Creating the Narrative of ZombiU
At GDC 2013, Award-winning ZombiU writers Gabrielle Shrager (story design director, Ubisoft Montpellier) and Antony Johnston (New York Times best-selling graphic novelist and games writer) retraced the steps that led from 'just another zombie shooter' to a game rich with mythology, backstory, and narrative. The session discussed how various design decisions affected the use of narrative in the game.
The concept of Permadeath completely influences narrative designs, because of the consistant changing hands of characters. Once a character is bitten, they are dead forever. One of the main narrative problems came from crafting a 20 hour story that can be told through the eyes of several silent protagonists, and this is without repeating any eve…
ZombiU at GDC 2013
Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) is the world’s largest and longest-running gaming professionals industry event. The conference contains 400 lectures, panels, tutorials and round-table discussions on a comprehensive selection of game development topics taught by leading industry experts. GDC 2013 begins March 25th and lasts March 29th.
This year, ZombiU will be featured in it's own panel. The session summary can be found below. We would like to ask, is there any elements or details of this session that you would be interested in getting more information about? How about any questions that you would like answered? Let us know in the comments: we will be attending this session, and can help gather the answers you seek!
Another zombie game? Re…
ZombiU VS Video Game Zombies
ZombiU is a survival horror/action game developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and is one of the Wii U's launch titles. In 2012, the city of London has fallen victim to a large scale zombie apocalypse. A famed prophecy by astronomer John Dee called the Black Prophecy foresaw the large scale destruction beforehand. A no-nonsense, military man known simply as The Prepper helps lead various survivors out of the city. The player assumes control of randomly generated survivors at each life, and must escape the city with their lives.
The game could be considered a return to form of survival horror, but how does the game's features stack up against other zombie franchise games? Be sure to vote on which feature wins out.
5 Things You Need To Know About ZombiU
One of the biggest features about ZombiU is the use of randomly generated survivors. Players will assume control of vastly different randomly-generated survivors. These characters all have different ethnicities, ages, and occupations, and appearances. Their personal role in the zombie outbreak is limited, but their survival certainly isn't. ZombiU utilizes a permanent death feature. If the player character is killed in any manner, they will not return. Instead, the player will spawn as a brand new survivor at their last visited safe house. Be careful, when a survivor dies they drop their backpack full of all collected items. To get it back, the player must venture to the place of last death, and dispatch the zombified version of their last…
ZombiU Review Roundup
ZombiU is a survival horror launch title for the Wii U. Developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, the player assumes control of a various, randomly generated survivor as they attempt to escape the plague-ridden London. The game incorporates various uses of the new Wii U GamePad, with players needing to scavenge items, scan objects, and eliminate any undead opposition. The game includes a single player campaign and a multiplayer mode.
The verdict for ZombiU is in! And reception is divided all over the spectrum. To those who picked up the game, what are your thoughts? Do you feel criticism was too harsh, or not harsh enough? What elements of the game did you enjoy or not enjoy? Let us know in the comments!