Welcome Zome - PreDevlog

This "Devlog" is essentially just a project pitch as I don't think I'm quite capable of putting the game together yet, but the idea is there.

Welcome Zome is a zombie survival game without the horror focus. The idea is to keep the survival and base-building aspects, but present them in a more relaxed, “cozy” way.

I’ve always enjoyed games like Project Zomboid, 7 Days to Die, and DayZ. I love the survival systems and base building, and often times I wish there was more emphasis on those elements. The Zombies add a great sense of tension, which is important to keeping the game interesting, but they can also end up feeling like a disruption.

With this project, I want to keep that tension, but without making zombies feel overwhelming or intrusive and focus more on the survival aspects.

Zombies

• Zombies are central to the game, but the balance is important. They should be present enough to keep things interesting, without constantly interrupting the player.

• One idea is to make them more dangerous at night, encouraging players to build their base and prepare. Cities would act as high-risk, high-reward areas with better loot, but they would always be optional.

Survival systems

• This is still a survival game, so fishing, farming, hunting, and foraging are all non negotiable systems.

• I don’t want these to be overly complex - they should feel approachable and not stressful, but challenging enough to stay interesting.

• Managing hydration is one system I’d like to give more attention to, such as purifying water or collecting rainwater.

• Looting will also likely be a key part of the game.

Building and decoration

• This will be the main focus of the game.

• I want the building system to allow for a good amount of customization, including walls, floors, and roofs. Decoration is just as important - players should be able to collect furniture from the world, clean it up, and use it to personalize their base.

• Crafted furniture would exist, but be more basic. Higher-quality items would come from exploring riskier areas, encouraging players to explore

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NPCs (stretch goal)

• Adding NPCs is something I’d like to explore later on - focusing on the helping hand aspect of zombie wasteland survival. I would like there to be some sort of trading system as well as the ability to invite NPCs to live at your base, though that adds a whole other element of resource and character management.

Another big part of this project is using it as an opportunity to learn Unreal Engine. I’ve mainly worked in Unity, and while I’ve had some exposure to Unreal, I wouldn’t say I’m fully comfortable with it yet. This will also be change in artistic direction from my normal - moving from 2D to 3D and working with a more realistic (but still stylized) visual direction.

Luckily, this is not a solo project. Abigail Norris ( ) also wants to work on this project with me. She will be handing most assets while I will be focusing on programming. Systems and game design is more of a group decision.

Overall, it’s a project that feels a bit ambitious for where I’m at right now - but that’s also part of the appeal. It’s something I’d like to grow into as I work on it. Hopefully we can get things moving sooner than later.