I am one of those who have recently got swept up in the DayZ craze. Unfortunately for me, it was before the 40% off sale on Steam. But I don’t begrudge the extra $10 or so that I had to pay. Even though I got about 12 new games during the Steam Summer Sale, I’ve barely touched any of them because I’m so caught up in DayZ. I’ll attempt to put a finger on why.
Objectively, most of my time spent in the game involves walking and picking through piles of items, but the constant threat of bumping into another survivor who may or may not shoot me on the spot, or stirring up a swarm of zombies gives even the most mundane tasks a sense of urgency. This is especially true when you hear a gunshot from an unknown location. Which way did that come from? How close was it? Was it aimed at me? And also when you're precariously hidden in the middle of dozens of zombies, each howling and screeching horrible noises as you try to collect items and avoid detection. This ain’t Left 4 Dead. One zombie can seriously wound you. And shooting that zombie will just attract more.
I’ve also fallen for the ability to explore and strategize my movements across the enormous Chernarus map. The map is 225 sq-km, or 140 sq-miles. Compare that to Skyrim’s approximately 16 sq-miles. Let that sink in. It’s nearly 9 times as big as Skyrim! Never before in a video game have I had to constantly reference a map, and a compass, and use landmarks to figure out where I am, and where I’m going. It adds a layer of strategy and planning that doesn’t exist in other games.
And finally, death. The interesting thing about a game that only gives you one life is that the longer you live, the more precious that life becomes. If your character is 30 minutes old when you get mauled by zombies, it sucks, but oh well. You didn’t lose much. If your character is 10 hours old, and you’ve found an awesome weapon, tons of food and drink, and huge backpack, lots of useful tools, and maybe even found a vehicle. Then the fear of death is very intense. I experienced this just yesterday.
I had about an hour to spare, so I decided to jump into DayZ and play for a bit. Knowing full well it’s much more dangerous to play alone. But screw it; I can’t stop playing this game. I find my way into a large barn, and I’m rummaging through supplies when a guy runs in, sees me, and says “Friendly! Don’t Shoot!”. Being a friendly myself, I don’t shoot him. But I also don’t have my mic on, because I only planned to play for a little while, so I can’t communicate with him. Mean while all of the zombies that were chasing this guy start coming into the building. The uncertainty of the situation - if I shoot these zombies, will i just stir up a swarm? Will this guy shoot me anyway? - made me decide to just remove myself. I ran from the building and was heading for the safety of the forest. The guy says “Don’t run”. And after a second, proceeds to shoot me in the back.
At this point my heart is racing, and I’m sitting up straight and wide eyed at my computer. ”No! I can’t die! I’ve got all this awesome stuff! It’ll take forever to get back to this level!”. I run zig zag, trying to avoid his fire, but I’m bleeding. ”I’ll catch up to you eventually” the betrayor says. At this, I’m like “fuck you!” I’m not dying without a fight. So I turn and fire on him. In the heart-racing intensity of the situation, I’m not sure if I’m hitting him, but he has at least stopped shooting at me. I see him drop to the ground, but I’m not sure if he’s hurt or if he’s just going prone to avoid being hit. Zombies are swarming both of us now. I turn and continue fleeing for the woods knowing, at least, that he isn’t able to pursue me immediately.
I run deep into the woods to put some distance between us, just in case he is still looking for me. I’m bleeding badly. My screen is going dark. I turn and shoot the zombies pursuing me. I’m nearly dead. I reach for a bandage to stop the bleeding, but another zombie emerges from the trees. I kill him, but not before he hits me and I fall unconscious. So there, in the middle of the woods, I watch myself bleed to death while laying unconscious in a pile of zombies.
Of course I'm a little angry. A little frustrated. But the experience was exhilarating. It’s been a long time since a video game made me feel like that. And I couldn't wait to spawn again, a little wiser, and give survival another shot.
No comments:
Post a Comment