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My Fourth of July was spent taking it easy (this is a chic phrase for slacking). I've been on a horror kick lately, and I haven't seen a Nightmare on Elm Street film for at least 5 years, so I borrowed a few from a friend and settled down for some bloody camp and bad dreams. Maybe they were scary in the eighties and nineties, but as a hardcore horror fan, I was only enjoying them because I was remembering them as I watched. I found them most non-frightening when Freddy Kreuger was onscreen, or even worse, when he had actual dialogue. (When were catchphrases EVER cool for evil demons?)
As usual, after watching a horror film that I thought could have been more than it was, my inner mental gibbering immediately started on how horror isn't what it used to be -- it isn't scary, why can't someone do something decent, and thank God there's a Silent Hill series at my disposal when I want to remember what it's like to be afraid. As I headed into the kitchen, the topic of horror flourishing in games blended into another idea before I even realized what I was thinking of. Would I play a horror MMO? Hit the jump for the diatribe. You know, I would. HOLY COCKS YES I would. Immediately, all the secondary ideas came to mind. How would it work? Would people want to log in to a consistently frightening world? Why would it be frightening? Could an idea like Event Horizon's haunted ship be translated into an entire dimension? Bioshock has definitely got the idea -- The Rapture should unnerve many an explorer. However, that's an FPS adventure...and would greatly differ from the logistics of a dynamic world.
One major point of difference is that a horror is rarely a social experience, whereas MMOs thrive on the interactive aspect. Some gamers would say that one difference kills it off before the idea even gets started, but somehow this clash makes me more interested. Could it be possible to play with other people, but only through a complex system (you must rescue a friend or undo a curse before you can play with them)? Would an MMO that made you work to gain interactivity push players to work for it, or simply shut off their PCs in frustration?
Another common complaint of MMO players is that all they do is grind and that the games lack an emotionally engaging story. Perhaps an MMO in a post-apocalyptic setting could kill two birds with one stone -- creating a backdrop of consistent unease and fear while telling a story that all human beings can relate to the terror of. Add in zombies and you could be playing 28 Days Later Online. Imagine the pressure of having to avoid being infected every time you logged in to play, or permanently losing your character if he or she was.
I would like to see the MMO genre electrified, as even consistent WoW players admit to boredom or quitting the game because they just aren't having fun anymore. Bioware claims to be making an online title focused on "story, character and emotion", which gives us something to look forward to. When I think about playing a game that would keep me on the edge when I played, unsure of what could happen each time I logged in, I think that just might be the thing to make me interested in MMOs again. The question is, How do you execute it to strike the ideal balance between fear and playability? I don't have answers for my questions yet, but I do know I'd be off to the game store like a shot to get a title like this. Hell, if I still went to Gamestop I might even reserve the damn thing out of excitement. Would you do the same, or would it still be just another excuse to spend 60 hours a week not having a life?
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I dunno about an MMO.
Something more along the lines of Left 4 Dead, would be better, in my opinion.
I would not play most MMO games, as they are boring.
A horror MMO game could alieviate that problem, but only if it were awesome.
I was playing Resident Evil 4 on the Wii today, Mercinaries mode, and it never stopped being frightening. To hear that chainsaw rev up, not knowing how close it was, to then see your character's head suddenly severed from his body, that never stopped being that fun sort of scary that you get from good horror movies.
I would go for that in a MMO game, but I'd just as likely go for in off line.
I doubt I'd pay to play any MMO. However, a horror-based one would be somewhat tempting. As you guys/gals know, ghoulies are a soft spot of mine -- Krueger is at the top of that list.
I'm still appalled at the lack of a proper zombie MMO. And no, Urban Dead doesn't count.
You know, the world is lacking zombie games in general. Dead Rising remains the only one that's even made a blip on the radar since...what...the cancelled Land of the Dead tie-in game?
All I know is, if grinding meant eating brains, I'd play that shit.
I'd buy that for a dollar!
Zombies. A game with zombies. Please. Come on. Let's go already. Jesus.
A horror-genre MMO would be pose challenge to game developers. I liked the 28 Days Later MMO idea, and would probably play it if nicely executed.
But on the whole I think horror-genre games are better when you're playing it either alone or in small groups. The problem with MMO's I think is that it will dilute the horror experience since you have a lot of people in your party a la WoW. What makes horror games good is that you know you're alone, and no one is there to cover your back, and you don't know where the monster or whatever will pop up.
No. But then, I don't play MMOs in general. I could definitely see the appeal of it though, possibly more so than all the generic MMOs saturating the market these days.
Think of this:
[list]
[*]Opening scene.
[*]EULA Agreement
[*]Login Screen
[*]Realm select
[*]Character select
[*]Character create
[*]CHOOSE YOUR SIDE: ZOMBIE OR HUMAN
[/list]
screw bbcode.
nick brutal: i was just discussing the same thing with some friends over the weekend. man i hop they make one.
Hell no. There is now way you can get immersed into a feeling of suspense and terror when there are idiots around you saying spamming things like "OMGHAXORWTFBBQLOL". Either that or offering you sex.
I'd play this horror MMO in a heartbeat.
>>cancelled Land of the Dead tie-in game?<<
Huh? It wasn't canceled. I even played it.
one is in the works :)
http://www.exanimusthegame.com/
If I got to play something like Dead Rising, knowing that every crushed zombie skull resulted in someone miles away cursing and screaming, I think I might. It sounds mean, but the thought of that kind of mass pissoffery makes me giggle. ^_^
Can someone please explain to me why I have an obsession with zombies? And, it seems like there are quite a few of you on dtoid that are fanatics of zombies also. I know it is nice to blow up their heads, and it is always wonderful to become an undead and attack your friends and families. But it still doesn’t fully justify this ridicules obsession I have with zombies.
I guess my question is, how come nothing else (vampires, werewolves) come close to how fun zombies are?
wife made me see dark chocolate so if your into wolves like me rent it... since were talking about horror
cancelled Land of the Dead tie-in game?
I work for the company that made that game
@RWarrior1CO
My mistake, it was the Dawn of the Dead game that got canned ("City of the Dead"). You're right, the Land of the Dead game, Road to Fiddler's Green, did in fact come out.
@BlueWolf72:
You've intrigued and mildly aroused me.
@th0mas28
We are built this way by design. It is better not to question the grand scheme of things, but just to fall in line.
Hmmm..I'll be honest, I'd play it. But the problem is, i think in most horror, the fear is driven by plot, and most MMOs Don't really have a big plot. Sure, they may have a slight one, but not one that drives itself to fear. Also, the big fear in Horror is that you'll die. In a MMO, you die, you respawn. It's like makeing a horror Deathmatch game, if that makes sence. No threat, no fear.
maybe because being a zombie seems within a certain realm of possibility?
idk, but there's just something about seeing a huge population of zombies shuffling towards a small group of survivors quickly running out of ammo as they discover one of their friends is bitten and turns that is pretty awesome.
i remember resident evil did a big coop thing online where if you were bitten and not killed, you could turn into a zombie without the antidote in time.
Was it Kojima who had the crazy idea for a mmo zombie game with perma-death? I remember someone talking about it, and everyone saying he was nuts.
So should this hypothetical game just be a straight up zombies versus humans affair, or would there be various classes on each side? What would those classes be?
Think of all the different classes there could be on the undead/monster side of things. The could be the Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers like tanks, or the Freddy Krueger or Warlock like mage types, or Victor Frankenstein or Herbert West like healer types. Then there could be the more exotic types like Pinhead or Chucky or the Blob or whatever, as well as the old stand-bys like vampires or werewolves or mummies or the like.
The only potential downside to a game like this would be... who the hell would want to play on the human side? Then again, I guess they could beef up the humans, too. Maybe throw in some Van Helsing like monster hunters, or some sterotypically badass military types, or priests, or maybe an Ash class, and so on and so forth.
If a game like this came out that allowed me to custom create and play as a Pyramid Head-type monster or as something akin to Nyarlathotep, I would even consider giving it a try myself, despite my general distaste for MMOs. That would be so badass if it were done right.
And this is just me spouting ideas off the top of my head culled from basic horror movie stereotypes. Imagine what this could be like with a really imaginative variety of types of monsters and the proper game world setting and ambiance to make it truly work.
...
...
Then again, I think of what Agent Nixon said, and imagine something like a bunch of characters standing around all saying things like "hay guyz lvl 3 fredy kruger lfg" or "ur playin a soccubus r u female wanna cyber?" or "omg cthulu class is so borken dey should nerf it" and such. That would irreparably kill the mood and make it suck, but I'm not sure how it could be avoided.
@th0mas28: My own love of zombies comes from the shambling. And the limited, "brains"-centered vocabulary. And the simple motive -- all they want is freakin' brains. That's it. Zombies want brains, and you've got 'em. Ergo, they must die.
Exanimus dude. Look it up, it's late and I'm too lazy to link.
I think a horror MMO would work quite well, at least as a setting. As to actual horror and the player, alot of the elements that make a horror game work rely on the player being alone against the environment. Kinda like the first time I played as a marine in AVP, hearing the aliens in the ductwork all around me and not knowing where they were going to come from.
I'd love a victorian set gothic horror themed MMO. Hell, *ANY* MMO theme that dosn't involve fantasy creatures grinding out hours in the desert of despair looking for the widget of woe that only spawns off of the rare kancho oni which 72 other players are camping in order to sell online. Give me a different setting, any setting at all.
Fuck the elves.
@im ok: about what agent nixion said, two words.
frendly fire.
of course. then everyone would be constantly killing one another. and if its permament death then its like one giant elemination game. although it would easily replicate people going crazy and indescriminatly killing if there was a real zombie attack.
*gasp*
I have to agree with the people that are questioning how one could include player interaction without breaking the atmosphere. My first impulse is to mute everyone, making them communicate through a series of elaborate emotes, but something tells me that wouldn't be awesomesauce.
Personally, I would think a zombie versus human mmo would just be bad ass. And as for what Im Ok said, I believe there are other ways to persuade a person into playing as a human. Those being that only humans can use guns, humans would be faster, humans can squeeze into places such as ventilation shafts etc. That and the whole survival thing would make the player want to play as a human or at least think twice about it.
I really don't like MMO's but I'm pretty sure I'd be interested in a horror related MMO. Because anything horror related would interest me. :)
Horror MMO huh, sounds like fun.
As long as there are no instance areas.
Humans can't talk to zombies or monsters and vice versa.
There are areas that only humans or zombies can access.
Large city like environments that have buildings people can actually enter.
Zombie ambush for the win.
And other cool stuff.
I think there would have to be lots of NPC zombies Just to make sure that humans don't ever outnumber zombies. Or you could do the winnable server thing.
I don't know how well it would work. The most horrific aspect to MOST really scary horror films or games is the feeling that you (or the main character) is completely alone. Take, for instance, 'Dream Warriors', NOES's third installment. I love that movie. But not because it's scary. And one of the reasons it wasn't scary is because no one was truly alone. There was the big gang of misfits. Sure, they all got picked off like a game of Duck Hunt, but the "safety in numbers" thing has a definitely smidge of truth to it.
Now - a merely online game that WASN'T massive-multiplayer? Or MAYBE making a game that's free to play if you're a monster, but you have to pay to be an actual "good guy" so that maybe there's a disparity in favour of the monsters that the "good guys" have to fight? That might work. Sort of like that Vampire/Werewolf browser-based game. It wasn't what I'd call scary, though.
A 28 days later MMO could work. Part of that storyline is to survive on your own, or find a group of survivors to stay with. You could help each other stay alive or throw them to the rage.
There's also the constant search for weapons and food. I think this is all the makings of a good MMO.
Though after the 10,000th time of being chased, hiding, bashing/shooting zombies, it might get boring. The game or story would need some type of increasing challenge built in. Not sure how though...
I like browser-based games better, it's easier getting by with playing them at work. :)
Waiting for MurderMotel.com to come out of Beta. That should be cool.
Anyone tried The Ship? It's a Steam game based on the HL2 engine.
Isn't CCP working on a World of Darkness MMO after buying out White Wolf? Couple of years down the line, you might have what you're looking for. And there's Hellgate: London, of course, but that doesn't qualify as a true MMO in many people's eyes.
I think the best way to pull this off would to have NPC Zombies and then the players are the people. There are NO levels for the players to obtaine, that would be kinda gay in a game like this. When your Char dies, hes dead forever. The way that a person compares himself to other people is the amount of places he has explored, the weapons he has, the amount of time he has logged, and zombies killed. The reason i say there should be no levels is because perma death isnt so bad. Still bad just not something you would want to kill yourself over. You would lose weapons and quests/missons you compleated, thats it. I do like the idea of having to earn the social interactive side of it by "rescuing a friend". To keep party numbers low, they could take aspects from the Guild Wars system. These are just my thoughts on it.
I think we need a vampire MMO. Something with all the traditional lore, myths, etc. surrounding it.
But, alas, I dream...since nobody has even made a damn classic vampire game of any sort, yet. Just a bunch of cheap knockoffs that don't even begin to touch on vampires, as traditionally thought by most people.
A horror MMO is already being created. It was announced just around E3 last year. It's called Exanimus. It's a Zombie based MMO where players can choose to be human or a Zombie. Check it out at http://www.exainmusthegame.com. There is also a wiki for the game at http://exanimus-wiki.com
honestly, I'd play it if it a guild wars approach (not combat system-- world system) with some modifications. You'd not have the open and vivid world, but you WOULD only have a few people around to help you out in the instanced missions, leaving the claustraphobia. You could even have classes or characters that had no combat capability whatsoever, but would be able to do things like heal or use computers (a doctor, a nerd) which characters like cops or military would have to protect. These characters would have to solo by sneaking around, but could get EXP based on what they do-- not how much time they spend killing stuff. You could even do sizes instead of races, so smaller characters could sneak through air ducts or tight areas and zombies could sneak in the same way. Larger characters could break through doors or throw things, allowing bigger characters to bar off doorways and bigger zombies to smash the barricades down easier.
On top of that you could have combat-heavy battle areas where there were a lot more people and zombies, explorable land space, and that are there for specific objectives. Imagine being the lone nerd in a group of 10 military guys that are trying to hack a communications center that's overrun. "LFM for Zombie Mall, have lockpicker and doctor, gonna go get chainsaws..."
I've thought about a zombie mmo quite a bit. I think a good way to go would be like how Gunz Online is set up. You pick a class(medic, cop) such as that, and join small groups. The leader of the group chooses the settings. Different modes, how difficult, the setting, how many people, things like that. You could also buy weapons and armor at a shop before entering the game.
For example: 8 players, hospital setting, survival mode. The objective is to survive. Someone posing as a scout reports that a massive number of zombies are headed in the direction of the hospital, one of the last few safe havens within the city. There are some medical supplies, but ammunition is low. Within an hour, the zombies are in sight. Set up barricades, traps, and other such obstacles, then wait till they're in range and let loose. The players must work together in order to keep the zombies at bay, for if they manage to break in, all is lost, since there is no longer a barricade holding them back, and several bites could mean the end of your existence as a human, and the beginning for a zombie.
I really think something like that would work pretty well. What do you guys think?
Just the two of us~~~ *sings*
It's pretty scary that we both like scary games and that I am going to rape you in about 40 minutes and then make you watch me eat delicious cake... BWHAHHAHA!
A zombie MMO is running right now - browser based even. It's called [url=http://www.urbandead.com]Urban Dead[\url]
[url=http://www.urbandead.com/Urban Dead[/url]
damn bbcode
http://www.urbandead.com
copy n paste ftw
i think a 3d zombie mmo would be fun, and the sokution to the crowds thing is simply this in my opinion, instances of areas, limit it to X number of peeple per area and each party gets their own separate instance of that area. you get the horror experience and the mmo experience, everyone wins:P