SanguinaryNovel
@SanguinaryNovel

I've been playing Project Zomboid for 99.2 hours now, higher than any zombie game ever and it continues to hold my attention. It's one of those perpetual Early Access games, having been released in 2013, but it's a case of the game being in good forever development - sorta like Dwarf Fortress.

One of the things that keeps me coming back to this weird Sims 1 looking game is the robust modding community and bonkers amount of mods. The group I play with picked a random mod pack for the new run, barely looking at the contents for a fun surprise. Although mods that add trolleys and bicycles are always a hit, there's one that's oddly changed the texture of the game for the better.


Our group decided to head into the big city, breaking down at least seven barricades and nearly dying a few times trying to get in. We holed up in a nearby apartment complex, stocked a bit of food, and barricaded the windows. Normally you just kinda sit there for a bit, maybe read some books for XP boosts, goof around. At that time we figured out there was a music/instrument mechanic, and scrounged through the apartment for instruments. We managed to find a piano, flute, electric guitar and bass. There's even a levelling mechanic for the instruments! Each level has different songs you can play, and no instrument shares the same songs.

With that and the dance mod added by the same modder (Angry), they've added so much extra life and character to the game. When one of the group died, Antonio Bolognio played a terrible, somber version of Skip to my Lou on the trumpet while I did the African Rainbow dance. I was laughing until I couldn't breathe.

When we finally found a base of operations a the local megachurch, we dedicated a whole room on the top floor to be a party room. It included a jukebox (a Sims mechanic and music crowbared right into the game), instruments, and cassette tapes of period appropriate music that are TOTALLY LEGAL*, a boombox to play them, and a liquor cabinet. Normally the game loop is about stockpiling food, putting up defenses, finding medical supplies and weapons, but this new thing became an immediate and important addition to our gameplay. Every time we got back from a dangerous mission in the city, I'd load up Tears for Fears or some Queen and we'd have a little dance party. Your characters also can practice and get better at dancing! If you biff it and hit the ground, you'll be too embarrassed to continue. Until you slam a whole beer and it's back on the dance floor.

It's incredible how much life (heh) these small additions gave the game, and it's a firm reminder that there is joy to be found still in the apocalypse. Having everything be a dour slog for survival isn't true to life, and play/fun really is a necessary part of survival. Even at the end of the world we're still going to be creating and be creative, it's just in our natures.

*lmao not a chance


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