By John Walker on July 10th, 2011 at 5:29 pm.
Here’s a spot of good news for the world’s unluckiest indie developer, The Indie Stone: It’s looking as though Project Zomboid – their really very good zombie survival game – may be coming to Steam. Using the same technology that brought the news that TF2 was going free, keen eyes on our forum have spotted the Magical Box Thing that says what’s being added soon listing Project Zomboid as a retail product. Which is fabbo, because it deserves to be played, and those poor bastards deserve some luck. So just give your best guesses as to how this will go spectacularly wrong. (Cheers to Will and SilverSilence.)
10/07/2011 at 17:39 Legionary says:
Fantastic news. I’ve been waiting for it to pop up somewhere I feel confident about buying it. Can’t wait to break out my pillow.
10/07/2011 at 18:26 Pinkables says:
You’re a monster.
10/07/2011 at 18:28 Sweedums says:
I accidentally used the pillow, i thought it would make her sleep better. It didn’t. I almost cried….
10/07/2011 at 18:37 TillEulenspiegel says:
It’s funny, little things like that in a game affect me more deeply than nearly any hours-long character-driven plot. I almost can’t play PZ because of the injured wife motivation, combined with the promise of inevitable doom.
10/07/2011 at 22:01 Bilbo says:
I’m fine with the injured wife motivation, but embedding such a fucking horrible, heinous action in there without any warning put me right off the game. I had to restart, obviously, because I hadn’t been intending to do the deed in question, and it subsequently led me to suspect a similar trolling effort every time I clicked any object in the game. Pick up can of beans. Player beats self to death with can of beans. Etc.
On the other hand, if used properly, a bit of a surprise like that could be a really great storytelling device, revealing something shocking about a player character. I’m just not convinced that’s what happened in this specific instance. Either way, this is exciting news, and lord knows this studio deserves some good fortune. I’m a layman in terms of security but I assume distributing the game via Steam will be more secure than any effort they’ve made alone so far, so hopefully the added security and publicity of being on Steam will be a much-needed shot in the arm.
10/07/2011 at 23:26 BeamSplashX says:
Features:
-Stuff your wife with a pillow!
-…and water!
KG
11/07/2011 at 02:28 Kaira- says:
And in the game!
11/07/2011 at 03:17 Pathetic Phallacy says:
@bilbo:
I believe the reason the option was there was not for “heinous” purposes, but rather for liberating release. If the zombies were to get into the house and there were no options left for our valiant hero, well do you not think killing his wife would be the right thing to do, given the situation?
It’s not “trolling”, it’s brilliant open story telling. We should expect the same from all games.
11/07/2011 at 07:24 Juan Carlo says:
This game has my nomination for one of the best openings ever. And by opening, I mean literally just the title cards at the start. After just playing the first 30 seconds of this game and hearing the sparse music coupled with just white on black text: “These are the end times. There was no hope of survival. This is how you died.”–I was convinced that this is something I wanted to play as any developers who have the taste to pull off something that minimalist yet effective immediately have my trust. It really sets up the desperate tone perfectly, and once they introduce your wife, it just gets more and more effective.
11/07/2011 at 07:52 Bilbo says:
You’ve obviously completely missed my point. I don’t have a problem with having the option, I just think it should be made clearer that that’s what you’re going to do. As has been said here and elsewhere, using a pillow on a woman in a bed doesn’t immediately say “euthanasia” to all people. It’s the kind of thing that should definitely carry a warning prompt of some kind, giving you a chance to back out of it. Or a bit of mouseover text when equipped with the pillow saying “Smother”. That’s all I meant. Making it so a seemingly innocuous action makes you kill your wife really is just trolling. But it got us talking about it, which is obviously what they wanted.
As for “we should expect this from all games”, I really don’t want every character to turn to euthanasia at the first sign of trouble. It’s mucky.
11/07/2011 at 09:40 PoulWrist says:
@Bilbo; well, it _is_ still in the alpha stages, not even beta yet. You can’t expect everything you do here to be polished. Did you give them your feedback on this? That is after all what you’re doing, testing an unfinished product.
I bought it a while back, haven’t played it yet. Waiting for more features to be implemented before I boot it up.
11/07/2011 at 11:25 Bilbo says:
Oddly enough, I find the overall production very polished for such an early build. This isn’t a case of polish, it’s just an odd judgement. Enough people are already talking about it being a strange idea that I don’t see much point in going on the Indie Stone forums to bring it up – it’s old news – but it was mentioned here
10/07/2011 at 17:45 Dana says:
Dont mind if I do !
11/07/2011 at 04:42 The_Player says:
It’s a Gabriel Knight’s quote, right?
10/07/2011 at 17:45 RobF says:
I think Nick will get so excited about this that he’ll forget how gravity works and will fall up the stairs bringing development to a crushing halt as there’s no-one left alive to do the particles.
10/07/2011 at 17:48 Nick says:
it will become an origin exclusive and vanish from steam.
10/07/2011 at 18:25 Rinox says:
Right before Origin demolishes Steam with better prices and superior customer service? ;-)
Writing that sentence made me feel almost as wildly insane as a CoD script writer.
10/07/2011 at 21:36 PoulWrist says:
Well, they already have better prices :p at least to anyone in the EU outside the UK.
10/07/2011 at 22:19 VAgentZero says:
Right before Origin demolishes Steam with bullshit litigation.
10/07/2011 at 23:25 Wozzle says:
It’s confirmed: Origin is the only way to get the Zombie Dog pet.
11/07/2011 at 15:22 MadTinkerer says:
No, no: that’s a Gamestop preorder exclusive.
10/07/2011 at 17:50 Stardog says:
Quote from the thread:
lemmy101 (developer) – “I should clarify on this since it’s now out there. It’s not quite as exciting as ‘being on Steam’, at least not yet, but Valve have done us a massive favour in allowing Project Zomboid to use their servers and auto-updating and whatnot. We won’t appear on the store and Steam accounts will only be via redeem codes, so purchases will still be through our site. It’s possible we’ll pop up on the Store at some point in the future when the game has more content and is more complete, but none of that is for sure at the moment.”
11/07/2011 at 06:38 wu wei says:
That Valve are doing this is what I’d like to hear more about. What’s in it for Valve? Is this a service they provide to all in-development games they’d like to see on Steam? Are they charging for it?
“Indie game coming to Steam” isn’t news, but “Valve provide backend infrastructure for possible non-Steam game” is.
10/07/2011 at 17:56 Fumarole says:
Anyone know what the price will be?
10/07/2011 at 18:02 Kaira- says:
As the quote above says, it’s not even certain that PZ will appear on Steam. Plus you’d probably be better off buying it straight from devs.
10/07/2011 at 18:11 raddevon says:
It will definitely be hosted on Steam pre-release. My understanding is that your purchase from the developer will grant you access to the game on Steam despite the fact the finished game may or may not appear in the Steam store.
10/07/2011 at 18:04 Klydefrog says:
This is great news but I hope they don’t make me pay for it again to get it on steam. I would probably pay for it again anyway but still…
10/07/2011 at 18:39 Bennyjh says:
From what ive read on the forums it seems you will have to convert your original account to a steam account. So no repurchase.
Quote from lemmy;
“If you would prefer the game on steam, you will be able to go to a request form, type in your user/pass and convert your account to a steam redeem code.”
11/07/2011 at 08:12 abhishek says:
Do we have any idea when this might happen?
10/07/2011 at 18:10 amandachen says:
What a useless article. Kinda typical of RPS these days. Nobody has control over what gets posted here? Bring back Kieron Gillen.
10/07/2011 at 18:17 Nick says:
what?
10/07/2011 at 18:18 Magnetude says:
You’re reading blogs wrong.
10/07/2011 at 18:18 Raiyan 1.0 says:
Amandachen read the alt text of the Zomboid screenshot and became so terrified of the implications that s/he starts acting grumpy instantly to hide his/her discomfort.
10/07/2011 at 18:19 Unaco says:
What a useless comment. Kinda typical of RPS these days. Nobody has control over what gets posted here? Bring in the Gestapo!
10/07/2011 at 18:20 Raiyan 1.0 says:
Amandachen reads the alt text of the Zomboid screenshot and becomes so terrified of the implications that s/he starts acting grumpy instantly to hide his/her discomfort.
10/07/2011 at 18:30 Raiyan 1.0 says:
Did I just make a double post? I thought making duplicate posts was impossible here?
I’m going to leave it right there to commemorate my achievement! :)
10/07/2011 at 18:43 Metonymy says:
If you want truly useless articles, perfectly complementing useless web design, the go-to place is kotaku. Don’t settle for amateurs like RPS. These RPS articles almost always have something marginally informative or useful in them. Even the navel gazing around here is thoughtful.
10/07/2011 at 18:54 Dana says:
‘Article’ doesnt mean what you think it means.
10/07/2011 at 19:11 amandachen says:
“Article” doesn’t mean what John Walker thinks it means.
10/07/2011 at 19:24 Aemony says:
There is no article here, merely a post. On a blog. A blog post, so to speak.
Now where’s that magazine with those pretty articles?
10/07/2011 at 19:30 Christian says:
@Raiyan: Thanks for pointing out the alt-text. I nearly missed that. Should get used to remember looking more often, as it seems worthwhile here.
Also: Forum-achievements. Exactly what this site is missing, hooray!
10/07/2011 at 19:30 icupnimpn2 says:
From the RPS “About Us” page:
“RPS is about PC gaming – all of PC gaming, rather than just one of the weird and wonderful niches most other PC-centric sites confine themselves to. It’s written by four of Britain’s top games journalists, and it aims to cover everything from the latest breaking stories about the biggest releases to esoterica from the format’s obscurest peninsulas.”
I think this post qualifies under the “about PC gaming” clause.
10/07/2011 at 19:38 John Walker says:
Amanda – you clearly hate this site, as you have expressed so very many times. You behave like a stupid spoilt brat and add absolutely no value to anyone’s experience. Can I suggest you go away and never read RPS again? That would be lovely.
10/07/2011 at 20:00 Darkelp says:
Oh no John didn’t!
Sorry, long day.
10/07/2011 at 20:18 Roaring Panda says:
Don’t worry John, we all love you, keep up the good work and keep on truckin’
10/07/2011 at 20:19 sassy says:
Well said John.
Really how is this not a good piece? It tells new related to PC gaming that some may find useful, I am one of those people. If John had not wrote this then I wouldn’t be about to go buy the game, as before I was slightly more reluctant due to the developers constant misfortune making me have doubts about their potential to finish the project.
10/07/2011 at 21:10 CMaster says:
Wait, “Bring back KG” from someone who lambasted KG for thousands of words about “getting his jollies from the suffering of others”?
10/07/2011 at 21:24 Shadow Aspect says:
re: amanda. I think it might have been humour. But I’m not sure :)
10/07/2011 at 21:28 JiminyJickers says:
Hear hear, John.
Recently, everytime I have seen an Amandachen post I have shaken my fist at the sky muttering under my breath, haha.
10/07/2011 at 21:46 Auspex says:
@CMaster: I think that’s the point, Amanda is saying “even KG is better than this!”
@JiminyJickers: Only recently?
10/07/2011 at 22:03 Navagon says:
So… was Amanda adversely affected by one of John’s scathing exposés? Or does she just like to bitch a lot? Find out in next weeks thrilling episode.
10/07/2011 at 22:35 Coins says:
Why can’t we all be friends. :(
10/07/2011 at 22:58 rayne117 says:
If you see Amanda commenting, take it with a grain of nothing. Because what she says isn’t even worth a grain of salt.
I remember a few months back she posted a comment about something to do with WoW and the Chinese, it went like this: “All you people talking about this need to stop. You’re not Chinese. You don’t know maaaaaaaaaan. You just don’t.”
Well, Amanda, you’re not an RPS editor, you don’t know maaaaaaaaan.
10/07/2011 at 22:59 Deston says:
Yes. Not getting precisely what I personally want from every post on a blog that I read freely makes me so cranky too.
Grrr and roar and such! :3
10/07/2011 at 23:12 JiminyJickers says:
@Auspex
Good point. I guess just the fist shaking started recently, haha.
10/07/2011 at 23:18 Tycow says:
How’s your world famous opinion site going Amanda?
Oh wait…
10/07/2011 at 23:32 icupnimpn2 says:
Because it’s fun playing Devil’s advocate, let me defend Amanda for a moment. While she has made cantankerous and questionable remarks, she has refrained from “LOL” type and no-value-added comments for a good while now.
In the forums, she has made helpful recommendations for reviews, overlooked games, and computer equipment:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/forums/search.php?searchid=36596
11/07/2011 at 00:45 Dozer says:
What a shame.
11/07/2011 at 01:27 Berzee says:
successful op
10/07/2011 at 18:10 Ovno says:
Don’t forget there is a public demo out now, and its really rather good…
http://projectzomboid.com/blog/index.php/2011/06/free-public-demo-released/
10/07/2011 at 18:13 Kaira- says:
Nice to see that the devs have some support from “big players”, but I won’t be buying this game via Steam, even if possible. If I can register it to Steam (but not as a mandatory thing), neat. I’ll have to follow this project a bit closer to see whether I should get it.
10/07/2011 at 20:30 JB says:
“If I can register it to Steam (but not as a mandatory thing), neat.”
It seems that is exactly what will be happening.
10/07/2011 at 20:23 magnus says:
Even though I’ve blown a stupid amount of money on the summer steam sale, if Project Zomboid does make it to steam then I feel obliged to support it after what The Indie Stone have gone through.
10/07/2011 at 21:20 Perkelnik says:
[poker face]
Valve will release Half-Life sequel and the internet will die.
[/poker face]
10/07/2011 at 21:26 JiminyJickers says:
Good news. Good to see that something positive is happening to these guys.
Looking forward to seeing the finished or at least the beta product.
10/07/2011 at 22:04 Navagon says:
Well it’s good to see there’s hope for these guys yet. I thought they might have been hit by a meteorite or something by now.
11/07/2011 at 00:23 Cvamped says:
Awesome, loved the PZ demo cannot wait for the full game.
11/07/2011 at 00:42 Big Murray says:
I couldn’t figure out how to stop the guy with the shotgun coming in and murdering me in the demo. Even boarding everything up didn’t stop Hulk Neighbour.
11/07/2011 at 06:13 Anders Wrist says:
Hide in the bathroom upstairs and wack him in the skull with your hammer when he enters the bedroom.
11/07/2011 at 14:00 ChiefOfBeef says:
How do you see him coming? Or is this one of those things where meta-game clarivoyance has to play a part?
This one time after making a pot of soup and trying to heat it in the oven (I don’t know if this works yet), I left the oven on as I took the pot upstairs and Mr Shotgun didn’t show up but the house caught fire and the burglar alarm went off which attracted a horde so I couldn’t even escape and leave the wife to die in the fire*. I would have at least had some satisfaction if Mr Shotgun shared our fate. Is he just a semi-random encounter then?
*Zombie games make you into a horrible person, fact.
11/07/2011 at 15:57 MashPotato says:
As this is an early-on demo, we wanted to show the sort of elements that *could* happen, so the raider is scripted to appear if the fire doesn’t occur. The real game will be more open :)
11/07/2011 at 01:47 rebb says:
Oh hey, zombies.
11/07/2011 at 06:35 wu wei says:
reply fail :|
11/07/2011 at 08:04 runtheplacered says:
@ icupnimpn2,
“Sorry – no matches. Please try some different terms.”
Was that your way of trolling her/him/it?