Dead State Design Update

For the latest “Monday Design Update” of Dead State Doublebear’s Brian Mitsoda is offering the original vision doc of the title, which was used to help visualize the zombie apocalypse role-playing game’s gameplay. No spoilers then, but a sneak peek of the kind of experience we can expect:

8:10 AM

Day’s route is planned. The food from the Bargain Owl truck we found lasted us for a good long week, but once it’s gone. suffice it to say, starving mouths tend to eat common sense. Got to keep up appearances. I don’t mind going out I don’t like it but I feel like I have to, like a knight defending his castle. Betty pulled me aside and asked me to take care of Jonah said he hasn’t been sleeping, but he won’t stay put while others are at risk. He’s a good man, and I promise her I will do my best, against my better judgment.

Leaving in a couple of minutes. If this is the last thing I write. you know what, it doesn’t matter there’s not a whole lot of folks left to read it.

7:45 PM

I just want to close my eyes and forget about today. I thought I had adapted, but clearly it’s just not. possible? It was just a roadside gas and go affair we didn’t think we’d find much, but it was something. We had just pried open the back door Don had point. Two steps in and the shotgun goes off he was lucky, the guy inside missed by a mile and then some. Don’s a former cop, he got back behind the wall before the guy could get a second shot off. All three of us were a bit surprised, but we were okay.

I tried reasoning with the attacker he was scared, probably why he could barely aim his weapon. We didn’t want to take any chances. I told him we could protect him, that we could take him somewhere safe. No matter what, he wouldn’t budge. Time was wasting. Maybe it was because he was tired or because we were distracted, but Jonah never even heard the thing come from around the corner of the building. It took a chunk out of his arm, he screamed. Don turned around and started beating the bastard off with his bat. I stopped talking to the clerk and went to help Jonah. As I was trying to stop the bleeding, I hear a shot, and Don drops to the ground, headless. The clerk is standing there, two terrified eyes sunken in a week-old beard. I make eye contact for a second, and then I hear the shot. It’s me, I’m shooting. He stumbles back into the store, and I follow him. I don’t stop shooting until the chamber’s empty. I reach down and pull off his nametag. It reads, (Fred). I don’t know how long I sat there staring at it. I’m snapped back to reality by Jonah’˜s screams. Outside more of them had come, and were tearing him apart. There is nothing I can do.