In an exchange on the DayZ subreddit , mod creator Dean "Rocket" Hall responded to concern over the idea of infections and defecation in the upcoming standalone version of DayZ by defending bad ideas. "I hope I implement alot of bad ideas," wrote Hall. "So that then, we know they are bad. Then we can remove them and move on."
Whether explaining disease spread in populated areas as the result of pooing (Hall's word) is a good or bad idea isn't known yet. Either way, and despite it being likened to "The Sims with zombies," Hall is adamant about the importance of risk-taking.
"If we stick to safe idea's, this isn't going to become a great game over the next few months - it will just be a cool idea and I'll try and spend the next ten years going around conventions talking about how cool it was," he continued. "I'd rather follow all the dead ends so I know what works and what doesn't. I'm 31, I figure I've got a good 20 years of game making left in me. Let's make the mistakes! If we're not anxious about the new features that are being considered... then we're not pushing the envelope hard enough."
Hall introduces the idea in his presentation at the 2012 Eurogamer Expo, which you can watch below. Jump to 19:30 for the disease and poo-related comments, or hit this link to get there.
