ZombiU Sequel Idea

(Warning: spoilers ahead)

So I've definitely been surprised by how much I'm enjoying my purchase of ZombiU (previously I had admitted I was only purchasing it to encourage both Nintendo and Ubisoft to continue developing mature, unique content for Nintendo consoles going forward). However, I do feel that the game suffers from the same sorts of things that many launch titles do - It's a bit rough around the edges mechanically speaking, and some of the console feature integration seems to have been rushed during the design phase.

Fortunately it may actually be likely to see a sequel for this game; While It only sold 107,522 copies globally in its first week it's currently in third place from a sales perspective, first and second being New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendoland, respectively (source: vgchartz.com, 2, 3). I say fortunately because it would give the Montpellier team a chance to tighten up the controls and resolve some of the issues the community (read: the folks on Miiverse) have been asking about.

My first stab at what a sequel could be about goes a little something like this:

London has fallen to The Blight, the black wings prophesied by John Dee belonging to the military jets which cleansed the once-great city with fire. Two things did make it out in time, though: The Ravens of Dee, mythical panacea in tow; and The Blight, carried by the most unfortunate of chances on a train heading straight towards the white cliffs of Dover. The disease is spreading its way through Europe now, but we have a means of fighting back... We just need to get the word out.

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Image via behance.vo.llnwd.net

  • The Blight has made it out of London to Paris. The population, panicking due to international news reports of the calamity befalling London, only fueled the spread of the virus from the chaos. Reports of incidents like those at the beginning of London's epidemic are showing up not only across France, but also Luxembourg, Brussels, Barcelona, Milan, Amsterdam, and more.
  • New players would be randomly placed in one of several cities that have been ravaged by The Blight. Contacted by a member of The Ravens of Dee, they're given a 'crash course' in survival as they're led by radio to a rendezvous spot.
  • Once they arrive, they are paired with another player from the online community, someone who has a copy of the panacea with them and needs assistance from a native to escort it to the proper authorities for distribution. The 'native' is given a complete map view and target destination on their GamePad, but is less prepared equipment-wise and is an overall weaker character. The Raven player has better starting gear and is a higher-level character, but their map is only revealed as they proceed to be led blindly by the native.

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Image via www.qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm.org

  • Cities would be open and have many potential angles of approach (think of the levels in Dishonored), allowing the Native player to determine the best route based on their view while discussing it with the Raven player through voice chat. The cities themselves would only take at most 2-3 hours to complete, so that once two players begin a game session they can make it through start to finish without much worry of having to pick up later. This would call for a large variety of bite-size levels, instead of a few expansive ones.
  • At the completion of a level, the Native player becomes a Raven, and both players are randomly sent off to meet up with new Natives in new cities until their characters die (at which point they start a new Native). Ravens, therefore, are inherently "Survival Mode" characters, which supports the idea that they are carrying the salvation of the populace with them.
  • If a Native character dies, the Raven is told by radio to head for the last rendezvous point they passed in order to be matched up with a new Native (and vice versa).
  • If no other players are available for whatever reason, a computer player will fulfill the missing role in the pair.

So yeah, any comments or constructive criticism would be appreciated - I thought of this on the car ride home from getting groceries, and wrote out the specifics on my lunch break, so I'm sure there's got to be some glaringly obvious issues with it.