Day Z

[Jonathan Meer]

Does anyone play? I just bought ARMA 2 purely because of all the hype around the mod. It's supposed to be brilliant, and sounds like exactly the sort of thing that would be tons of fun for Chubbs folk to band together and carve out a slice of rural Russia.

[Super Buu]

I've read about it and heard some amusing stories but it seems like more of a novelty thing. If I had ARMA already I'd definitely give it a go, but I'm not gonna drop that much money on something which, by the sounds of it, I'll start to get irritated with after a little while simply due to the limitations of a game which is made in someone's free time.

[Maruset]

I've actually been debating this for like a month. On the one hand it seems like an absolutely unique gaming experience and what I wish more zombie games were like,and on the other hand I see myself getting extremely frustrated at being sniped after I finally get something cool.

[Jonathan Meer]

I think it's a different mindset than a game like diablo. You recognize when you're playing that 'getting something cool' is transitory. You can't actually keep something forever, and everyone's grasp on life is short. There's no true ownership in the game. Anyone can reach into your pack and take something.

[Sage]

I'll be playing as soon as I build my new computer. Aw yeah!

[Orion]

I think it's a different mindset than a game like diablo. You recognize when you're playing that 'getting something cool' is transitory. You can't actually keep something forever, and everyone's grasp on life is short. There's no true ownership in the game. Anyone can reach into your pack and take something.

Id play but I won't let myself play a game where I can hike across a land for hours excruciatingly avoiding zombies only to get killed by a troll when I finally meet up with someone. The reward isn't worth the risk.

[Jonathan Meer]

I started a character last night. Began on a beach; no idea who I was, where I was, where I was going. I began walking north. After a half-mile, I came upon a small hamlet; five houses. I scoped the place out for the better part of ten minutes; there was a small cloud of zombies buzzing around it, but if I found a gap in their line, I may have been able to run forward and search for supplies. But just as I was steeling up to jump in, I heard a fevered cry to my left; a crouched zombie, merely ten feet away, was hammering its way toward me. I scrambled up and ran, and it chased me, and I ran: maybe a mile, under a bridge, through a small forest. Eventually I didn't hear it's chirps any more, and when I turned around, it was nowhere to be seen.

I rested, and walked on. I quickly came to a larger town; eight or nine houses and two barns. A larger cloud of zombies this time, but far more promise for supplies. Barns meant farmers and farmers meant guns. I needed to protect myself, then I could go about looking for food and water. I began my process again; scoping the place out, looking for a hole.

I heard a chirp behind me and whirled around to find a crouching zombie (that same one from before? Was it really out of sight?) biting into my neck; I panicked and ran forward into the town, leaving behind a steady stream of blood. The barn came before me, and I prayed that I would be able to shut its open doors, perhaps giving me enough time to bandage my open wound, but I instead found the doors far too heavy for me to move. The trail of zombies now alerted to my presence screeched and wailed behind me, as I ran up the stairs in the barn to the third floor, leaving a small twelve-foot standing area and a small window; too small to jump out of. As they slowly made their way up the stairs (thankfully they climbed slower than they ran), I began to make my peace and waited for what would come.

A small shine to the left caught my eye. A Winchester rifle. Fevered, I grabbed it and checked the ammo count: 30 bullets. The first zombie fell with a groan, but the following two were just behind it, and only one bullet was chambered. I jumped down the two stories, landing hard and with pain, and ran up the matching set of stairs on the other side of the barn. It was far worse than I thought; the barn was already filled with eight or nine zombies, and there were more chirps outside. Even with my newfound weapon, this did not look promising.

Then, I heard a human voice. "Don't shoot. Don't shoot! I'm a survivor! I'm coming!" I could barely believe my eyes, but a rather well-outfitted human came into the bar, ran up the stairs I had just left, and began shooting zombies with his own rifle. For two minutes, we made a pair; defending the separate entrances to the barn, an unspoken agreement between us. I was weak and almost delirious with blood loss, and my aim was not what it would have been, but I made a fair show of holding my own. Just a little further. Just a moment of respite and I can bandage my wounds and go about the long process of healing.

It was not to be. My vision doubled from blood loss, and there were too many coming toward me. I fell, and died. I don't know what happened to that man who came to help, but I hope he made it.

(The roleplaying aside (it's hard not to; this game is immersive as hell), this is a rather straightforward description of the actual gameplay; and my most recent death)

[Jonathan Meer]

Id play but I won't let myself play a game where I can hike across a land for hours excruciatingly avoiding zombies only to get killed by a troll when I finally meet up with someone. The reward isn't worth the risk.

Not a troll. A bandit. It's post-apocalyptic rural Russia. There will be some bad eggs.

[Jonathan Meer]

Me and Mario are playing tonight.

Noted here, since 'Hey Mario is playing' tends to be a pretty effective way of corralling people into playing a game

[Super Buu]

I enjoyed your story. There are certain games where yes, I dare anyone not to find themselves 'roleplaying'. If not then they are just anti-fun.

[Sage]

ATTENTION: I have Day Z now.

Shenanegans are expected. You should play it, or get it if you don't have it, and then play it. I'll probably be doing my very first game tomorrow.

[Maruset]

It does look fun watching people stream it. This fence, I teeter on it

[Ashe]

Just saw this. Yes, I have it and play it sometimes. Yes, you lose everything on a regular basis. The game isn't entirely about zombies, its about interaction with people after. We've had some of the most hilarious, never-to-occur-in-another-game moments I've ever seen in this game. Yes, most people are kill on sight to one another. I don't consider that trolling because a lot of people do it as a survival method as well. There's a very kill or be killed feel there and a lot of people will kill someone just to take food and water from their bags and move on, only because they were low on it themselves and didn't want to die. I love the game for that.

EDIT: If you are the type who is easily frustrated and feels that everything you find is your, should be tagged as yours, and is a series of growing power, then this is not the game for you because its not the "goal" of the game. Its the opposite - everyone is powerless, and scraping by with the minimum. Keeping a low profile has its strengths, as does having a large group of friends with a good camp of vehicles and copters, though someone can take those down as well.