Zombie MMO coming to XBLA

SAUCE

Ingredients:

Undead Labs, the studio founded by ArenaNet co-founder Jeff Strain, has announced that its first product, an "open world zombie-survival game," will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade in partnership with Microsoft Game Studios.

Strain has said that his studio was founded with a focus on bringing definitive online worlds to console gamers. "We love the PC, and we've had the good fortune to work on some fantastic PC games," he explains on the company's official site.

"But we also love console gaming, and it's past time for a great online world game to be brought to the console platform," he adds.

When Strain founded his Seattle-based studio, he announced that he'd be creating a massively-multiplayer zombie MMO -- or "MMOZ," as he called it -- that focused on action and humor elements.

Today's announcement doesn't describe an MMO per se, but in a Q&A on Undead Labs' site, Strain explains the decision not to use that term anymore.

"We feel that 'MMO' has become highly associated with a specific game design template, and we don't want people to assume that's the kind of game we are making," he says.

"If you think of an MMO as a game that allows thousands of gamers to play together in a persistent online world that evolves and reacts over time to player actions, then we're still making that game," Strain adds.

"If you think of an MMO as an online fantasy RPG with elves and dragons and EPIC QUESTS involving gremlin ears and dudes standing around town with bobbing exclamation marks over their heads, then we're not -- and never have been -- making that game," he concludes.

Microsoft describes the upcoming XBLA game, codenamed ****, as a survival-based third-person action title in a "zombie apocalypse" setting: "Players will need to form their battlements and settlements, raid for food and ammo, and rescue other playable survivors. Its open-world environment is described as "developing in real-time, shaped by player actions."

However, Strain says the team is already thinking beyond the XBLA game itself into brand-building: "**** is the codename for the ambitious zombie-survival open world game currently under development at Undead Labs for release as an Xbox Live Arcade title," he says. "**** is the codename for the subsequent zombie-survival online world game that we will develop by building on the **** platform."

"In other words, **** runs on your Xbox 360 and supports 1-2 players via Xbox LIVE or on the same screen, while **** will provide a much larger server-hosted world for thousands of simultaneous players."

No release date was given for the project.

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Wow, this sounds like it's going to be awesome! Let's hope the dev doesn't fail at this!

It was inevitable that someone would eventually get the idea to mix 2 of the most persistent trends of the gaming industry. Don't really care for it, though.

An Xbox Live arcarde title as an MMO? That sounds pretty awful since they are so restricted. Imagine how much DLC will cost, knowing MS, they'll want to charge for every single little thing they add to it. And that's the point of an MMO, a persistent world that is updated constantly and frequently because people are paying for it monthly.

Some pics/concept art here

An Xbox Live arcarde title as an MMO? That sounds pretty awful since they are so restricted. Imagine how much DLC will cost, knowing MS, they'll want to charge for every single little thing they add to it. And that's the point of an MMO, a persistent world that is updated constantly and frequently because people are paying for it monthly.

DragonfireXZ95

Aww, why does XBLA get all these games? :(

[QUOTE="DragonfireXZ95"]

An Xbox Live arcarde title as an MMO? That sounds pretty awful since they are so restricted. Imagine how much DLC will cost, knowing MS, they'll want to charge for every single little thing they add to it. And that's the point of an MMO, a persistent world that is updated constantly and frequently because people are paying for it monthly.

-RocBoys9489-

[QUOTE="-RocBoys9489-"][QUOTE="DragonfireXZ95"]

An Xbox Live arcarde title as an MMO? That sounds pretty awful since they are so restricted. Imagine how much DLC will cost, knowing MS, they'll want to charge for every single little thing they add to it. And that's the point of an MMO, a persistent world that is updated constantly and frequently because people are paying for it monthly.

DragonfireXZ95

edit: After re-reading, it seems the MMO version will perhaps be a different game while the normal one is a "base" to develop off of. hmmmmmm.

I hate MMOs, but I've always LOVED the idea of a survival Zombie MMO.

Alright guys, THIS clears A LOT of things up. I suggest you read it!

What's the difference between Clss3 and Clss4?

'Clss3′ is the codename for the ambitious zombie-survival open world game currently under development at Undead Labs for release as an Xbox LIVE Arcade title. 'Clss4′ is the codename for the subsequent zombie-survival online world game that we will develop by building on the Clss3 platform. In other words, Clss3 runs on your Xbox 360 and supports 1-2 players via Xbox LIVE or on the same screen, while Clss4 will provide a much larger server-hosted world for thousands of simultaneous players.

How long will it take to finish Clss4 after Clss3 is released?

One of our goals with Clss3 is to create the core gameplay and world interaction mechanics that will form the foundation of the Clss4 experience. This will allow us to focus on the online world components of Clss4, including content scope and scale, server and client technology, and player community features. Since we will already have a solid game foundation and a fully developed game world, Clss4 development should be very efficient compared to an online world game being built from the ground up. We anticipate that using Clss3 as a foundation will cut our development time in half.

[QUOTE="Skittles_McGee"]>Zombie MMO :D >XBLA :|-RocBoys9489-

I don't get this XBLA hate either. I mean, it isn't because XBLA puts a foot to PSN's face and holds her to the ground, right? :lol:

I jest, but any game with Zombies is worth my attention -- specially after all the Zombie love I've been giving since I watched "The Walking Dead".

looks sweet. i think an MMO can be very good on consoles. have your weapons and abilities on a mass effect 2-ish weapon wheel.i like this zombie mmo idea too. its like a real apocalypse. never ending, trying to survive and making yourself a better survivor. sounds like my kind of game.

Not a fan of mmo... and if this is like dead frontier than no thanks, I'm not using real money to buy bullets.lbjkurono23

looks sweet. i think an MMO can be very good on consoles. have your weapons and abilities on a mass effect 2-ish weapon wheel.i like this zombie mmo idea too. its like a real apocalypse. never ending, trying to survive and making yourself a better survivor. sounds like my kind of game.

taterfrickintot

Picture an MMO that plays out like Diablo II's hardcore mode, except you're a zombie apocalypse survivor.

that focused on action and humor elements

that focused on action and humor elementsJynxzor

Killed any love I would have had for this right out of the gate.

[QUOTE="Skittles_McGee"]>Zombie MMO :D >XBLA :|mrmusicman247

Do you even have a 360 :|?

[QUOTE="lbjkurono23"]Not a fan of mmo... and if this is like dead frontier than no thanks, I'm not using real money to buy bullets.taterfrickintot

>Zombie MMO :D >XBLA :|Skittles_McGee

I'm more like

>Zombie

:D

>MMO

:(

[QUOTE="mrmusicman247"][QUOTE="Skittles_McGee"]>Zombie MMO :D >XBLA :|iAtrocious

Do you even have a 360 :|?

[QUOTE="taterfrickintot"]

looks sweet. i think an MMO can be very good on consoles. have your weapons and abilities on a mass effect 2-ish weapon wheel.i like this zombie mmo idea too. its like a real apocalypse. never ending, trying to survive and making yourself a better survivor. sounds like my kind of game.

iAtrocious

Picture an MMO that plays out like Diablo II's hardcore mode, except you're a zombie apocalypse survivor.

I want that walking dead game rumor to be true.lbjkurono23

What.. no.. now you've instilled me with hope of my favorite TV series getting a game. If it doesn't come out, or if it flops, I'm going to have to claw my eyes out.

I want that walking dead game rumor to be true.lbjkurono23

http://undeadlabs.com/

[QUOTE="lbjkurono23"]I want that walking dead game rumor to be true.iAtrocious

What.. no.. now you've instilled me with hope of my favorite TV series getting a game. If it doesn't come out, or if it flops, I'm going to have to claw my eyes out.

C|ass3 is not an MMO. Read the dev's site, folks (posted in this thread a couple times already.

[QUOTE="-RocBoys9489-"][QUOTE="DragonfireXZ95"]

An Xbox Live arcarde title as an MMO? That sounds pretty awful since they are so restricted. Imagine how much DLC will cost, knowing MS, they'll want to charge for every single little thing they add to it. And that's the point of an MMO, a persistent world that is updated constantly and frequently because people are paying for it monthly.

DragonfireXZ95

My God.....It will be beautiful.