I'm involved in a group that consists of me (the artist) and two programmers. We want to make a 2-D zombie survival game in the perspective of Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, though with more realistic graphics and obviously different gameplay. We want to try to make it a horror survival if possible, inspired largely by DayZ. Players will be able to explore a open world map, possibly set in an Alaska-type setting, and will be able to enter buildings in search of supplies. A major question we've been having is this: where do the zombies come from? We want to avoid the stereotypical medical-situation-gone-wrong scenario, and I personally want aliens to be involved. Does anyone have any feedback for this idea? Where do YOU think the zombies should come from, where would you like to see a zombie game take place, and what would you want from such a game? (Please don't feel limited to these questions and give any feedback that you want!)

I can kind of see where you are with this game. It is hard to have a back story on how zombies are created without a medical situation. But you could really play on the idea that it is the work of aliens that, in a sense, created zombies. Considering that aliens are very technologically advanced, it would probably point in the direction of medical experiments on humans (abductions). At the same time, they are aliens, you can really make up whatever you want that seems out of this world that Aliens have that alter humans in a zombie-like way. I'm not sure of any ideas of that sort right now, but the basic concept that I explained can hopefully get you or anyone working with you, or even, someone on this board going.

I'm just really curious in what programs you and your team are using to complete this project. Right now it seems you are still in the stage of creating a game design document (GDD).

I like your basic idea of what you want, it ultimately comes down to what you and your team are able to do and within what time frame.

This is all I have for you right now because my brain is kinda shot from a long day, but I can probably give you more and better feedback later.

Hope everything works out for the best!

aliens huh?
In that case, the cause should be a virus. The aliens are looking for planets to colonise and try to avoid doing any of the fighting themself(after a few years, with no food left, the zombies would turn on each other and the earth would be free for re-colonisation. The virus would be started either by planting humans they'd infected, or imbeded in a meteor they fired at earth.
The game should try to have a progresive plot, maybe revealing the timeline of events, or what happened to your family. Games get boring without that. Some form of leveling system too. Either xp or money is used for weapons or skill improvements.

Cookieman : Yeah, it would have been good to mention the movie "I Am Legend" in the initial post. The programmers are coding in Visual Studio, while I am making graphics in GraphicsGale and The GIMP. We are indeed very early in development, building off an engine they programmed for our previous game that we made for a competition. This time, I wanted to bring in more people's opinions since this game is more likely to be a public release rather than a competition entry. We don't have any particular entry as this is something we would all like to work on whenever we can, though I will have some other projects come up in May.
thenumberone : I really like that idea, though I do want to mention that the cause doesn't specifically have to be aliens. We are planning on having some sort of system in which the player will discover the cause as they progress, and we will definitely implement some sort of progressive plot. I am unsure whether we want this game to have an experience system or a shopping system, as we wanted to focus to be on scavenging supplies (forcing the player to move often to find new areas to loot). What would you think about a crafting system that would allow you to create better weapons, armors, medicines, etc.?

I think crafting is a good idea, upgrading your items would be cool too, e.g if you had a sword, you could upgrade with a refined edge, using various components etc. To make it in line with your central scavenging style, the items used would be non recoverable, so you'd always need to keep scavenging.

I see, well that's interesting. I might have to look into those programs.

I feel that a leveling system is only necessary if you are wanting to give the player's character another game play goal of leveling skills to benefit them as the story progresses forward. If that isn't the case and it just depends on gather resources to create it, then possibly I skill learning system, finding "blue-prints" to learn how to make items and whatnot.

Following on the idea of the scavenging system, things needing to be found in a chaotic world should be scarce. The more rare the ingredients to make an item, the more beneficial the item for game play. And yes, like what thenumberone said, making them perishable items helps with the survival game aspect.

Also, a note to ask about, are you going to have wear and tear on your items when used?

Cookieman : After quite a bit of discussion regarding item durability, we decided that we probably won't go with it because we want the game to focus on avoiding zombies rather than fighting them. Weapons will be in the game, but they will likely be rare items and we think it would be too cruel to make it rare and have durability. However, if this feels awkward in the final incarnation of the game, I can see us changing this.
thenumberone : For this same reason, I'm not sure if we will have melee weapons or not (I'll be sure to ask), and we likely won't have an upgrade system as weapons won't be very long-term of see heavy use.

This information was given to me by the programmers, so I want to ask you guys if you like this direction or if you would rather have more focus on combat?

Well the big question you have to ask yourself when making a game is, "what makes your game unique/better than other similar games?" Something like a game mechanic that makes it fun and unique.

I feel that in a Survival Horror game a lack of being able to fight back gives it the horror feel. Now, for the survival feel, I think that giving useful resources a durability is a pretty strong factor to consider.

There should definitely be a pretty fun combat system to keep your audience entertained and interactive with everything they do in this world.

I don't have much more time right now to break anything else down, but I'll respond to more of your feedback of what I just explained.

Cookieman : Sorry for getting back to you so late, we've just been working on our assets. I think we are going for a horror survival that hopefully keeps the player (or players) engaged. We are going to throw moral choices in there, and there will be corresponding consequences for each of your actions. From what I understand, the game will be more psychological than action-oriented, though espionage will remain an important element. As far as item durability goes, we are considering it, though we aren't too concerned with it at this point as we are working on making the environment.
Just some quick updates so anyone reading this can give some feedback: the setting is confirmed to take place in a modern, semi-open world, pseudo-Alaska. There will be interior areas with dynamic lighting that players can navigate with a flashlight. The exterior map will experience weather changes that will affect visibility and the player (i.e. hypothermia if you don't find warmth). The player will also have an invisible insanity meter, a stamina system, a hunger/thirst system, health, and manageable equipment. Our engine has a large focus on particles, and we already have snowstorms implemented. We will likely implement a cooperative multiplayer mode in which players will have to share supplies to survive, and the amount of enemies and loot will be scaled accordingly. However, in order to retain the psychological horror element, the insanity of a character will affect how they perceive other players. For example, an insane player may see other players die or may see zombies where there are none (or where players are). That's about everything we got so far. Maybe that wasn't so quick...

dagedude : Don't worry about it, just respond when you can. Projects like the one you are working on take time. I know this, haha. I'm just trying to help a fellow game developer.

I like what you have going for you so far. Do you have a game that I could reference to to see how you want the game to look? Or sneak preview assets? I'm quite intrigued.

Cookieman : I don't feel like I have enough for a preview yet, and I can't think of any games off the top of my had that are similar to what I imagine. The perspective of the camera will be similar to Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, though the graphics will be more realistic. I am considering making a website/blog to post my work, though I am still very unsure.