GOMBIES
Not your average Zombies.
OK, so lets get to it. What is Gombies?
GOMBIES is a 3 player cooperative game currently being developed using the Source Engine, for a PC release in late 2015.
That's good and all, but what IS it?
Well I'm glad you asked! With GOMBIES, the clue is almost in the name. Zombies for one, but I'm sure you guessed that. Secondly, the G stands for Geeks. Yup! Geeks.
Geeks VS Zombies.. This won't fair to well now, will it?
Probably not. The idea of GOMBIES is out there, way out there.. You take on the role of 1 of our 3 Geeks, whose weekly LAN night has been interrupted by chaos and destruction hitting the town.
As you investigate, it's clear to see that people around you have become Zombies..but not blood sucking flesh eating Zombies, oh no. These are brainwashed Zombies, turned into slaves by a computer virus that has been spread across the internet to all devices that have displays. The code has literally re-wrote peoples DNA creating mutations and senseless violence. ..Good luck!
Interested now? Good - Here's some more!
So, as you and two friends (or computer AI, if you have no friends :( ) battle your way through hoards of brainwashed Zombies - what's in place to make just another zombie shooter unique and not like the rest?
Well let's start with the gameplay, our 3 characters all have their own stats, perks, advantages and disadvantages. On top of this ammo doesn't grow on trees you know! Scavenge throughout the land to find new weapons, ammo and other sorts of contraband to help you survive the fight.
On top of that, this isn't your average shoot em up! For a start, this isn't an FPS! This is a 3rd person game that will rely on teamwork and well thought out decisions that will all have an affect on your journey throughout the game.
As with every virus, things aren't completely bleak! The virus can be removed, the damage can be reversed; if you make it.
In Chapter 1 you do some recon, get your gear from local shops and armouries and do some much needed R&D! Figure out what in the world is going on. After hearing a military broadcast regarding safe zones in the city, you decide to pickup and move on. Chapter 2 has you heading for a military controlled safe zone. Whilst reading the map for the fastest route, you find out there is a data centre nearby. The car is almost out of gas, so the geeks decide to make a stop there. After a quick discussion and some hasty choices you decide to investigate it in an attempt to try and dig up some information, where did this virus come from? How can you stop it locally to then create an anti virus? Play through the 6 exciting chapters and help bring the destruction to an end.
OK - Enough! Where's the Eye Candy?!?
Nope, sorry! It's all locked away in the GG vault until we're ready for a larger media release. But I can tell you this, level design has been going for over 9 months now; concept art and 3D Modelling is steaming through milestones and we will soon have some gameplay to show you.
What? Come on! Please!
OK, OK. Don't get your knickers in a twist! I suppose we can show you something.. How about some level design work? Nothing too revealing, but a look into some environments I suppose! All Pre-Alpha stuff!
Oh and here's some concept art work too!
Character 1:
Character 2:
Backpack:
Thanks for reading!
We hope to show you more in the near future, there's no profile for GOMBIES here just yet but one will be made over the next few months once our marketing material is all finished and polished. Please direct your support to our Website, Youtube, Facebook and Twitter!
Nice new' concept for this kind of game!
So I have to split this comment into parts because it exceeds ModDB's rule of 2k characters max.
P1
That's a well written introduction! I know we've had just about enough zombie-related games already by now. But no one can really say no to it, can they? Especially if it's a good one.
Gombies' (Placeholder eh?) idea and premise is interesting, if not somewhat awkward (Seriously, where did you guys get the idea of all this "Geeks vs Zombies" stuff?). But a third-person shooter on Source? That's something you don't see everyday! I trust the game won't be like No More Room in Hell (Which is a good game/mod, but that's just a mod and the animation are...decent at most)? Speaking of TPS's, will the game be something like Gears of War (Over-the-shoulder view), Grand Theft Auto (The "normal" behind-the-player view), or will it be top-to-down (Alien Swarm style, which is unlikely, but you guys made the preview/teaser in such style)? And since it's a TPS, the idea of a co-operative zombie game like State of Decay is great (Also considering the fact that Undead Labs decided to work on a mobile game instead of the planned "Class4").
P2
I do have a question though, why 3 geeks (Players) and not 4? Most games out there either feature 4 characters (Left 4 Dead) for co-op or 2 (Portal 2). I know that each characters are unique and so, creating a 4th character would be a hassle (Balance issues?), but it's worth a shot. After all, the more the merrier!
Now on to the gameplay itself. There aren't many third-person zombie games (Although games like DayZ or H1Z1 has it, they're primarily first-person shooters), one particular game comes to mind: State of Decay (Which I mentioned earlier), my question is, will it play anything like SoD? Judging from the map design from the teaser and the "chapters", it looks and sounds like the game would be linear (Just like in the Gears' games, Alien Swarm, Left 4 Dead and whatnot), maybe it's actually an open yet small map? And will it be scripted (If yes, hopefully it won't be anything like Call of Duty...)?
You mentioned something about decision-making that will affect the player's journey, but the game has its own story, I'm not expecting something like Mass Effect in scale, maybe it'll just be minor changes or changes that will alter the game's ending (Spec Ops: The Line like)?
And about the experience itself, will it be a fun-comical game (Because of its premise) or will it actually be a serious game?
P3
Last but not least, and no offense here, but why "Greenlight Gaming"? It's not that it sounds bad or anything (Love the intro btw), it's just awkward, especially knowing the possibility that this game might be put on Steam Greenlight in the future.
So like I was saying, the game is promising, it's all good. I'll be tracking it on ModDB and other medias. It's just a matter of time until we'll see how you'll live up to the game's promise. There's plenty of time till Late 2015 (1+ year/s).
Until then, best of luck on your endeavor (And your future endeavors, too)!
Think I just made a fool of myself for writing all of these in the comments, but I'm too lazy..so yeah.
Hey Stryker! Thanks so much for the very, very long comments.
Damn, I bumped over the 2K character limit too.
First off the bat, this game will be in no way like Call of Duty.
I'm going to read through your comments and reply as I do..
That's a well written introduction!
Thank you! I did it myself. (Dean) :)
or will it be top-to-down (Alien Swarm style, which is unlikely)
Doh! Nail on the head with Alien Swarm, a lot of our level design is currently being tested temporarily in the Alien Swarm SDK. That's the way we're going ahead, avoiding the same old same old story lines and events like NMRIH. As the project leader, I'm terrible for attention to detail in design & development so expect our models and animations to be kick ***.
I remember when the SOD trailer first come out, it was pretty impressive.. but not the idea we're going for right now.
Why 3 geeks? Originally there was 4, we dropped one after some planning and research. But 3, really? We know, it's odd.. At this point we don't intend on adding another player, but between you and me we're juggling the idea of a 'Spectator' with some pretty fun controls.. We'll see how that plans out.
So in regards to Gameplay, there is a storyline and there is an objective at the end of the level. Some levels will be more open than others, but all will allow you to make your way through them at your own pace. Items and Zombies will be spawned randomly, in an attempt to mix things up a bit. This will run along the style of L4D, without the constant fire spam or the blisters from button bashing. More of a relaxed, eery environment with 'oh no I've only got one mag left and nearly dead I better go hide!' Rather than the 'DIE DIE DIE!!!! I'm dead! Revived! DIE DIE DIE!!!!'
You too? Well, it happens :)
"in no way like Call of Duty" you made that sound like it won't have anything that Call of Duty has lol.
You made that? Then you should be proud of yourself, the article's worth reading through!
So it's made with the Alien Swarm SDK then, there's a Real-Time Strategy mod for Half-Life 2 based on the Alien Swarm's SDK as well! I wonder why it has to be Alien Swarm though, maybe because it's free? If the game will avoid those old things, I think it'll have a bright future ahead of it because people are sick of those 'old' things already! I don't mind the details (It's just the Source engine), but of course, we would appreciate it if it'll have sharp textures and whatnot!
Spectators then? That ought to be fun...or boring. Time will tell!
If it'll be something like Left 4 Dead, then I guess I need not worry, it gives me a good picture of what the game will feel like already (Of course, minus those thousands of lead vs zombies and stuff!). I suppose the game will have that creepy atmosphere that games like Resident Evil 4 had then? Looking forward to it!
Spot on!
It's not made from the Alien swarm SDK as you can't release commercial products using it. It will be done in the 2013 Source Engine SDK.
We don't intend on using any hl2 models or textures.
Re4 creepy atmosphere, yes.
Hopefully you won't recognise were even using the source engine once we're done.
Thanks!
It might be nice to see some Half-Life 2 props hidden in the game, but that might cause copyright issues or something.
Hope it'll out-do even Resident Evil 4 :D
Making a Source game where players won't even recognize it.. That'll be a tough one since pretty much every Source game has at least one thing that's identical to one another (Definitely that old-school console and server browser too! Maybe you guys will keep those two in? Some people prefer server browsers over matchmaking).
You're welcome.
Server Browsers & Console yes.
Regarding HL2 props, we can use their stuff not an issue. But they take money in the way of royalties.
Decision Making. Not touching too much on this, but this will result in players taking their own paths, decisions and outcomes into their own hands. Resulting in for example, opening a new route to finish a level or landing in a hidden armoury. Bonus! Players perks will play a big role in this. We have no intention of adding different endings.
This isn't a so serious game, it's going to be a laugh and something you can enjoy with your friends. But we also intend on adding some heart in mouth moments, putting the pressure on and actually making you think about your next move.
Greenlight Gaming? Yup, sucks doesn't it? We actually started as Greenlight Games two years ago roughly the same time Steam started their Steam Greenlight system. Sadly, the company is already registered and everything we own has our awesome little logo on it so it's there to stay, Steam do not own the trademark to Greenlight so it's not an issue, albeit misleading. But we have no affiliation nor claim anything to do with Steam and their Greenlight community. We've released some smaller mobile games under the name and are beyond the point of no return on that one. Regarding Greenlight, as we're using the Source engine the game HAS to be Greenlit for us to sell it.
Thank you for the follow, the track, check us on social media too! We hope to live up to it, it's already been a year in design and level development so everything is falling into place well now. We hope to have some awesome models to show off soon. Once again thank you so much for taking the time to show your interest, we appreciate the support.
Thank you,
Dean Day.
Project Manager.
Greenlight Games Ltd.
Minor changes it is.. Sort of something like in Left 4 Dead where you might find a supplies on a route that goes away from the objective? Guess we'll get some Easter Eggs too! Oh, and the perks, I wonder what those "big roles" are...
That's always good, after all, it's a video game. Co-op would be amazing!
Yeah, I just noticed that this isn't your first game after a lil' bit more digging. It's strange, but it won't do any harm. Good luck with Greenlight I guess! Or not, because games like this are supposed to have HUGE demands. Source.
No problem, I'll gladly share this project to my friends. If it's been InDev for about a year and it's still pre-alpha, I trust the end-product would be content-rich. Oh, and some models would be nice! Can't wait to see what exactly has this nifty virus done to humanity!
Since you brought up that "spectator" stuff, something else comes to mind. Will the game feature any PvP mode? I figured it'd be fun to have a player control the horde with a top-down view (Essentially making it a RTS vs TPS game) or something like Left 4 Dead 2's Versus mode (For some reason this reminds me of MOBAs). Oh, and I think you missed a question there about what kind of third-person shooter it'll be (Over-the-shoulder, GTA-like, Dead Space-like, whatevs).
And to save space, yes, a Q&A or simply a FAQ section would be good! Keep up the good work guys!
Missing question was answered in the first comment..
or will it be top-to-down (Alien Swarm style, which is unlikely)
Doh! Nail on the head with Alien Swarm,
Spectators, PvP, Shhhh! Spoilers!!
Guess I'm the one who missed it, sorry! The more I know xD
Spoilers.. Damn you devs! You guys are even more secretive than the secret government stuffs!
Keeps the hype running though, which is always good :)
If support like this continues I might be persuaded to add a Q&A.