There have been numerous zombie based games, but none of them ever seem to get it right. Some come close, but aren't quite perfect.
Here, in my opinion is how it should be done.
*It should start after shit has seriously hit the fan.
Taking a cue from Resident Evil 3 and Dead Nation, this game should start after the crisis has fully taken hold. Maybe a month in or so. Supplies are dangerously low and you need to either get out of the city or die trying.
This way, you can have the mindless hoards numbering in their thousands waiting for your tasty flesh and it will feel natural, not forced.
* The game should be dark.
This is a must, I'm not talking DOOM3 dark, more Silent Hill 2 dark, to the point where it's really difficult to see what's what. After all, all the power in the city will be down.
Lighting should be restricted to that of fires, a trusty lighter and a flashlight that will need batteries, but the flashlight should be used sparingly as batteries will be hard to find and zombies will be attracted to the light.
*The environment should be interactive
This is a must. In a zombie apocalypse, you'd do anything to survive. Use fire extinguishers, shopping trolleys, hammers, whatever.
*Zombies should be scary as hell.
Firstly, intelligence. Now I'm not talking Romero style intelligence. We all know that a game full of Bubs wouldn't be all that fun.
But they should be able to react to light and sound (like in The Walking Dead). They should try door handles, and if you lock yourself in a room, they should try and think of another way to get you.
Secondly, they should be absolutely relentless, no matter what you do to them they should still keep coming. Grab a shopping trolley and use it to take a zombies legs out from underneath it and it will still come for you.
Set it on fire... Doesn't matter, Mister Z likes the heat and he's still coming to munch on your ass!
Also, when it comes to melee, they should be tough fuckers, not easy to gank like in the Dead Rising series and in all honesty, melee combat should be a last resort.
They should also be unpredictable, breaking through doors and windows when you don't expect them, crawling out through floor vents etc. You should be kept on your toes at all times.
Finally, these zombies should come in hoards, without a doubt. Dead Rising has proved it can be done, so it should be. Barricade yourself in a room and you may have a shuffler wandering about, but mainly... Groups, so melee isn't really an option.
*Ammo should be hard to find.
The thing I hate most about zombie games is how plentiful ammo is. Even games like Resident Evil where it's supposed to be scarce, you end up stashing loads in your magic items chest.
No. It should be rare, like leprechaun pot of gold rare, and when you do find ammunition, it won't be in boxes of 15. Find a gun, search it, maybe get one bullet. Save it, be sparing.
*The only enemies should be zombies or crazed survivalists.
I hate it when games like Resident Evil bring in the mutations, or super zombies or whatever. Yes, there should be different types with different skills, but they shouldn't be easily classed.
As for survivalists, well, some people will go batshit crazy and try to kill you for whatever reason, for whatever little ammo you have, or to be a lure for the zombies... But running into others should be rare and randomised each playthrough.
*Stealth focused gameplay
A definite must! The zombies are attracted to light and sound and it's dark. There numbers vary, you can't see and you're on the menu.
To get around, you need to be silent as hell. You need to be a damn ninja! Watch your footing, knock something over, you might be heard, if a zombie and his dinner guests come to investigate, crawl under a car to hide, or a van even and try and get out the other side if you don't like waiting.
I feel that the gameplay side should be a mixture of first person, to put you in the characters shoes, with third person stealthing. Much like Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
*The environments should be all urban.
A given really, but it should always offer a different challenge in terms of zombies. A street may contain hundreds of zombies, where as if you decide to cut through an apartment block, there may be around 30 but the atmosphere will be claustrophobic and using a flashlight could get you deaded.
But there should also be multiple routes, don't like the look of that street? go down a back alley, up a fire escape, through a building, downstairs and out through a window on the other side. But it shouldn't be totally open.
Streets will be blocked off by pileups, windows boarded etc. Just to add tension, and the weather will be random. (It will always be night time, but it may rain, or get foggy etc, which may or may not work to your advantage)
*You're human. Act like it!
Another thing I don't like about zombie games is how overpowered you are. In this game, you get bit once. Game over, re-load the save and try again. Yeah, you can take a beating but you can't survive what everyone else seems to have died from. The bite!
Also, when it comes to gunplay, I feel the character should have naff aim which progressively gets better, just to add a bit more fear to the game.
Speaking of fear, that should make an impact.
Imagine it, you're in hallway, there are no zombies around except the one in font of you. You decide to risk the others hearing the blast and draw your gun, your hands shake as you try to steady your aim. You do it, clear headshot. BANG! You got it, but you hear something below you in the stairwell, you look over the side and see a group of the buggers coming after you, you have to run.
Also. A really cool feature would be the ability to turn your gun on yourself if you get bit and aren't mauled by a pack. You can keep playing, depending on the bite depends on how long you have left see how far you can get, but it's a death sentence, so you can end it and blow your brains out.
*It should be strictly a single player game!
This isn't because I have a large dislike for multiplayer, but because I feel that when you add other people to a game that is supposed to be scary, it takes away the fear factor. Plus, it gives developers more time to work on the game rather than a cheap co-op gimmick.
*Music
There should be none. I love epic soundtracks, but I feel it would detract from the experience.
During my first playthrough of Resident Evil 3, I remember being on edge because all I could hear were the sounds of Jills footsteps echoing on the cold desolate street as she passed a crackling fire whilst a vicious September wind howled past her. In the distance the air was filled with the empty groans of the risen dead, the odd gunshot and maybe a scream or two.
*DO NOT give the game a crap title!
Dead Rising, House of the Dead, Left 4 Dead, Dead Nation, Dead Island, Call of the Dead, Dead Ops, (yeah, I went there).
They're just so cliché. Give it something that will grip people and make them think "Hey, that sounds cool", like Resident Evil.
That's all I have for now, but if I think of something, I'll add it in.
