| Regarding The 'DayZ Story' | New Idea

[The Shadow 119]

‘Now this is just an idea, so please comment with constructive criticism and don’t just flame if you do not like the idea...’

So after a recent discussion on the topic of single player story integration in DayZ I have come up with an idea.

Okay, so I was thinking about how cool it would be if DayZ had a back story to it but wasn’t an actual hard line story coded into the game.

The best example of this would be the story behind CoD Zombies. The story behind all the maps seem to link together and they create a back story which gives a more in-depth feel to the zombies game rather than just a round survival based game.

No one knows the ACTUAL story behind the infection and so people use the clues that are hidden in the maps to create their own version of the story.

Now i was thinking about how something like this would be great in a game like DayZ!

Below I will go into depth of the steps that would go into adding this clue fuelled back story the game.

Story

So first we would have to establish a rough idea of the back story to work with. This could be anything from Scientists trying to bring people back from the dead in a lab and it going wrong. The infection then got out into the open world of Chenarus.

Then there is the possibility of different stories to explain an outbreak of zombies like a meteor crashing and it causing dead bodies to come back to life.

There are many possibilities but for this example we are going to with the story of “Scientists trying to bring bodies back to life and it going wrong.”

Location

So then you need to have locations which will help with the story telling and a place to hold the clues that will fuel this zombie story.

This is where it gets interesting.

So in different areas of the map, there are all types of possible buildings and bases we could have to hold these story clues. A great start for it would be old run down abandoned labs. These could be integrated into old abandoned military bases which you have to navigate through before finding the labs. These could harbour old notes on whiteboards or old documents which could be picked up and read and can hold information about old test subjects and experiments that went on within the laboratories.

Idea for what the labs can look like

http://25.media.tumb...cvg2o1_1280.jpg

Types of Clues

Okay so we need to look at the types of clues which would tell us the back story. Now these can range from documents to voice tapes, video recordings etc. Ofcourse to implement these you would need to add whole new UI interfaces to the game to give the ability to read documents and listen/watch tapes. It would require work but I think it would really pay off once executed properly.

So lets plan this out...

You find this old military base which is partly underground, you enter the base and navigate through corridors and rooms and you find an old abandoned laboratory which is all trashed. There is a pile of numerous documents spread around the room, you walk over and pick one up and you read the document. The document tells of how they were using chemicals and experiments to try and bring the deceased back to life. They state about how a few of the test subjects were transferred to another lab/location. Now the hunt is on the get to the other location.

You found the other location and let’s say you could find a tape. You can play the tape and it is voice recording where you can hear a panic call that was made when a test subject escaped and started causing havoc.

The whole investigating would be like a trail that you follow, uncovering more and more as you go.

_________________________________________________________________

Now this would add a whole back story to the infection and add some great Role-Play elements to the PvP/PvE.

You can interpret the clues however you wish and build a story yourself to your own requirements and really immerse yourself into the game and go investigate the story of the zombie apocalypse.

Of course this would need a lot of work but I think with the right attention and care it could be made into an addition to the game which could really benefit the immersion of the survival.

What do you guys think, please comment with more ideas and start a really long interesting discussion! :D

Thanks for taking the time to read this :)

Edited March 1, 2013 by The Shadow

[Sakka 28]

I definitely like the idea. I don't really need a whole story line but what you are talking about would really add a lot to the game especially those who are more into exploring.

[Testwd3r235 2810]

"The best example of this would be CoD Zombies" Careful with your examples :P, also the 'zombies' aren't dead. The 'zombies' in DayZ are infected humans and that's why we don't come back as them if we die, if the infected die, they are dead, if we die, we are dead.

One of the main things I like about DayZ is that you make your own story.

[Maloney (DayZ) 26]

I was a Spetznaz operative stationed in the Stary Sobor barracks undergoing intense training. My squad was informed of several strange infectious outbreaks in Moscow and other major cities in Russia and Europe, the disease was considered to be highly contagious but the symptoms were mild. That was until that horrific day, the Day that we now know as Day Z. The disease had become unsustainable and the world knew little of its true capability, it began to practically mutilate men, scarring them, rotting both their flesh and their minds. On Day Z we began to counter the infection which was supposedly caused by a top secret biological weapon developed by a laboratory associated with KGB and funded by the Russian government. Our squad began to cleanse the local population by executing the infected population, we did many horrible things, unspeakable things, we slaughtered people... Chernaurus was to become a safe-haven, a 225 km2 'Green-Zone' with self sustained food sources and exceptionally fortified settlements... But before long our efforts failed, choppers fell out of the sky as pilots fell victim to the infection. Deserters left and turned to banditry, robbing and murdering, sniping the few survivors that crept through the backstreets of Chernogorsk. I am currently travelling with several survivors to the NW Airfield, we hope to find some form of aircraft there, but I do not trust these people, too many have died in the hands of people who they have considered to be friends. I am scared. It is dark outside but the moans of the infected still echo through the night. Earlier we heard the smashing of glass and the sound of gunshots. We think there are bandits in the hospital. I must go now as it is my shift to watch. But I grow weary, and the night grows longer...

Edited March 1, 2013 by Maloney

[Auslovich 48]

Needs to have something to do with Green Mountain. And Devil's Castle.