We interviewed Ryan Backer, lead designer of Zombie Army 4, to tell us more details about a quarter of the Nazi zombies.
A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to try in London the new Zombie Army 4. In an enclave worthy for the occasion – a basement of an old building in the British city -, in Meristation we were able to interview, along with other colleagues in the press, a Ryan Backer, lead designer of the fourth installment that is coming.
In the words of the thinking head behind the project, in this game it has been tried that the seriousness and the humor are distributed in equal parts, that is “a mixture of both”. For this, the key is in how the visual references have been taken.
For example, "visually the previous games drank more of the classic zombie aesthetics" in recent years, while for this fourth part, the idea is to bet "on movies like Romero's or traditional zombie genre tapes" . "We want to go a little further in this regard," says Backer, who points out that they want to combine funny moments "that are really horrible."
To achieve this, the study is based on several principles at the design level, but there are two above all: the Killcam and the animations. Coming from the Sniper Elite saga, it slows down time when shooting to see the bullet in slow motion through the enemy. In Zombie Army will also be present, that for something they are their creators.
“The killcam comes from the Sniper Elite saga and we know that people love it,” says the lead designer of the studio when asked about it. “It's super fun, especially if you play alone, since when playing in a cooperative everything is faster and you should look for a more secure area. Playing alone is all more cinematic. ”
Likewise, the other playable key point lies in the collision system of the gunplay. Each shot seems real, as dozens of parts of the zombies can be dismembered. "Depending on how we shoot, zombies will react in one way or another," says Backer, who also comments on the technical complexities of creating this system.
"We have to get all that kind of different animations, we have to make sure that when the zombies crawl or have lost a foot they seem real," he says. “It is the key for the gunplay to work well, that when we shoot a shot the impact is noticed, that it is reacting and going backwards, not that nothing will happen. I think one of the main points of Army Zombie 4 ”.
The progression system
Tone between serious and humorous and a funny gunplay, but what does the study believe is the main difference from its predecessors? The lead designer is clear: "I think the big difference with respect to their predecessors is in the progression system."
For Backer, this weapon and skill progression system makes the game "more interesting." As players get more money, they can build "better weapons, traps, special attacks" and much more. Ryan, in fact, gives an important detail, which is nothing more than "it is not an exciting system, but it is interesting", especially because of how the way of playing changes.
Modifying the way we play the title also directly influences how long it will last. The production comes with several game modes, including a campaign. The duration of it? Backer makes it clear: "If you play alone, I think it will last longer, since you will take your time to explore hidden places, discover interesting things, etc."
“I don't know exactly the number of levels we have, but each level is made up of similar rooms. There are zones of action and ‘safe zones’, ”he emphasizes. “Everything changes depending on whether you play alone or do it with 4 other teammates. If you move faster you will have less time to explore than if you play alone, for example. The rules of the game change, ”he concludes.
These are some of the novelties that await us in Zombie Army 4, the title of Badland Publishing that goes on sale next February 4. If you want to know more, don't forget to read our first impressions!
