned in chine, even further endeavours from [valve] it became a nightmare for them selling in Australian due to classification rules of poor rating system same foe Germany.
Infact i support your idea as generic is SO COMMON THESE DAYS all you can do is try,
my question is since with all these rules and legislations on what should be implied or not…. what rating will your game have and will you have adequate servers for country’s you may not wish to time consume your self with as this is early days you will be suprised how many poeple would support an idea like this! question is will zombie labs see the future maybe not as it is fine, im just assisting you on what would be promising “servers” or a subscription fee to keep servers in these country’s so you do not loose out, and what will the rating system be [g][pg][m][ma][r]
well as i said at the top congrats on the ambition
This is Awesome, so excited!! I don’t know why this kind of game hasn’t been picked up seriously until now.
They directions you could go with this game are limitless. Im glad that you’ll be including the consumer every step of the way. This will nurture the fan-base while giving you feedback about the game every step of the way. Which is why Im surprised there are no forums!
I hope they have special zombies, like the more people you kill and infect gives you more power and allows to get abilities. Increased speed, jump height, health, zombie vision (allows to sense where survivors are), and strength.
Also, I hope survivors can build shelters- reinforce windows, build fences, automatic turrets, surveillance systems… Its easy to have a class system for survivors- Electronics Expert, Handyman, Marine, Medic, etc.
Oh man I want to make this game!
*sigh* if only you were making it for PC gamers as well.
Zombies and Jeff Strain – sounds like a great combination of Braaains!
I know you guys will kick ass and take names – and this is a genre that just NEEDS to be owned.
-jg
I’ve never been more excited about a videogame…ever!
I’ll be keeping a clear eye on this game’s development. And you already have this customer in the bag for sure.
ZOMG I LOVE YOUR GROUP already! T_T i am crying with joy bcuz i love zombie games for life T_T thank you guys so much! i swear to god, you guys just made my day hearing this lovely news T_T! you guys should make a zombie rts! that would be amazing!
I’ve been waiting for this since I beta tested the original Everquest. Amazing, I cannot wait. Please send me a beta invite!
—
Subject: Justin
Date Recorded: November 23, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Game suggestion:
As a person goes from choking a zombie with a backyard swing to having access to draw up a bridge to blockade part of a city there should be no difference in health nor damage. Every person should have the right to say they have experience with certain things. Instead of finding the best weapon in the game, you should be able to stick with a weapon you like and over time your proficiency with that weapon will be a show. Your proficiency will change the way you:
-Attack with it(how it’s handled slowly or fast, ect.)
-How quickly you recover with it (reloading a gun, the drawing back of your knife to a zombie chest, ect.)
Example: you pick up a hand gun that you found in a dresser drawer. When you first start using it you don’t grasp the concept of it right away. So you fire it and the kick back is tremendous that is when your proficiency goes up because you just learned to handle that gun more firmly so that it wont kick back as hard. Then you eventually gain a point on reloading when you learn what bullets it uses and how to reload it.
Summary: instead of leveling, the more you do something the better you get at doing it, giving people a purpose in the scarred cities of the world
—
I actually really, REALLY like this idea, maybe with the class system too. Sort of reminds me of Guild Wars with firearms (which isn’t a bad thing).
I’m very curious to see how this turns out. I’m judging that you all ready have a plan in place, so, besides saying Justin’s got a cool idea, I won’t pretend to know how to implement any of that. XD
I’ll be stalk- err, watching this page closely.
-Silver Dreamer
On another note. Will the game give the player NPC’s that they can populate a town with or control? Like after you reach a certain level or do a certain rescue mission will that mean you gain a NPC into your colony/base or will bases be like WoW in that the NPC’s are already there?
I have been dreaming of this moment for years! I have been a zombie fan since Resident evil came out and have always dreamed of this moment. I always thought to myself”Like that will ever happen” and yet here we are. I would love to beta test when you get to that point and will be buying your game without question. Good luck and remember to keep an eye on your community, listen to them as I know you will.
Wow.I just want to say WOW! And no I do not mean that other game.
I love zombies, games, movies, books, anything really and I must say that this game is something I look forward to with great interest! The gaming scene needs more zombies.
Subject: A concerned zombie Date Recorded: November 23, 2009 at 3:18 pm On behalf of zombies everywhere I would beseech you to pay attention to “the zombie survival guide”, in particular the section that talks about the speed at which zombies are capable of moving. We are SLOW!
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Good reference for Zombie survival Guide. Another good reference point for both zombie mechanics and Character development would be Max Brooks other book World War Z. if there are not characters you want to root for and against the game could fall flat. AKA – House of the Dead
Topic: How did we get our Zombies: Military, Industrial Scientist, Arcane Voodoo Magic, Hell why not all 3
I’ve always dream of a, Zombie MMO, I wish I could work with these guys on it. I always thought of it as, a small town has an outbreak and it’s up to the players to stop it before it spreads in real time, even if one single zombie becomes lose you can become screwed and have a massive outbreak on your hands to contain
every town/city/country would have a certain of amount of people who have not been torn with the disease
this could be brilliant as long as it’s not instances ..which it probably will be for a console which would suck..i think it should be seamless
I have been reading the interviews, and articles and find this to be some refreshing news. A Zombie MMO that tackles more than just the day after.
Don’t get me wrong, everything hinges on what you do the day after, but looking ahead to the coming weeks and months is just as important.
One of your answers resonated with me and my friends, we often sit down and talk our strategy to the impending Zombie Apocalypse, and I look forward to this game helping to explore those strategies.
Can’t wait to see more,
Die Hard Fan
I am also thinking to viral marketing for this game can be great. It should be similar to, Cloverfield , and assign people to either join a resistance or build safety camps for survivors
I think the key to any zombie game is survival/rescue/Mutation evolution/science
What if characters can play as rouge survivors. Attacking other humans to take food, supplies and shelter from. Akin to the Marauders from Mad Max 2, or the bikers in the original Dawn of the Dead. It would creat a great dynamic for building guilds. Hell, these gangs would be just as deadly as the Zombies
This could be the first MMO that I would be interested in for more than 10 minutes… Done right this would rock, Good Luck!
Ya I really support this company…im a gamer, i work a store that works with nothing but gamers…so i know what the people want
I’ve got plenty of ideas to share with you, and so you want to make the best zombie MMO? well ill be sticking around to help you out ;p
LogicProphet totally agree with you on, ” have a plethora of questions to ask, It would be nice if you guys had a think tank for the public where people can express what they’d like to see or expect from your game.” I thin it would be sweet if it had the choice between FPS and TPS, the TPS camera style should be like that on SOCOM. The list of ideas can go on and hopefully there will be some kind of like blog or forum to post our ideas.
I wish Undead Labs nothing but the best and hopefully this MMO comes to undead life, lol, I know, lame pun, couldnt come up with something. Peace.
The assumed game is player-humans vs. the undead, but I say poo on that! Zombie player characters! The days of the mindless slouchers are numbered. I need stiffs with prosthestics, ghouls with guns, and zombie ninjas.
I really love your guys idea of zombie mmo game.
I hope there is some kind of system that you can take over your own house and leave your charter sleeping there when you go offline. Stacking up and getting food should also included in game but not too mutch that it wont take too mutch fun out of it.
If this game would be some were between a fusion of WoW, L4D, Dead Rising, Zombieland, and any other great zombie occurrence, I think it’d be the best dang thing ever. One comment though, what if you had factions, humans vs. zombies. Now that’d be sweet. And if this thing is going to be open world, heck that’d be sweeter. Well since its an MMOZ i guess it will!
Sounds great! I’m looking forward to keeping up with this game.