A zombie lifecycle within the DayZ Standalone is one of the intriguing gameplay developments mentioned by lead designer Dean Hall at E3 today. Hall, speaking live with Machinima's Inside Gaming , said that although zombie behavior remains one of the most difficult and problematic aspects of the game's development, the zombies should "feel much more authentic" in the Standalone when compared to the original Mod edition of the survival-horror simulator.
While I am certain I never want to meet an "authentic" zombie, Hall said the undead antagonists who will populate the DayZ Standalone universe could see their behavior affected by injuries, sickness, and hunger level. But implementing these improvements is apparently no easy task for the design team. "It's going to be an ongoing process to achieve that," Hall said.
Currently in a closed-alpha state of game development, the team behind the DayZ Standalone is currently creating five to six new items each week to add to the game world and those join a list that includes thousands of pieces of loot that have already been created, Hall said. It's still up for debate, however, whether or not a whole new set of vehicles will be created for the Standalone alpha or if the Arma 2 Mod versions will be used. Hall said new vehicles might be added later as the alpha testing phase advances. He did confirm that the weapons in DayZ Standalone are being created from scratch.
Hall addressed how open—and sometimes critical— the development process has been, especially now that E3 has begun. "It's sort of like a report card for Dayz," he said. "I don't know what we'll get but I am hoping for a B-."
When pressed by the interviewer on the possibility of the DayZ Standalone reaching consoles, Hall reported a positive, but cautious outlook. "I think yes," he said, adding "the onus is on us to not screw up the PC release." Good news.
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