Archive for zombpocalypse

Zombpocalypse FAQ

digitalgibs | August 2, 2010 | No comments

“I saw a game on PSN/XBLA called Zombie Apocalypse, did they steal the game from you?”

I’ve been asked this question many times.  All I can say is that I was first, beating them to the punch by nearly a year.  All I can say is that the weapon load outs are STRIKINGLY similar to Zombpocalypse, and the gameplay seems almost ripped from the same pages.  Is one year enough time to make a clone? Maybe, maybe…  I’m not saying that they stole my game, I’m just saying.

There have been a number of games post-Zombpocalypse that have borrowed the same formula, but it’s a free market and clones are technically not illegal.  Games like Zombie Apocalypse are a good example of what happens when a small idea gets funding.  I wish I could say that I had something to do with their development efforts, but I had nothing to do with that game.

Category: zombpocalypse

The Mistakes I’ve Made

digitalgibs | June 10, 2010 | No comments

Life is always easier in sayings… “Follow your dreams and it will work out in the end.”  “You can do anything, if you set your mind to it.”  There are countless more sayings in the same vain, all portraying an image of victory, earned from perseverance.  It’s a beautiful summation of what we all choose to believe as our own reality.  As humans, we are cursed with big brains that are cluttered by these big dreams.  We dream of becoming the best in our breed.  We strive for greatness, though most of us land very short of that grand dream.  Most of us are left with the hard, and often better, choice to just give up.  A celebrated few of us reach the ranks of greatness, and remembrance.  It is why we celebrate them.  It is why the failures just might be the greatest fans of those who succeed.  We know what it takes to be great, but most of us just turn back.

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Category: games, programming, zombpocalypse

Writer’s Block or Boredom?

digitalgibs | March 21, 2010 | No comments

I am a little upset with myself right now.  I haven’t written in the book for over two weeks and that gap is getting bigger each day.  I try, diligently, to sit and write, but the words just don’t come to me.  It’s upsetting because a part of me really wants to do this; to write this book.  I have this gritty and torturous fantasy story to tell and I can’t seem to take the effort to write it down.  I think that the other half of me knows that I am writing because it is the only thing that I can do without the help of others.  Completing this book is something that I’ve wanted to do, but a lot of my creative spirit seems to have run it’s course over these past few years.  I don’t know if it has to do with the changes in my life, or the job I am at, or any number of other factors.  It could very well be a little of all those things, but I look at the book right now and I don’t feel inspired to write more.  I have a story in my head, and something is fighting me, keeping me from putting it down on paper.  My will, my motivation; they have been siphoned from me.

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Category: writing, zombpocalypse

Undead Rising: Zombpocalypse Just Won’t Die

digitalgibs | August 18, 2009 | No comments

Just a quick shout out for since they recently posted about Zombpocalypse. Feel free to click on icon and read about it.  Not a long article but this isn’t a long game so I think it was only fitting.  Much thanks to the writer.

There is also another shining article scheduled to be released in October from http://unnamedgaming.com/. I’m happy to see people are really getting behind it. UNG is especially working hard to get Zombpocalypse noticed by promoting it through professional channels as well. I can’t thank those guys enough.

Category: zombpocalypse

In Search of More Zombies

digitalgibs | July 27, 2009 | No comments

I am rambling in hope to gain some perspective on my recent troubles. The question: How many zombies can you cram down a PCI bus?
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Category: programming, zombpocalypse

Zombpocalypse Update

digitalgibs | June 7, 2009 | No comments

Just a quick note about some bug fixes.  The main fix is that OpenGL 3.0 equipped video cards were not being properly detected.  Now you should be able to play the game with no problem.  There is a waiting period for the file servers to update since I’m using 3rd-party servers to host the download.  It’s a pain, but I’m doing what I can to keep the cost overhead down.

The latest installer should be available in a couple days.

[update] Media Fire link is updated.  File Planet is really lagging behind on the update =(.

Category: zombpocalypse

Zombpocalypse Comic?

digitalgibs | May 11, 2009 | No comments

I’ve been thinking recently.  One of the issues that I had with making an arcade shooter was the lack of story.  With a game that is set squarely on the foundation of quarter munchers, it’s kind of hard to squeeze a story into the picture.  I did write a story; one that describes the experiences of the nameless character you play as in the game.  The truth is, he has a name and » Read more..

Category: zombpocalypse

The Limitations of an Arcade Camera

digitalgibs | May 1, 2009 | No comments

I’ve really been struggling lately with the camera design in Zombpocalypse.  It worked great for the environments I created because they were designed to be small and confined and organized like a theater stage.  This meant that I could fabricate arbitrary blockers that would keep the camera relatively safe from visible objects.  You might notice that the environment objects, including the buildings toward the top of the screen were tall and more elaborate than the content near the bottom of the screen.  I purposely designed the environments to build up in a pyramid fashion.  Objects near the bottom of the screen were generally short, like a fence or low-hanging barrier.  Objects near the top of the screen were tall and occluded much of the players view to keep from seeing what was behind those buildings.  It worked great to give the impression of a much larger world but what if I wanted to expand that arena??  What if I wanted to create a small part of the city to roam around in?  The camera would constantly be clipping through some tall building as the player walked down a random street.

I thought about using a dolly camera similar to Dead Rising but I really liked the 2D gameplay you get from locking the camera.  I think it opens up the game to people who don’t want to manage camera controls on top of shooting, running, ammo management and everything else.  Sigh…

Category: games, zombpocalypse

Uncanny Likeness

digitalgibs | April 30, 2009 | One comment

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/zombieapocalypse/index.html

Hmm, you know I can’t put my finger on it but I know I’ve seen this before.  I just don’t know where they possibly could have gotten the idea for a top-down 3D arena based shooter where you dispense waves of fast-moving zombies with modernized weapons like machineguns, shotguns, and grenades.  Oh I guess the name Zombpocalypse was taken by someone so they just went with the ol’ Zombie Apocalypse; I see what you did there…  I tell ya, if I was half as big as Konami I’d have half a mind to see if there is grounds to suit here :) but I’m a bigger sport than that.  Besides, it’s not like I’d have a snowball chance in hell to win that one; corprate lawyers are like some kind of hypnotoad in the courtroom.

At least my game is free so they can’t buy me out like Bill Gates did to Homer Simpson. (Sorry I tried to find a YouTube video to explain the reference but failed.  So you get the joke or you don’t.)

Category: zombpocalypse

Smarter than your Average Zombie

digitalgibs | April 12, 2009 | 2 comments

It’s kind of crazy how many zombie-related games have creeped up in the last year or so.  It’s especially odd that it came at a time when zombie movies have actually been on the low end.  The last real zombie movie I can recall is the remake of Dawn of the Dead or maybe Resident Evil came out after that (if you can call that a zombie movie).  When I started working on Zombpocalypse, the zombie scene was pretty dim.  Left for Dead was just a screenshot and the most zombie games up to that point had stuck with the old rigid zombies.  I thought it would be cool to make them fast and fierce, but I had no idea of the kind of technical issues it would bring.
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Category: zombpocalypse
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