DayZ is a zombie-centric FPS currently under development by the studio responsible for the wildly popular Arma II.
As most FPS gamers probably already know, DayZ actually started off as a mod for ArmA II and was subsequently picked up by Bohemia Interactive to be turned into a standalone game title.
As an added bonus, Bohemia hired the creator of the mod, Dean Hall, to lead the undead project. Hall was recently on hand at a panel during the Eurogamer Expo where he talked a bit about DayZ.
“It has to be out before the end of the year. Not just because we’ve committed to it but in order to achieve what we have to do. It has to be. There’s no ‘we hope it is’; it has to be. And it’s going to be cheap. We’ve decided that we don’t need to sell a heap of units in order for us to be OK with where it’s going. The more units we sell of it the more ambitious we get, because the project has the better resources,” he explained.
” I like to think we’re taking cautious and sensible steps at the moment. I don’t really like cautious and sensible. DayZ as a mod wasn’t cautious and sensible. But our first few steps have to be that. And if we can achieve that in December, then in January and February we can start to do all the cool stuff, move to more ambitious features.”
Hall was also asked about competition from similar zombie shooters coming to market such as The War Z.
“Obviously you feel lots of things, and a lot of your feelings aren’t legitimate. I feel like eating ice-cream all the time; it doesn’t mean that I’m going to eat ice-cream all the time. So maybe it’s natural to get upset, jealous, scared – those kind of things. I definitely think all of those things.
“Maybe they will make a better game – I don’t know. Maybe what they’re doing is not cool to me, but the way I look at it is what are my options? What could I do? I could stand up here and be very critical of anyone who does a clone copy of the game. What would that actually achieve other than making me look like a dick? It’s not going to result in a better game,” he added.
Well said, but all I know is that I’m definitely stoked and ready for a playable alpha at some point in the next three months.
