Why not Robot?

Coming off of last week's zombie post, I've been doing a little bit of thinking in my spare time. Other monsters, other threats, other themes. What can be done that, really, hasn't been done much or done to death yet?

Why not robot? That's the thought that occurred to me while I was playing Infinity Wars -- a digital TCG. The setting of Infinity Wars is one of a sci-fi nature, with robots and nanotechnology and other futuristic bits. The robotic faction in Infinity Wars is known as Genesis and they hold the key to some truly awesome, and terrifying, robots. If you've seen the show Stargate SG-1 and know about the Replicators, well, those are pretty close. And not just the Replicators, but the 'Borg of Star Trek, the Cylons of Battlestar Gallactica... There are tons of examples of robots or cyborgs that are potentially terrifying. Even more so when you consider that, unlike zombies, these robots could possibly happen. It's funny how we often attribute the most fear to things that can never happen, yet think little of the real horrors that could exist.

So, what makes a robot scary? Well, like zombies it's not 'a' robot but 'a horde' of robots. That can repair themselves. And create copies from who-knows-what. That similar zombie theme of being hard to kill and constantly growing can happen with robots. Not only that but robots can also upgrade in ways that zombies can't and learn from their mistakes. How cliched is an AI with the capabilities to learn? Well, those activities are happening now, in basic forms, so it's likely less cliche and just a standard feature. But this ability to learn, improve and upgrade brings robots to a whole new level -- a level that zombies haven't really reached. They could out-adapt humans. How scary is that?

And that's why I ask myself, why not robot? I think it's time to retire the zombie and replace it with a shiny little bundle of malleable steel death.

Zombies -- All About the Bite

Contagion

Zombies. We all know them. We all have re-deaded hundreds, if not thousands, of them. We all have a love and/or hate relationship with them. With all this experience, with all the popularity they've had, there is still one area of zombies that I rarely see done well (or at all) in gaming -- the infection. This is certainly going to be focused more towards the video game market than tabletop -- tabletop tends to do it fairly well, or just get it hacked in by the players. Video games, on the other hand, rarely introduce the infection to the players. Prime examples being the Left 4 Dead series or the Dead Island series where all of the player characters are inherently immune to the disease, or in any number of RPG that features hordes of zombies and no player infection. Now, the video games are not completely devoid of the infection -- two examples on PC right now are Contagion and the Source mod No More Room in Hell (both of which are the screenshots for this article).  Not only do these games feature the infection, but I would say No More Room in Hell features it in one of the best ways I've seen as it persists and any medication found will only buy you a bit more time.

Contagion

I'm harping on the infection here because I feel it is one of the most important aspects of a zombie setting. Zombies, by themselves, are really not that scary, nor are they terribly threatening (except in massive quantities, but then, isn't everything?). All they really have going for them is their relentless nature and resilience.  The infection, however, changes that. Knowing that only one stray bite, scratch, or spray of bodily fluid could infect you and turn you into a ticking time-bomb is far scarier than the zombies, themselves. It is this vulnerability and need to always be aware and careful that, when combined with the zombie's relentlessness and resilience, the whole package starts to come together. And that is what I want to see more in zombie games.

Many people would say that zombie games are past their prime and should be carted off to the morgue. I, however, think there is still room for improvement. That there is still at least one really good zombie game waiting to be made.  We just need one that truly distills the essence of the zombie apocalypse. And for that, it's gonna need some bite.