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title: "10 reasons zombies are the best enemies" |
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subtitle: "(In games)" |
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author: Seth Kenlon |
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publish_date: 2024-06-10 08:00 |
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date: 2024-06-10 08:00 |
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hero_classes: text-light title-h1h2 overlay-dark-gradient hero-large parallax |
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hero_image: horror-1600x800.webp |
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show_sidebar: true |
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show_breadcrumbs: true |
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show_pagination: true |
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taxonomy: |
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category: blog |
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tag: [ gaming, meta, settings ] |
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--- |
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Zombies are the perfect mindless threat. |
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I'm a |
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fan of zombies |
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in movies and video games and tabletop games. |
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Do you want to know why? |
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Well, there are 10 reasons. |
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## 1. Zombies have no soul |
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You can kill them without remorse. |
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You'll never walk into the back room of a bunker to find the innocent zombie wo… |
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## 2. Zombies are mindless |
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They pursue fresh brains to eat. |
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That's all. |
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When they need to be clever, they can be clever with plausible deniability that… |
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## 3. Zombies are as gross as you want them to be |
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They can have guts leaking from their rotting flesh, or they can just look like… |
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## 4. Zombies are timeless |
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Fantasy, modern, sci fi. |
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Zombies work in any game. |
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## 5. Zombies are modular |
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Everybody knows a headshot kills a zombie without fail. |
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But if you don't get the headshot, then that same weak zombie is as relentless … |
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Chop a zombie into pieces, and what do you get? |
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You get its zombie hand scurrying across the floor to deal further damage to yo… |
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Or the zombie explodes, spewing toxic bile on every ally within range. |
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## 6. Zombies are legion |
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Need more threat? |
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Add more zombies. |
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## 6. Zombies are as challenging as you want them to be |
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The typical zombie is relatively weak. |
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But recent research into zombies has revealed that there are inevitably a few b… |
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Modern zombie hordes feature shamblers, runners, ragers, spitters, exploders, c… |
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(I think I made most of those classifications up on the spot, but it doesn't ma… |
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Zombies are scary, and yet they can be as dimwitted and slow as you need them … |
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As players level-up or the game starts to intensify, the zombies players encoun… |
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## 7. Zombies are ubiquitous |
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Zombies have been a staple of horror for a long time, but I feel like in the 20… |
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The "zombie apocalypse" trope made its way into business plans, party games, mo… |
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As a culture, we're all pretty much as comfortable with zombies as we are with … |
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These are familiar concepts and a common language. |
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## 8. Zombies are as post-apocalyptic as you want them to be |
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If you're a fan of the post-apocalyptic aesthetic, then zombies can fit nicely… |
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It's superificial, but the _look_ of zombies just happens to fit the motif I en… |
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Of course, you don't need zombies in your post-apocalyptic setting. |
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A world where actual thinking humans betray one another, even as the world fall… |
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Your once trusted neighbour or partner trying to shank you for the last tin of … |
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But when you don't want that kind of emotional weight in your game, you can alw… |
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## 9. Zombies are satire |
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I think most people consider zombies to be satire from the very first George Ro… |
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The movie features the undead roaming the Monroeville Mall, because that's what… |
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Most people take it as an overt statement about mindless consumerism and mundan… |
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Obviously you can expand this as much as you need for your game. |
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Poking fun at mob mentality is an easy target, and you have the comment section… |
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## 10. Zombies are legitimately terrifying |
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And on the other side of the coin is the realisation that satire is based on re… |
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There's nothing more terrifying than someone you once trusted, admired, maybe e… |
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It's the stuff of nightmares, but in the zombie version, the person also wants … |
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Obviously you can emphasize this as much as or as little as you think necessary… |
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When you need them to be, zombies can be as emotionally taxing as any real-worl… |
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<div class="mxs_attribution"><p> |
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Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@henrikladewig?utm_content=creditCopyTex… |
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</p></div> |
