What happened to DayZ player lore?

[Mullraugh 1151]

I had first heard of DayZ back in late June of 2012, prompting me to join the forums on the 8th of August. Back then, the forums were amazing. They were full of Fan Art which I constantly contributed to, it was full of videos, and these amazing stories of adventure and despair, stories that seemed beyond reality for just a simple zombie mod. These stories were the things that made me ache to play DayZ. Back then I only had an iMac. I couldn't play the game even if I wanted to. Despite this, I tried my best to actively contribute to the forums, mostly in the form of my art, since I had no idea how to play the game. But I remember this one thread that changed my view of the mod so drastically, that it became more than just a silly mod for an outdated game.

I remember it was a thread about DayZ Urban Legends. In which, people had actually taken the time to share the crazy anomalies and happenings that had happened to them in the game. People didn't look at bugs as just bugs back then. They looked at them as paranormal activity. A zombie making a human sound? Today that sounds typical of the mod, but back in 2012, it was a "man still trying to fight back the zombie infection, struggling to cling to his humanity". it was a story behind the story, an untold tale of an unknown man, just waiting to die. And the players believed it. Not because they were stupid, but because it added that extra in-game depth to the world they played in, making it seem more realistic and mind boggling than any game has ever done. The players were the story. "This is your story" is the over-used and abused DayZ slogan that people just say as an excuse to death match in Berezino. It is your story. It truly is. If you choose to share it. This thread was the spark that fuelled the fire that is my crazy addiction to proving the Curse of Green Mountain exists. Had I not read the stories in that thread, and the stories of the Green Mountain anomalies linked within the thread, Green Mountain would just be another loot location, and DayZ would be just another game.

I look on these forums nowadays, and don't get me wrong, what I see is great, but there's a huge lack in player made content that used to make DayZ so addicting. There's suggestions and recruitment requests, videos of bandit squads being wiped out, epoch server spam, and guides in the general discussion. But the fan art thread seems all but dead. I see no more stories besides the ones titled "to the man I killed in _____" or "to the man that killed me in _____", there's screenshots, yes, but not enough to satisfy. The creativity of the playerbase has all been used up in the Suggestions area, and I wish it weren't. Yes, I am guilty of this as well, and I will try my best to revive the Curse of Green Mountain, but I can't do it alone.

Maybe I'm just pointlessly rambling, but I want to see more creative content. Instead of whining about a bug you found, why not write it in your characters perspective and label it as an urban legend for others to try and debunk? Instead of writing a love poem to the man who killed you despite you saying "friendly", why not write a story about that person's mistakes in his life?

I don't know, guys. I'll work on that Curse of Green Mountain thing. And I hope it will make its way into the official player created backstory of DayZ.

[Mullraugh 1151]

[Deathlove 2286]

People eventually grow out of certain games and maybe thats what your seeing with this one in general is ppl just getting tired of contributing things. Ether way there are always going to be new players that want to experience things the way you do.

[vfxtodd 125]

I'm guessing that as DayZ moves into beta, hence less buggy, we might well see content coming in. I hope to contribute in some way. I have Shadowplay ready to go when I feel inspired to record my gameplay. As of now I'm still working a lot of hours so I'm not able to play a lot. But when time opens up I hope to record some DayZ action. When I do I'll be sure to plug it into the forums.

[The_Lonely_Bandit 94]

This is sort of why I began producing content on You Tube. PVP is fun and all, but there is almost never any story or meaning behind it now. Either "Epic MLG headsh0T" or "epic revenge" or "epic squadwipe".

Doesn't really help when a lot of the best story tellers for DayZ sold out YT for streaming or just got over it. 
Not that my content is in anyway good or I'm a good story teller of sorts. I just try to share my journeys with others. I think a lot of people forget DayZ is and always has been about the journey and stories that unfold from it.

[DemonGroover 8836]

You know I miss that DayZ Urban Legends thread......though it was mainly about the mod there were a few SA stories.....maybe ill resurrect it and move it to the SA section.

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/22703-day-z-urban-legends/

Edited June 11, 2015 by DemonGroover

[freethink 984]

 

forum searches typically do badly on 3 letter words

 

https://www.google.com/search?as_q=fan+art&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=http%3A%2F%2Fforums.dayzgame.com%2F&as_occt=any&safe=images&as_filetype=&as_rights=&gws_rd=ssl

[Funkmaster Rick 373]

DayZ SA is too brightly-coloured to spawn many urban legends. We need weather effects back before we'll see any real storytelling. Pathetic fallacy is a surprisingly strong force for generating and guiding stories.

[Zing Freelancer 58]

Probably because DayZ wore off its novelty and there are more exciting games to play?

[pale1776 375]

Ah, I loved the Urban Legends thread. Hell I loved old DayZ. Now you can't even talk about old DayZ Mod in DayZ Mod sidechat without an admin saying "Quit bitching before I wipe your gear and ban you" AHEM nameless server.

I miss old DayZ before kids and douches came in. And yes that's what they are, kids who watched Rhinocrunch kill 100 people in a live stream or douches who still can't grasp the fact that there's a game called ArmA that gives them a weapon each spawn and the point is to kill other people.

[Calvin Candie 189]

To the OP, why the urban legends and fan art died out...

Players have explored the game many times over by now.

The mistic aspect is gone.

The game has been violated many times in and out.

All is well know and there is no unkown.

I played yesterday, although I said I will not play until next patch.

I went solo and roamed the villages on the interior of the map. No zombies. No players.

Sometimes I got the feeling back. But it soon disapeared to feeling bored.

No threat. No challenge. Nothing to write home about.

[sneakydudes 278]

Probably because DayZ wore off its novelty and there are more exciting games to play?

No, well maybe yes. I know many many of us took a break from it all. The testing of items just bored me after awhile.

I think most of it was the bitching from players about loot this loot that, and the lack of stuff to do.

 

So NO I want to return when we go a tad more into beta or the base building. Maybe moding will be announced more.

I like to mod, and script. I am learning about moding so that might be fun. File structure I am used to now.

 

Beta should bring many back, just saying because hopefully by then the Infected return, bug free and items spawn on the ground.

 

Cherno gets a tad boring sometimes. This is why I found myself loading new maps in Arma 3 lol

[deadjuice 64]

I remember when I first heard of DayZ, and wanted to get a computer to play it so badly. 
I don't remember all the fanart, or the urban myths. But I did hear of a particular player: 

I think she was called the red witch, or the scarlet siren, or something. She'd sit in a barn and yell over the mic that she broke her leg and needed help, or something enticing like that.
Other players would be drawn in, either to aid her, or kill/hold her up. But she'd always be well hidden, she'd kill them and take all of their gear.

When her name started getting passed around, she changed up her tactics, her locations, her methods of seduction.

Just hearing about that made me fall in love with DayZ. Few games, if any, can create stories like that. Viable methods of play that can turn into legendary figures.

I never came up with any character like that, but it inspired me to play as other fun characters, just for entertainment, 
Never your typical unimaginative "Oooh I'm pycho who makes dumb noises!",etc.
I had a pretty messy undeveloped attempt at Hunter S Thompson. Going up the coast, a revolver with sadly no ammo hiding in my yellow coat, complemented by my boony hat and sunglasses, interviewing people, and freaking out about the damn communist swine, and how it's all Nixon's fault this all happened.  
I was trying to interview bandits that got corned by angry bambies, and had holed up in a three story building. I'm halfway up the stairs trying to get an interview, and they shot at me, and I yelled at them, "Goddammit, I'm a doctor of journalism man!". I tried to interview a bandit inside of a house earlier, and he cursed me off and started shooting. I ran off yelling "You people killed Jesus!'

The preacher, who turns the other cheek when he is knocked unconscious by bandits, will sacrifice himself to save bambies, will preach up a mean storm in the Electro church, and will baptize anyone in the waters of the coast. 

There is also Safety Danny, which... well, that's a special one. I'd rather just show you the video, once I finish editing it. 

I haven't played around as a character in a while, just because I've gotten a few people to play DayZ, and am having fun just surviving generally with them. But when I get the chance, I'm going back to my silly characters to contribute to the crazy world of DayZ, in my own way.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Deadjuice

[TedSimmons33 0]

Well, where do I begin.

So it was nighttime, and me and my crew of 5 were in our helicopter passing over the country side of Post-Disaster Russia. Me, being our navigator/radio operator had located a small town that had a reputation of being "unconquerable". So our dumb, brave selves decided to check it out, with some various maps and 'equipment' (one of our guys was an admin but he didn't really abuse his powers). So we were flying over and all a sudden, our pilot chats out, "I'm seeing another bird in the sky. Dan you confirm this Bear?" (My nickname is bear, because my name is Ted, get it ted, teddy bear?). I looked out of the window to see another helicopter behind us, seeming to have been following us. Al of a sudden, we are going down. Engine failure apparently. We somehow landed without dying and had to land in the middle of a Forrest. So we gathered what we had and made our way north. (We lost all maps somehow). We ended up wandering into Green Mountain unknowingly. So cautiously, our squad leader, Red, armed with an AK-74, makes his way into the main grounds. Me, armed with a mere G17, is In the middle of the pack. Strangly, there are no zombies seen yet in the infamous Green Mountain. Yet. So we cautiously make our way up to the watch tower and decide to hold out on the roofs until day time. We ask our "Chef" (guy that Carries all our food) if he could pass around some canned food. Except he is still at the main grounds of the base. Just staring off in the distance. We chat him, sayin to come up, what's wrong, etc. he responds two minutes later "all hope is lost" then he disconnects. So we start getting freaked out here. Around this time, the helicopter that was following us lands right in front of green mountain. So we, pissed off at our losses, start opening fire upon the helicopter. Strangly, our guns seem to be all out of ammo. The door behind us opens and we see over chat "blood will be shed to those who are conceded". All of a sudden zombies pour unto us, killing us immediately. So lesson learned, never, ever, go to Green Mountian.

[doctorbadsign 645]

I hope they add something similar to the Mount Chiliad conspiracy from GTA V.

 

It doesn't even need an actual resolution, just something for people to speculate about. I love mysteries and having something to explore and theorize about on here would be awesome. I really, really, hope they do it.