LIVING AS AN EARTH WARRIOR IN PROJECT ZOMBOID

Zombies were people too

- Ali Jones

THE RULES

1. I can’t use gas-guzzling cars

2. No meat, no dairy, and no canned food

3. No killing – zombies were people too

Every time Project Zomboid loads up, it tells you, with grim certainty, that this is a game about how you died. For most, that death will likely come at the hands of one of the thousands of zombies shambling across its version of Kentucky. For others, it might be starvation or illness – once all that canned food has run out, how long will it be until you take a gamble on a mushroom or an uncooked rat?

But what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if you could not only survive, but thrive, forsaking the leftovers of the families lost to the apocalypse and growing your own food in its place? What if the undead simply need to be left to their own devices, to live and let (un)live? If nothing else, the apocalypse offers a chance to start over, and to help the world be cleansed of the mess that humanity has made of it.

To take the best possible advantage of this fresh start, I create a character capable of living up to my new ideals. The result, Leaf, comes with a proficiency in farming and foraging to help him live off the fat of the land. To make up for the positive traits I’ve taken, I have to choose some negatives too; I cheat slightly, taking the Pacifist trait which makes me weaker in combat, and the Sunday Driver trait, which makes me drive very slowly, and which might prove tricky if I ever planned to get in a car or fight a zombie. I round things out with Claustrophobia, which makes me nervous if I go inside. Since I’m planning a life in the great outdoors, however, I don’t see that being a problem.