Zombies are all the rage on television and in video games. Perhaps this is due to the insane popularity of the The Walking Dead, an on-screen adaptation of the comic book created by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore.
However, one of the most popular zombie games is currently DayZ, which is actually a mod for Arma II (Arma II and the original Arma were follow ups to Operation Flashpoint).
Essentially, Arma II is a tactical shooter focused on infantry game play that first hit shelves in 2009. Expansion packs rolled out in 2010 and 2011, with a free to play version of the game eventually going live. One of the coolest aspects of Arma II? It is open to heavy modding – and this is where the DayZ zombie mod comes in.
Indeed, DayZ has proven hugely popular with over one million fans of the undead loading up the mod. So it comes as little surprise that DayZ will be turned into its own stand-alone video game under the auspices of Arma II developer Bohemia Interactive. Dean Hall, creator of the zombie mod, has been tapped to lead the project, which is definitely good news for fans of zombie shooters and the DayZ mod.
“This is the fairy-tale outcome for a mod that many would have said impossible four months ago. Development and updates of the mod will continue in parallel with the development of the game, so anyone who is playing the mod now will be able to continue to do so,” Hall said recently.
“The project will follow the Minecraft development model; fast iterations with the community alpha available for a heavily discounted price. I realize people will have many, many questions – but we wanted to let everyone know the announcement now. Over the coming weeks, these questions will be answered. The game will have its own site, www.dayzgame.com and the mod will continue at its present link.”
