Zombie MMORPG in the Works

Warcry has a very short blurb about a just announced Horror-genre Massively Multiplayer game. Titled Exanimus, the game looks to be set in a post-apocalyptic zombie setting. From the piece: "While most of the world is dead, there are small pockets of survivors that exist in barricaded cities across the globe. Players of Exanimus will have the option of playing as a living survivor or as one of the dead roaming the earth. Exanimus will allow players to experience a MMO based in a horror genre by creating a dark and visually "intense" environment. Exanimus is expected to be rated "Mature" and not intended for anyone under the age of 18."

Re:Is it possible to "win"?

[tehshen]

That actually sounds like a clever marketing ploy - five or so years after its release, the game will suddenly get many more players who want to be the final zombie-killer.

"Mature"

[jayeates]

"Exanimus is expected to be rated "Mature" and not intended for anyone under the age of 18."

So my guess is it'll be filled with 14-16 year old idiots then...

ooer...

[ameoba]

Exanimus is expected to be rated "Mature" and not intended for anyone under the age of 18.

If they can enforce this, I'll definately start playing.

Re:MMO + zombie = cognitive dissonance?

[xhrit]

>It shouldn't be hard for a group of people with automatic weapons or explosives to wipe out a whole mess of zombies.

If they are classic zombies then yes. I'd almost rather have a katana. A sword doesn't run out ov ammo. you could just stand in a doorway and hack! At least until the blade got dull.

If they are neo-zombies then all bets are off. I'd hate to try to fend off insane AI controlled alien zombie cyborgs with a sword (unless it was a glowing blue sword).

Zombie Themes work well...

[miyako]

I DM a regular tabletop game based around a zombie-themed variant of the D20 system called Year of the Zombie [rpgnow.com] (disclaimer: I did some artwork for the book...so buy it and help a fellow slashdotter get some royalty checks) and I've found that the general theme works very well among roleplayers. Specifically, in a lot of the games that I run, I've found that people who can roleplay well get a lot from the games, though powergamers tend to lose interest quickly. I've never let a player actually play as a zombie, and I'm curious as to how the mechanics for it will work in this game (if it is included in the end). What I think could really make the game interesting is if they play up the need to survive. In most of the games that I run, the zombies are more of a complicating issue than the real problem at hand. In general, most of the conflict, and interesting gaming, comes from the need for food, water, and shelter. It would be interesting to set up a system where there are heavily infested cities, and groups of characters have to go on raids to get supplies. PVP also is particularly interesting in this scenario. In my games, players often have to choose between trying to get supplies from heavily infested cities, or try to steal food or supplies from other groups who may be smaller in numbers, but also can shoot back.
I'd love them to make a Mac or Linux port of this so that I could play it...I might even have to consider setting up a windows machine for this game if it looks promising as it gets nearer to launch.

Let the Zombies play for free.

[neo]

Seriously.

Nothing like a bunch of undead zombie griefers to make life hell for the living/paying players. Charge me $4 per live character I play. Make him/her randomly, with skills and equipment randomly assigned so I have a chance to be a soldier or a banker... and let the bodies hit the floor. You wouldn't need any NPCs. People playing zombies would line up to get a crack at killing some paying players... and the paying players would line up to see who could survive and live the longest.

Eventually the free zombies would want to try it on the other side, so it's the perfect demo to get them into the game.