Dead State - Design Update: Lore

Since our last post, some have you been demanding more writing about the game world. This seemed like a good time to explain the mechanics behind our “lore” system in the game. What I mean by “lore” is the data you can find in the game that reveals fragments of the zombie outbreak pulled from emails, message boards, browser caches, and text that can be found on phones, hard drives, and other pieces of scavenged technology. These are news transcripts, personal stories, leaked memos, and scraps of info that gradually reveal the bigger picture of how the zombie problem spread and what was done to combat it. These range from self-contained data fragments to 10-part sets. Each perspective gives a better understanding of how the world fell apart, as it would have been recorded by individuals or organizations. It’s a collection of observations and interpretations - if you’re looking for some grand conspiracy to be revealed, you’re going to be disappointed.

Every time you find a new data object and bring it back, it will be uploaded to a working computer in the shelter. From the computer, you’ll have a chance to select fragments and decrypt them to make them readable. Currently, the data decryption process involves receiving a partially recovered password and using the leftover letters to guess the password. Here’s an example of an easy one:

GR_ _ T (A,E)

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DoctorNarrative said:

This is how you do lore in open world games if you ask me… notes and characters you find throughout the world that give you little pieces of information, rather than a big story-dump cinematic or narration.

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Zephyr said:

Yeah, but . . . When's it gonna be done? I wanna plaaaay.

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