Inspired by the recent Zombies edition of Retroforce, I decided to hearken back to the Dtoid features of old and do a Fake Game Friday article about an interesting game that could easily be modded into GTA IV. And yes, this basically plays off of the concept behind I Am Legend using my favorite of the various movie titles associated with that IP. Also, I know it's Thursday, but I didn't want to forget to post it on Friday, so whatever.

So the basis for the game is that it's set in a very large city (Liberty City would do just fine) that has been abandoned and overrun by nature. You start out the game believing that you are the only living survivor. Your goal is not simply to kill the creatures, but to eventually find a way to solve the zombie problem. A moral choice that could be made throughout the game is to choose to labor to uninfect the zombies (which may or may not be possible) or to work toward a mass extermination of zombies in hope that you could find survivors and repopulate. The game would really not have a good or bad ending since both solutions are equally justifiable.

One of the core mechanics of the game is a day/night system. Though it is a blatant ripoff, I find the thought that these creatures are only a threat in the absence to be fascinating. That is where the comparison to vampires ends though, it's pretty much zombies from here on out. The entire game is really based on this system. Will you spend your days scavenging for supplies in possibly occupied storehouses? Will you take on dangerous missions to gather crucial elements for your experiments? The most important aspect is that the entire world is persistent and that you can't simply rely on the same respawning caches.

The early game is really dependent on simple choices. Do you gather lots of food first to survive or lots of firepower? Do you spend all your time exploring or do you work on barricading a safehouse? Do you act in simple self-defense or are you aggressive? If you see a group of roaming zombies on a cloudy day, do you hightail it to your safehouse or attempt to kill them? Or maybe you stayed home that day.

The second main mechanic is the multiplayer. It is revealed early on that you were the mutant and that everyone else who had a normal gene pattern was infected, so you can never become infected, you can only be killed. However, you can have other players join your game and assist you in specific tasks or missions. You could split up to cover lots of ground or stick together to navigate a particularly tough stronghold. The really trick though is that they can be infected with a disease and unless they a) realize it and b) do anything about it, they randomly (and I mean without notice) turn into a zombie, lose control of the character, and the zombie attacks you. I think the best way would be to notify them when they are infected, but have the amount of time they can survive be random. This presents you with the classic choice: do you try and make it back to safety or shoot them on site (in effect discontinuing their gaming experience).

Also, another crucial element is a very simple but effective class system. Other players can join your game to fulfill a role that you have been lacking previously. Besides the traditional archetypes (Healer, Defender, Tank,Stealth) you could feature classes Scientist, Companion (basic abilities, but with boosts to health, regeneration and resurrection skills), and Strategist (think Reverend Anthony).

The game would also reward creativity and in effect offer you whatever you want. Do you want a mindless action game (no pun intended)? You got it. Maybe you're in the mood for a Zombie Apocalypse Simulator though? You got that too.

For instance, let's say you find a boat and decide to go out on the lake and live there. Obviously zombies aren't too great at traversing the nautical realm, but that choice comes with consequences. The zombies would eventually learn that you have to make regular landfall for supplies and plan a sort of ambush. Also, you would be limited on the amount of supplies you could take at a time.

I don't know if this is too ambitious of a game idea (especially for a mod), but I think as an MMO or just MO, this could be the perfect game. Any ideas on features that could make it better?