Okay, first thing's first, I'm rather new so don't get too mad if I screw up or offend in some profound way without realizing it XD Also this post is rather long and highly speculative and is meant to be a "What if?" kind of thing rather than a really practical suggestion. I just thought I'd share my thoughts with you all to see if anyone else thinks it would be cool. So with the standalone version announced there is a potential for a whole range of new features and additions, all with the point of adding to the realism of the game. Yes we all know this, I'll get to my point soon. I realise just about every man and his dog has suggested players turning into zombies and its been shot down every other time but this time its slightly different. I'm sure many of you have watched The Walking Dead, or 28 Days/Weeks Later, or even I am Legend. There are three main vital elements of a Zombie Virus Apocalypse which add to the intensity of it. First, the fight for survival. Against the Zombie hordes, against mother nature (sickness and starvation) and of course against other survivors. As far as I can tell, DayZ has this covered pretty well. That's good. Second, the horror and grief and moral ambiguity of killing the 'infected' and of losing loved ones to the zombie virus. I believe that DayZ could use some work here, and that many people have suggested this before, and there are all sorts of complications when it comes to players turning into zombies. More on this later. Third, the ray of hope in the darkness upon which the characters of all these stories cling to, the reason they fight to survive and try to overcome all the impossible odds. I'm talking of course about the search for a cure, the cure for the Zombie Virus. In this DayZ has no part. Yet. But there is a potential for it. So back to my suggestion; Basically my idea isn't about the players turning into zombies, but the reverse, as kind of an end-game goal. So lets just skip over all the potential issues and complication of players turning into zombies, as I'm sure someone else has already suggested a much better version of that than I could think of now anyway. So skip over that and assume it's been implemented and all associated problems and complications accounted for. And just for the sake of my suggestion lets say that when a player gets infected with the zombie virus, rather than dying, their 'avatar' (for lack of a better word) becomes uncontrollable, so if they log into that character it just wanders around being a zombie, and the player can spectate but nothing else (and hence they basically have to make another character > start again). But if that zombie is killed by another player the character does die like it normally would. Yeah I know this idea has a multitude of problems but lets just IMAGINE that it works, or some alternative that creates the same effect. Something like this suggestion perhaps: http://dayzmod.com/f.../page__hl__cure For those who play alone and have no care for team work or anything, this doesn't add much to the game experience. But for those who might play in teams, or clans or with real world friends, it could add a whole new level to the game. Let me put it in perspective to show what it could be like. Just imagine that you and a few friends have found a few guns and some cans of beans and are feeling pretty cozy in the shelter you've found and you've got a good thing going and you're starting to feel pretty attached to this character. Together you've survived a few bandit attacks and killed your fair share of zombies and you've all got each others backs. Until someone gets bitten. And before you know it your mate has turned into a zombie, which is starting to eye your thigh off as a tasty snack. But at the same time you're talking to your mate on skype and he's really devo. He doesn't want to lose his character, who would? So do you kill it, I mean it's a danger isn't it? But that IS you mate's character too, so what do you do? So it's a bit of an unnecessary stretch but its worth considering. Now, with the dynamic of players turning into zombies, just imagine, what if there was a way to develop a cure? And or a vaccination? This is basically the point I have been leading up to the whole time xD. You could add features to the game, perhaps run down laboratories and such. A very obscure, very difficult and very time consuming process which people could attempt to do, a kind of meta goal of the whole game. It couldn't be the sort of thing that just anyone could achieve, otherwise there would be no point. You would have to collect blood samples and try to fix broken machines in half run down labs. And test it. And most people would have no idea what they were doing anyway. It would have to be near impossible. And preferably as realistic as the developers could care to make it. Perhaps the virus continues to mutate and escape your near completed vaccination? Many people wouldn't bother to even attempt. Others would quickly give up. Some would even try to fight against it and prevent others from trying to do it, just because they can, just for the sake of chaos. Maybe some prefer the pure anarchy of a zombie apocalypse, or maybe it would mean the end of their bandit reign (i'm just speculating here, and for most of it really :D). And of course once its been developed, could it even be distributed? But just imagine if you developed it? Would you become the next Dr Wasteland? Would you try to develop it alone, or with a team? Would you use it to cure everyone, or give yourself the advantage? Would you use it to control people or free them? To rebuild civilization or dictate a totalitarian rule? Anyway, very wishful thinking I know, but it would be fun, i think. Anyway let me know if anyone thinks its a good idea, or even managed to read my entire rant :D TL:DR; Then this post wasn't for you anyway, but put simply, in small, simple words to make it easy for you to understand: Possibility of developing a cure for the zombie virus, as an end game goal that would be impossibly difficult to achieve. Think; I am Legend...
