DayZ - A short tale of teamwork, betrayal, fear, and friendship

[SandersXL 4]

DayZ – A game last night that reminded me what it is that makes DayZ great. After it was done, I looked back on what happened and decided to write it down. None of this was scripted or planned; I just wanted to hop on for a quick game to shoot some zombies before bed.

I stayed on for hours.

The Teamwork

I grouped up with 5 other strangers who were being harassed by an Apache gunship at the southern coast airfield. We’re all in the local vicinity and the gunship is attacking anything and everything that looks like a survivor. After it disappears for another refueling run, we take that chance to run across the open field and regroup just north of the airfield by a small homestead. After everyone gets together, we cautiously make sure no one is going to shoot us in the back, and we make introductions, make sure everyone has weapons, ammo, food, and start heading to the north airfield to get some better equipment. We hear helicopter rotors in the distance and start off through the trees.

We’re running together as a group. People are making light conversation and cracking jokes over local radio. I feel better off than when I’m scrounging alone through Cherno or Elektro, like I’m a part of something.

The Betrayal

After running past a few towns, we’re in the middle of another nondescript field, then suddenly gunfire. I’m hit and bleeding. Is someone screwing around, or are we under attack? I stop running to turn around and see that someone in our group, someone that I had given a shotgun and ammo to earlier, has opened fire on us. He cripples me before I realize what’s happening; I’m bleeding, my leg is broken, I’m unconscious, and the blood meter is dark red and flashing. I’m going to die. Out here in the middle of nowhere.

The rest of the group turns and like a firing squad drops the traitor. They run over and stand over his body, the radio is alive with questions and anger. I shout I’m bleeding out over here, I can barely see lying on the ground. They run back and bandage me up, fix the leg, and give me a blood transfusion. Seemingly at the same time. Everyone is busy bandaging or doing something. For me. I thank everyone, get up, go back to the traitor’s body and loot my spare gear back from him. It turns out he was a real-life friend of one of the other players in the group and was “just logging out for the night.” A few last words and we set out for a nearby town and supplies.

The Fear

We make it to the outskirts of Vybor. Everyone’s in various states of injury from the earlier gunfight, and hungry and thirsty from the run from the coast. We need to get to the grocery store and the town well to refill our canteens. We survey from a safe distance: the town is crawling with zombies. They’re everywhere. But it’s still the middle of the night, we just need to be quiet. We crouch down and start working our way through the town, dodging zombies while passing between buildings and staying on the grass so they can't hear us.

A zombie suddenly picks up on someone; even through our warnings he doesn’t notice until it runs up and starts eating the back of his head, he turns around then freaks and runs across the street, aggroing all of the zombies nearby. We try to follow to stick together, but now zombies are running at everyone. The group panics, splits up and runs in all directions. Every man for himself. The radio breaks out into nonstop yelling. Someone keeps telling us not to fire our guns, don’t attract more, just run and try to lose them. The whole town is chasing us and we’re split up.

I make it the grocery store with one other player. We try to tell everyone to try to meet us at the store but the radio is full of yelling; most don’t know where it’s at. Someone says they’re at the school. We decide to abandon the store and sprint across the street, 4 more zombies train on us and are running our way.

We duck into the school thinking it's a safe haven, turn around the corner and a column of zombies are already shuffling down the hallway towards us. Probably after a player already here. We meet up with the other player, but we’re missing two others. He yells at us to quickly run upstairs. I notice movement to the side and turn to see a huge horde of zombies running past the front of the school, down the street. It’s surreal; they aren’t running at us. They’re chasing someone, but I can’t see who it is; the zombies already in the school are almost on me and I have to run. I follow the other two to the roof. I don’t know what we’re going to do once we get up there. But I have a few clips of rifle ammo still, and that damn backstabbing shotgun.

The Friendship

Before tonight I didn’t know any of these people. But before it ends they’ve saved my life, and I theirs. We’re friends; bound by blood, adversity and triumph. We add each other to various friends lists outside the game, and thank each other for an excellent night.

If you haven’t grouped up with strangers yet, give it a shot. Sometimes they’ll shoot you in the face for your backpack or can of beans, but sometimes you’ll luck out and experience a game so incredible and rewarding you’ll want to write about it.

---

DayZ

It’s not just about the zombies, or even survival. It’s the experience: the stories that come out of it. I can’t remember any game that creates so many memorable events, as often or as intense.

If the developers are able to capture and keep the simulation and realism side of the zombie survival theme, and keep it’s difficulty and attention to all of the little things that make surviving hard and rewarding, the standalone game should be an outstanding success.

[maxamillion12345 21]

That is a great story, exactly why I play dayz, but I gotta ask what kind of crazy private hive admin puts apache gunships in dayz?!?!? It seems like that is a bit OP.

Edited December 31, 2012 by maxamillion12345

[LifeHackz (DayZ) 17]

Awesome read bro.

I know what you mean the meeting with strangers thing, I did this one day, in the firestation in electro, there he was standing there, I could of killed him, instead, I talked to him, we decided to team up, after about half and hour of working together we added each other on skype and played together all day, when we got bored of dayz, we moved on to other games, sometimes we'd talk when we weren't even playing games, this was early last year, we still talk regularly to this day.

Edited December 31, 2012 by LifeHackz