*sam* Posted Feb 26, 2015, 11:48 am	I'm looking for opinions on my Zed's Dead game.. it has been floundering a bit in terms of direction so I really need to discuss with people! I have written a bit as a blog post and I'd really appreciate opinions/ideas either there or here!  thanks  :-) http://www.psychicsoftware.com/2015/zeds-dead-game-design-decisions/
PvtParty Posted Feb 26, 2015, 12:53 pm	Sorry Sam, I see nothing of interest to me in this game. I'm not sure who you're targetting at, as the (I'm assuming intented) retro graphics would probably turn off the younger gamer.
*sam* Posted Feb 26, 2015, 1:34 pm	Retro graphics are actually very popular at the moment!
*The X Man* Posted Feb 26, 2015, 7:17 pm	Direction?? Well, from looking at the demo, it would seem to be DW ped combat arena. Would gameplay have a 360 degree scrolling to see behind tall buildings or structures? Fighting/shooting blind could be frustrating. Concept of the game needs to be outlined with different paths to reach an end game. Would it the player/team that starts in the inner city and fights their way out to safety? This is short and direct, but the maps and path could be drawn out with challenges, missions, misc PVP to reach your goal. IMO, I would lean towards team vs AI format as the main way to play. All player teams have the same goal to get out to safety. But, there will be times when two player teams path will cross and result in a PVP battle. Maybe it is an item needed to unlock a new map or special weapon that is awarded to the winning team. You can still have a set map/arena for strictly PVP battles, but the game vision would seem to favor co-op team play. Perhaps 5-10 players max? You could even have some maps that could include multi teams against the AI form those very difficult maps with shared rewards for both sides. I am a big fan of perma death, but that may not work as well here. If implemented, each player death would be replaced with the next new player joining the game. If not, As you mentioned, player respawns at a reduced efficiency percent until "healed" to keep the core team intact. Maybe perma limb loss as an option? Thats how I would view the basic gameplay. I could go on with more on character setup and development, etc, but at least this gives you one persons input on a direction. I know you have different things you are working on that keeps you busy, but we still need you to pop in from time to time to show DW the Love every once in awhile. We may have to set up a monthly meeting with you to address items and/or issues. Won't happen if you don't ask
*sam* Posted Feb 27, 2015, 9:45 am	Hey, thanks for the comments xman! I suppose the way to explain what I have in mind at the moment is that it's a pvp arena game, first and foremost. The zombies are part of the challenge rather than being the main enemy. We could do a monthly meeting yeah, that could work! On Skype or something?
Bolt Thrower Posted Feb 27, 2015, 7:19 pm	If it is a PVP arena game I would treat it like League of Legends and have arenas with sizes based on the number of participants. I would have fixed participant sizes at 1, 3, 5, 10 and maybe bigger. Not sure what the power ups or skill gains look like, but are there trees or is it just random drops? Should probably put in AI opponents, besides zombies, because some people will just not start playing in a PVP game. Might want to put in scenarios like capture the flag, defend the fort, etc. Stuff you might find at a paintball range. Not sure what the current scenario is. Are there points, or is it wipe the other side out? Are there respawns? Edit: One last thing: I would consider is also making the controls compatible with a gamepad. Not sure how difficult that would be, but would bring in some console users.
*The X Man* Posted Feb 27, 2015, 7:20 pm	*sam* said: We could do a monthly meeting yeah, that could work! On Skype or something? This would be great! and DW Lobby Chat would be fine to start. A Saturday a month would be nice. Hoping that would be the least hectic and less distracting day for both of us. Say about 20:00 server time if that works for you? That would be noon my time and I could easily free up an hour or so then. Tomorrow's Saturday would really be a good time to start because its the beginning of the new game year and some league stuff needs to be addressed before it starts. Thank You Sam.
*SmokeyKilla* Posted Feb 27, 2015, 11:11 pm	I like the idea of the arena, with a continuous score, losing some score everytime you die. Maybe you could incorporate a basic skill set to spend your "score" on like faster movement, shooting further, higher health, and as x man suggested better weapons etc. I also like x-mans idea of fighting out of the city, using several different maps to finally escape the zombie hoard. Maybe when pvp occurs an extra "bonus" is won by the winning team to encourage more pvp......game looks great......retro spritey graphics are all the rage atm.
*Boonwolf* Posted Mar 3, 2015, 4:52 am	*SmokeyKilla* said: ....retro spritey graphics are all the rage atm. I like you and all *Sam* but I'm probably not going to give this game a second glance. not my kind of game   But if it was a mass "marketed"(you have our $$$ already) console/6"phone/Tab  game I could see it turning into something.
*sam* Posted Mar 4, 2015, 10:14 am	Thanks for the comments guys! Obviously I know it's not necessarily the sort of game you like, but still I value your opinions... XMan: sorry, I missed last Saturday for a chat... would this Saturday at 20:00 server time work instead?
*The X Man* Posted Mar 4, 2015, 6:18 pm	*sam* said: XMan: sorry, I missed last Saturday for a chat... would this Saturday at 20:00 server time work instead? This Saturday would be great. Also, any other Saturday works for me as well to schedule future meetings.