Introduction

The Dead Walk is a very advanced 2Dzombie game currently in Alpha Phase. This means that it is workingand playable but not yet completed. There is still quite a lot ofwork to do to bring it to a full release.

Firstly the game is currently writtenin desktop Java meaning it can only run on PC/Mac/linux, the aim isto get it out on iOS, Android and hopefully web browsers(Facebook/Google Plus). Once completed the game will be released for$3 on iOS and Android. The Facebook and Google Plus versions will be free with theability to purchase extra features and content. Desktop versions forPC/Mac/linux will sell for $15 and include USBjoypad support.

The game will be much deeper than itcurrently appears in our footage. The player will start with a simplemachete and work his way up through better weapons (pistol, shotgun,rifle, rocket launcher, flame thrower etc). This means the game willbe very tough at the beginning and the player will have to usestealth tactics like creeping up on zombies and attacking them frombehind. The player will also be able to hide in the shadows to avoidconfrontation. More noise brings more zombies so being silent canallow the player to get through the level facing less zombies.Players can also create decoy noises by setting up a distraction thatthe zombies will go to investigate. Traps can be set allowing hugegroups of zombies to be disposed of in one go, for example the playerdistracts zombies with a decoy and when they go to investigate theyhit a trip wire which explodes dynamite.

Much like in 3D games the player willbe able to do advanced movements/animations, like hugging the wallwhile in the shadows so they can proceed unseen. The player will beable to do special moves in the right situation, like jump off ahigher object and slice a zombie in two using a sword for example (similar to something like Assassins Creed). The player will also beable to dismember zombies, for example blast off an arm or a leg, oreven a head. In this event the zombie will still keep walking, but with the missing body parts - so for example if the legs are blownoff the zombie will continue to crawl at the player, or if the headis blown off it will walk blindly towards the player with blood
gushing out of its neck.

There will be a story running throughthe game, which unfolds before the player's eyes. The player willuncover the reasons behind the zombie outbreak and ultimately huntdown the people responsible. But during the course of the game theplayer will also meet many good and bad people, resulting insub-missions within the game. For example if you rescue the littlegirl from the hotel, her father will become your loyal friend - hewill pop up from time to time to save your life and aid your journey.Another example might be that you meet a group of people who aren'tzombies but still want to kill you, and have you trapped in abuilding - you will have to escape and break out from their compound.

Most of these missions are optional butcan give great returns. These returns will be things like new weaponsand abilities, weapon and character upgrades as well as perks andthings which can be called in. For example after a mission the playermight be rewarded with an air-strike which will arrive in a crate andcan be called in to wipe out many enemies. Similarly the player couldchoose to increase their fire-power or running speed.

The game will feature lots of coolmoments and 'set pieces'. For example when escaping from the compound, the player might toss a flash grenade into a room full ofhis captors, then charge in wiping them out in slow-motion, beforestealing their weapons and detonating their head quarters. Many buildings will be destructible adding to the realism of the game.

You will also be able to swap todifferent team members as they join you. For instance when the main player is trapped in the compound, you will be able to flip to one ofyour specialists who can help in a particular way. For example, youcould flip to the explosives specialist who will blow a hole in the wall of your cell and unchain you, or you could flip to your sniperspecialist (hidden in a mountain many miles away) who can pick offthe guards as they become visible. In this case a cross-hair will appear that you can control.

As you can see from the graphicsalready, the game is dark and serious. The rest of the game and storywill continue in this manner (something like Manhunt). The resultinggame should be a dark horror style 2D game the likes of which theworld has never seen. I like to think of it as an advanced moreserious mixture of Castlevania, Ghost n' Goblins, Shinobi, MetalSlug, Rolling Thunder and more. It is inspired by the 2D classics ofthe 80's and 90's but will be infinitely more polished and with a depth of game-play and story usually associated with 3D titles.

The hard work of creating the engineand 2D game design tool (entirely from scratch) has been largelycompleted. Using the code I have developed - all of the above isentirely possible - to do this I have created a tool named Dead++.This tool allows me to piece together levels, missions, sprites, buildings, interactions etc. The development of this tool and enginehas taken many years and is still not fully complete. Creation of thegraphics has also taken a very long time and again is not fully complete.

We have self funded this entire gamebut are now completely out of funds and cannot continue development.Instead of stopping the development entirely we decided to make anAlpha stage demo and release videos of it to potential funders. Checkout our videos and screen shots to see how far we have come already. With time and a little funding we can complete this epic title andrelease it to the masses. If you are interested in seeing this gamereleased please consider donating to our cause!