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Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

No really, it’s not a story, it’s true…

 
I have yet to finish my First Story here on the site. Yeah, I’ve got four ‘stories’ already published (if you count the unpublished, but finished, Five Pin Code) – but those were things I did in a futile attempt to stay sane while working on my first game.
 
I started my zombie survival game the moment I joined the site and have been working on it steady since then. I’m astounded to actually look up from my work and see that I’ve put six months into this already and am probably two-thirds of the way through. As of today, it’s over 1,400 pages long, contains 445,431 words, about 4,500 choices, and focuses on a single male protagonist’s journey.
 
I have toyed with the idea of letting the players choose to be male or female, but can’t even begin to imagine how much harder this would be to write at this point, if I tried to shoehorn some ‘female’ pages into things now. I really wish I had thought of this at the outset. I thought about just adding a few gender and name specific pages where appropriate, but don’t really think that will work, as the male protagonist acts quite ‘male’ throughout the story. Having a female character doing some of the things the man does, just doesn’t make sense to me in the context of the story, as I believe males and females approach things differently for the most part.
 
Anyway, I’m posting this mostly to vent – as writer’s block is a total bitch on a project this vast, when you just want it to be done. But I’m also tooting my own horn too, trying to stay motivated and reassure myself that it’s worth slogging through another 400 – 800 pages. Barring the grim reaper, I will finish this story – even if it turns out to be the biggest suckfest on the site; though personally, I think it’s pretty enjoyable so far.
 
Lastly, I had an idea that I wanted to throw out for response:
 
Would anyone want a ‘Cameo Appearance’ in my Zombie Game?
 
What I mean is, you describe yourself as a normal zombie, but also how you stand out from the rest of the horde (so to speak) and I’ll write that zombie into the story somewhere. You can then try to find ‘Your Zombie Self’ in the game (and I’ll tell you where it is if you can’t). Of course I may have to limit the number of Cameos for obvious reasons, so I’d be picking the most interesting, balanced with how easy it would be to fit the zombie into the context of the story…
 
I also wouldn’t be using anyone’s screen names for the Cameo Zombies, as most zombies are completely nameless, unless they have a name tag for some reason, like a mechanic in overalls named “Bob” or a Comic Convention attendee with a name badge.
 
Then you could also let me know if you wanted your zombie in background, or actively chomping at the protagonist, and whether you minded if it got its brains bashed out or not. Of course really interesting zombies might just have to be included on a death page, where the story closes on your zombie munching on the protagonist’s innards ;)
 
Any interest, thoughts, or otherwise?

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

I'll send you a PM.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

So far I have 3 Zombie Cameos submitted - Still plenty of room for more

 

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

put me in, as a zombie hugging  a marmot. And I want the marmot to still be alive at the end.  Marmots should never die.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago
can you put me in as a zombie shark because betaband is the name of my fish. Also you can use my island in IA as a place to escape to because its on an island and has tons of weapons.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

No zombie-sharks, but I could put your fishtank into the game somewhere, where betaband the fish has been forced to eat all the rest of the fish in the tank – or something like that…

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

We could even have it where looking into the tank, the protagonist is unable to tell if the fish left inside ate all the rest of the fish to survive – or because it actually is some sort of Zombie-Fish LOL!

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago
:-)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Quote: put me in, as a zombie hugging a marmot. And I want the marmot to still be alive at the end. Marmots should never die.

 
As this game takes place almost entirely in a city setting, I can’t really see a zombie wandering around in it with a live marmot. I suppose a zombie in the suburbs could be carrying around a groundhog for some unknown reason, but definitely no hugs.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

I now have 5 really good Cameos. Still taking suggestions =)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago
As you have mention earlier that you are not putting any name for random zombies; but I feel you should.

Take an example:
Type of zombies who wander only in night; I've named this type of zombies as 'Walker'

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago
Do you have a reason for why walkers only roam in the night?

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Yeah, I'm curious too. How would you tell they were walkers at night, vs. regualar zombies?

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Also, just to clarify, I mean no screen names for the zombies, not necessarily no named types. For example I wouldn't write : "You see a BerkaZerka zombie shambeling your way..."

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago
So you're not excluding th possibility of special zombies?

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Not at all, in fact, because I went with the zombie virus approach, I have a number of zombie mutations, six so far.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

That said, I'd be hard pressed to add anymore mutant zombies to the story (unless the idea works so well I just can't pass it up) :)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Zombies addicted to fire and things assotiated by fire (like propane and matchs.)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Those could prove to be very short-lived zombies ;)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

There is also lack of why those zombies are addicted to fire (and how they can understand how to operate it with their limited brain capacity).

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Here’s what I got so far (I’ll add a list like this to the game description page when I am done)

 
Cameos
 
playa988: A rather short, buzz-cut, zombie in a baggy white t-shirt and jeans that gets sniped
 
JMgskills: A zombie wearing a red shirt with the logo “YOU DIED.”
 
CovElite: The Cannibal Gaunt Zombie
 
Fireplay: A madman with a taste for fire
 
SindriV: A mysterious corpse in the street
 
Betaband: Neighbor’s fish tank brought to you by Betaband
 
EndMaster: A survivor tells about seeing a black hooded man walking among the zombie hordes and directing them like death itself
 
 

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago
When will the game be done?

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

I imagine that it will take at least another three months...

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Minus the black hood, Endmaster sounds surprisingly similar to the main antagonist in my story.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Actually, the EndMaster Cameo in my game is just hearsay from a survivor you can meet in the game. I don’t actually have an adversary directing the zombie hordes. You can find out in game though, who’s behind the actual outbreak, but it’s more pseudo-science than supernatural

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

what about my marmot cameo? Maybe a marmot escaped from the zoo and the zombies are chasing it, but it always escapes?

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Isn't a marmot just another name for a groundhog? But sure, I could see a bunch of zombies chassing marmots/groundhogs across a golf course or something =)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Marmots:

Type: mammal

order: Rodents.

Fammily: Groundhogs

sub-order : Marmots

the Groundhog fammily  contains animals such as lemmings and others, so no, groundhog is not another name for a marmot. I slike saying that human is just another name for baboon ( altough this one's true in 99% of the cases)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

O_o

 
But seriously. Here’s the beat I can do – I'll include a marmot cameo, but it will first be described as a bunch of zombies chasing an unusually large groundhog around on a golf course near the school. When the protagonist gets into the school, some concerned students will ask if he’s seen their school mascot – ‘Marmot Larry’ (or something like that).
 
The protagonist, realizing that it was actually a marmot he saw, can tell them, “yeah, I saw him and he’s fine. The zombies will never be able to catch him.”
 
So?

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Larry? Really? Why not Ben?

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

How about "Marmot Lance"? then the school team can be the 'Lancers' with their logo being a Marmot knight with a lance.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Those good ol' Fighting Marmots! GO TEAM!

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

FUCK YEAH

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Now we have the following:

 
Cameos
 
playa988: A rather short, buzz-cut, zombie in a baggy white t-shirt and jeans that gets sniped
 
JMgskills: A zombie wearing a red shirt with the logo “YOU DIED.”
 
CovElite: The Cannibal Gaunt Zombie
 
Fireplay: A madman with a taste for fire
 
SindriV: A mysterious corpse in the street
 
Betaband: Neighbor’s fish tank brought to you by Betaband
 
EndMaster: A survivor tells about seeing a black hooded man walking among the zombie hordes and directing them like death itself
 
Marmotlord: A School Mascot on the run

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

So, there's at least one more Cameo I’d like to do, but am not sure who to attribute it to - it's in one of the zombie stories on the site, where there is the 'obligatory flaming pile of bricks'

 
Anyone know who’s that is?
 
 

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago
add meeee add meee add meee!
I'll bne a creepy guy who tries to fend off the zombies with voodoo, but gets eaten and transforms into a zombie shaman, who carries a lollipop and a magic pen!

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago
It dousn't sound like he's taking a mystic approach to this, but I'm sure BZ would be willing to have a guy TRY to use magic, but failing utterly as magic doesn't exist.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Well the blackhooded man who can walk through zombie hordes says otherwise... :D

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago
Not necessarily. Not only is that a rumor heard from a survivor, but he is only seen leading the zombies, not using any methods of necromancy.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago
A coughing zombie with a long tongue (and leaking smoke) whose limbs mutates when shot (or battered, or chopped). Also he smocked too much before the outbreak...or when he was a regular guy, or girl...or it.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago
Isn't that a little too...Left4Dead?

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago
ooo....its Left4DEAD 2....hah...whats wrong though...okay...exclude long sticky tongue and add vomiting and...emmm...no eyes...only sockets...

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

OK, I've gotten some really good ideas from a lot of folks, and a lot of PMs too, so I have plenty of Extraordinary Cameos to sort through. I’m officially closing the Cameo Casting Call as of right now, but feel free to continue posting ideas on this thread – just can’t promise that I’ll include anything more at this point.

 
I'll post a "final" Cameo list once I sort through a few more PMs.
 
Thanks for the awesome feedback from everyone =)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Sorted out so far…

 
Cameos
 
playa988: A rather short, buzz-cut, zombie in a baggy white t-shirt and jeans that gets sniped
 
JMgskills: A zombie wearing a red shirt with the logo “YOU DIED.”
 
CovElite: The Cannibal Gaunt Zombie
 
Fireplay: A madman with a taste for fire
 
SindriV: A mysterious corpse in the street
 
Betaband: Neighbor’s fish tank brought to you by Betaband
 
EndMaster: A survivor tells about seeing a black hooded man walking among the zombie hordes and directing them like death itself
 
Marmotlord: A School Mascot on the run
 
ThisisBo: An oddly “talkative” zombie not terribly interested in eating brains

 

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Add

solxd7: A ploice officer SOL

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Haha, this is really cool. I'm bummed I missed this, but at least it'll be fun to read.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Add

applegirl: Coffee Mug zombie teen

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Hi all - Just wanted to post an Update on where I'm at with this EPIC Monster of a story.

I'm currently in the process of going 1-by-1 through all 1,605 pages (so far) and reformatting them to the new “< p >” spacing that changed with the site's past major upgrade. (Yep, it kind of sucks having that happen so far into my story before I could finish it).

But the pages I’ve got done so far, have a nice even spacing, while the old pages are off slightly – and any that I actually opened to edit (without reformatting afterward) have really huge paragraph breaks in them.

Also, I’m on the hunt for the word Hoard vs. Horde. Early on I was using Hoards of Zombies – but then halfway through they became Hordes of Zombies (go figure). Anyway, I probably will not find every last Hoard, so please be forgiving if you happen to find one when you play the game ;-)

I’m not sure how long this is going to take, but estimate a solid week of mind-numbingly tedious editing. I may very well be a zombie myself after this mess is through.

Interesting note about the game though – As I noted above, this is actually my First Game on the Site. I certainly bit off a lot, but I’m going to chew it damn it!

Oh, and I have Zero Items or Scripting in this game. Everything runs off Variables and Link Restrictions. Why you may ask? Well, it’s my first game after all, and I didn’t know how to do any of that stuff yet when I first started.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

I don't think items are that nessecary to insure a great story. Plenty of stories have done great without them. Also keep up the goodwork I almost thought you dropped the story after so long.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Yeah, I had to take a break from it for a while to get over the burnout - but now that I'm done with Dungeon Stompage (which I only started as a diversion) I'm good for the final push to finish it.

Should be only 400 or so more pages. I'd like to break the 2000 page mark, but I'm not going to do it just to do it - I genuinely feel that I got at least that much left in the story.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

If there are any more cameo zombies, just throw in a hald-naked zombie with speedos.  :D

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Aagh! My eyes! haha!

(dang though, I may just have to use that!)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

And in other Zombie News... My brain is zorched, but I've now got 600 pages re-formated.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

BlabblabPlrrrrrr…

My brain is now scrambled-eggs, may have wet myself, and I’m down about 12 Sanity Points, but all the re-formatting work (1605 pages) is done!

Now back to the writing =)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Yay! Go BZ, you can do it! *shakes pompoms*

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Well, I’m back in it pretty good now and have even gotten a few Cameos done

Cameos

applegirl: Coffee mug zombie teen

Betaband: Neighbor’s fish tank brought to you by Betaband

CovElite: The Cannibal Gaunt Zombie

EndMaster: A survivor tells about seeing a black hooded man walking among the zombie hordes and directing them like death itself

Fireplay: A madman with a taste for fire (DONE)

JMgskills: A zombie wearing a red shirt with the logo “YOU DIED – END GAME.” (DONE)

Marmotlord: A School Mascot on the run

playa988: A rather short, buzz-cut, zombie in a baggy white t-shirt and jeans that gets sniped (DONE)

simplesabley: Tomboy survivor girl (DONE)

SindriV: A mysterious corpse in the street (DONE)

Solxd7: A police officer shit out of luck (DONE)

Swiftstryker: Zombie in a speedo

ThisisBo: An oddly “talkative” zombie not terribly interested in eating brains

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Yay!

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

applegirl: Coffee mug zombie teen (DONE)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

~Rolling, Rolling, Rolling on a-

HAAAAAAAAAAAIWAY TO HELL!    HAAAAAAAAAAAAAIWAY TO HELL!

*Goes on to sing various other travelling songs...*

If you want, you can make his exposed parts, well, even more exposed.  >:D

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Speedo Zombie scary enough already, thanks. LOL

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

CovElite: The Cannibal Gaunt Zombie (DONE)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Is mine done yet?

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Not yet, but it's litterally right down the road from where I am in the story right now!

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

cheeky

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Swiftstryker: Zombie in a speedo (DONE)

Betaband: Neighbor’s fish tank brought to you by Betaband (DONE)

 

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

YES!

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Yay mines done too!

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Make sure he doesn't rub his speedos too much, I understand they are kinda itchy after a while.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

ThisisBo: An oddly “talkative” zombie not terribly interested in eating brains (DONE)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago
UPDATE: Well, I'm now working on the Final area of the adventure! It is from this area that you either "win" or finish the game officially. It's not a very large area (just one physical location), but there is quite a lot of confrontation in the area to work through in order to survive it.
 
I estimate that this means about four to six weeks until I can open the game up to playtesting and/or troubleshooters   =)
 
PS - just passed 1800+ pages...
 

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

It's the home stretch! You can do it!

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

May I find your infinite loops from hell?

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

That was Alexp's infinite loop, not mine devil

 

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

No, it's YOURS, YOURS, YOURS!!! DX<

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

My bad ---

(but that was sort of hilarious in it's own demented way) angel

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Marmotlord: A School Mascot on the run (Done)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

YOU LIED!!!!! IT NEVER SHOIWS A ZOMBIE PICTURE!

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Oh man - you too? Tsk tsk (hehehe ) devil

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

lol I let the page sit open for two hours or so longer.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Ooh! I can't wait for this to be over! In part because I'm excited to get it published after so long; in part because I'm so close to the end I can taste it (mmm... tastes like brains); and in part cause writing half a million plus words over 1900+ pages (so far) sort of fries your mind after a while  =)

It's definitely the home stretch though!

 

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Here I am thinking that my stories that I predict will be a hundreds of pages upon release are large, and you completely dwarf that size lol.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

I guess this is what happens when you take an entire year to write a story (I just checked, and it really has been 1 year and 5 days since I started ) - wow  @_@

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

How many pages is at now?

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

1910 pages and I figure pretty close to 2000 when finished...

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

PS - Here's the Story Blurb I plan on including:

Dead Man Walking! (Zombie Survival)
Can you survive the Zombie Apocalypse? While challenging, it's not as hard as the movies would have you believe - where they always make the worst possible decisions for the sake of drama. At least here, you will be offered logical choices amid the foolhardy and your character cares about survival even more than you do. A serious game with gory detail.

Style
There is a lot of reading in this story. Pages are filled with lengthy descriptions of who, what, when, where, why, & how. The story is quite long (over 1900 pages) and comes in three major sections (of varying length, depending on what you choose to do in them). Don’t forget your 'Save Game' option...

Sections
The first section is the shortest and involves escaping the subway tunnels.
The second section involves moving around in and escaping the city.
The third section involves moving through the suburbs to find and save your family.

Objective
Get the Best Ending (or) Get the Highest Score (or) Kill the Most Zombies (or) All of The Above?

Scoring
Each choice is assigned a value from 10 - 50 points: Generally, 10 points for a bad decision, 30 points for neutral decisions, and 50 points for the most logical choice. 20 & 40 points are also awarded, when certain choices fall between the other values. Your final Score at the end of the game is the total of all the decisions made, multiplied by a number of special factors (depending on what you accomplish during play).

Note that the highest possible score will not be achieved by making all the right choices - as making the best choices often allow you to bypass certain other 'choice-filled' events, that will net you more points in the long run (if survived) than by simply skipping them altogether in the first place.

Endings
As this is a zombie game, the very best ending can only be achieved by not getting bit at all, but there are still a number of interesting endings available, even if you do get chomped on a time or two. In fact, you are not likely to get the Highest Score with the very best ending - but that's the trade-off.

With each 'Death Page' and the 'Official Endings', you will have the chance to see how you did before quitting (or going back). A Rundown is included that shows how many zombies and/or people you killed, how many people you saved, how many zombies munched your brains, and of course your Total Score. If at the end of your game you have 10,000 or more points, you will also be able to see a write-up of the Zombie Virus and Zombie Types used during the game.

The type of ending you achieve will also be reflected in the last digit of your Final Score: Death Pages will produce a score ending in '0'; Official Endings will show a '5'; and the Very Best Ending will show a '7'.

Post a comment to show your high scores to the world!

Troubleshooting
Please PM me if you find bugs or breaks in logic (such as walking on foot in one scene, then riding a mountain bike in the next, without ever having found the mountain bike first). The most helpful thing you could do is tell me the name of the page with the bug (and) the name of the page you came into that page from, plus a description of what’s not working correctly.

Good Luck!

BZ

This game dedicated to my Lovely LadyZerka (and Five Hundred Feet of Heavy Rope in a Barrel)   =)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Two Major Updates:

I've just passed 2000 Pages!!!

And finished all Cameos!

Cameos

applegirl: Coffee mug zombie teen (DONE)

Betaband: Neighbor’s fish tank brought to you by Betaband (DONE)

CovElite: The Cannibal Gaunt Zombie (DONE)

EndMaster: A survivor tells about seeing a black hooded man walking among the zombie hordes and directing them like death itself (DONE)

Fireplay: A madman with a taste for fire (DONE)

JMgskills: A zombie wearing a red shirt with the logo “YOU DIED – END GAME.” (DONE)

Marmotlord: A School Mascot on the run (DONE)

playa988: A rather short, buzz-cut, zombie in a baggy white t-shirt and jeans that gets sniped (DONE)

simplesabley: Tomboy survivor girl (DONE)

SindriV: A mysterious corpse in the street (DONE)

Solxd7: A police officer shit out of luck (DONE)

Swiftstryker: Zombie in a speedo (DONE)

ThisisBo: An oddly “talkative” zombie not terribly interested in eating brains (DONE)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

I should be finished with the writing in a week. I'm currently working on the last two endings paths =)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Cant wait.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Hot Damn! Finished this friggin monster!

2121 pages.

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

I'll open it up for testing tomorrow sometime...

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Whoo! Congratulations! 

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Go Berka! 

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Minor Updates:

I've snuck in one last tag-team cameo duo (see if you can find them)   =)

Cameos

Aman: Hairy bearded sledge guy (DONE)

applegirl: Coffee mug zombie teen (DONE)

Betaband: Neighbor’s fish tank brought to you by Betaband (DONE)

CovElite: The Cannibal Gaunt Zombie (DONE)

EndMaster: A survivor tells about seeing a black hooded man walking among the zombie hordes and directing them like death itself (DONE)

Fireplay: A madman with a taste for fire (DONE)

JMgskills: A zombie wearing a red shirt with the logo “YOU DIED – END GAME.” (DONE)

Marmotlord: A School Mascot on the run (DONE)

playa988: A rather short, buzz-cut, zombie in a baggy white t-shirt and jeans that gets sniped (DONE)

simplesabley: Tomboy survivor girl (DONE)

SindriV: A mysterious corpse in the street (DONE)

Solxd7: A police officer shit out of luck (DONE)

Swiftstryker: Zombie in a speedo (DONE)

ThisisBo: An oddly “talkative” zombie not terribly interested in eating brains (DONE)

ugilick: Karate kicking conquistador (DONE)

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Can wait for you to put the game up! I'm itchin to get my hands on a new zombie CYOA!

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Congratulations

Zombies Ate My Brain!

11 years ago

Thanks! It's been long in the making!