Been quite a long road. I remember playing this game back when it was 2D... like, 100% Sprite-Based 2D.

Ever since the "Kate & Baldspot" Era, pretty much. I've been on this road since Alpha 0.1.2a, and have learned a lot through countless deaths, rebirths, and all-around restarts. The hours played on Steam does NOT accurately represent the hours I've spent altogether.

I was Bob Smith, beloved husband to Kate Smith, who spent his final days protecting her with his life. Before durability was a thing, I remember walking down the streets with my trusty ol' Nail Bat. In my mind, I saw this bloodied survivor with a bald spot on his head... a man whose main goal wasn't even to survive... but to protect his beloved wife. And with nothing more to do, I logged out there, having survived well over a few months. I left it there, at a cliffhanger.

Skip a few years, and it's clear that his end was met eventually, as the Title Art "secretly" reveals. (Look at them when the lightning strikes.) In a way, I feel a sense of deja vu every time that lightning strikes, because while most of the modern-day players would see a simple man and woman, I see a former life of mine, having succombed to the virus that has taken over most of the world... and it gives me the urge to run up to their safehouse, and face myself, to finish that old story, so that I may grant the old me his long-awaited closure.

THEN find Earl and tell 'em "Howdy, neighbor!" with a shotgun already at hand.

Long story short, this game has infected me with how addictive it is. It's damn-near IMPOSSIBLE to forget this game once you get hooked onto it! Yes, you will die, but through those deaths, you'll learn from your mistakes, you'll grow stronger as a player... you'll become a battle-hardened survivor. And before long, you won't die from the zombies anymore... no, you'll find NEW ways to die in the long run.

You find an armed survivor who has "THAT look" in his (or her) eye? BAM! Shotgun to the head. You've survived for a month.

Run out of food, and forced to eat rotten stuff? You've gotten sick, and don't have the proper medication! You've survived for 6 months.

You're constructing that huge tower for defense, but accidentally trip, and fall down four or five stories? SPLAT! You've survived for 10 months.

You've been through Spring, Summer, and even Fall! Now you're at the end of Winter, and frostbite has your limbs frozen beyond a simple "patching up". Hypothermia finally claims you. You've survived for 1 year.

You've got the hang of things, now. People recognize you, and come to your base. You think you can trust them, since they have a skilled chef. The chef, however, sneaks bleach into your soup, and offers it to you. You've been poisoned! You've survived for 3 years.

In the end, this game's still in "BETA", but has come farther than DayZ (AND most of its other competitors), offers you more freedom than most of them do, treats survival a LOT more realistically (We have to eat 3,000 meals in one day... WHY again?)

If there's one thing that I must warn you about, Reader, it's this... don't listen to the people who claim that this game is "Dead", because it is FAR from it. Go to https://www.projectzomboid.com/ and see for yourself, then ask those "Dead" sayers to SHOW us where the developers said that they "Quit", or "Give up". Unlike SOME famous developers out there, THESE guys still dedicate at least ONE day weekly to tell us how they're doing, as well as how the game's doing. At LEAST one day a week! Now, go to another developer's website that's been around since 2011, and tell me how long THEIR last announcement was, following the one before it.

Six years. Almost seven, now! And they STILL haven't given up! If these guys aren't considered "Dedicated", then please, do clarify the meaning of that word, so that we may better understand your train of thought, and compare it to the rest of the people out there.

Been quite a long road. I remember playing this game back when it was 2D... like, 100% Sprite-Based 2D. Ever since the "Kate & Baldspot" Era, pretty much. I've been on this road since Alpha 0.1.2a, and have learned a lot through countless deaths, rebirths, and all-around restarts. The hours played on Steam does NOT accurately represent the hours I've spent altogether. I was Bob Smith, beloved husband to Kate Smith, who spent his final days protecting her with his life. Before durability was a thing, I remember walking down the streets with my trusty ol' Nail Bat. In my mind, I saw this bloodied survivor with a bald spot on his head... a man whose main goal wasn't even to survive... but to protect his beloved wife. And with nothing more to do, I logged out there, having survived well over a few months. I left it there, at a cliffhanger. Skip a few years, and it's clear that his end was met eventually, as the Title Art "secretly" reveals. (Look at them when the lightning strikes.) In a way, I feel a sense of deja vu every time that lightning strikes, because while most of the modern-day players would see a simple man and woman, I see a former life of mine, having succombed to the virus that has taken over most of the world... and it gives me the urge to run up to their safehouse, and face myself, to finish that old story, so that I may grant the old me his long-awaited closure. THEN find Earl and tell 'em "Howdy, neighbor!" with a shotgun already at hand. Long story short, this game has infected me with how addictive it is. It's damn-near IMPOSSIBLE to forget this game once you get hooked onto it! Yes, you will die, but through those deaths, you'll learn from your mistakes, you'll grow stronger as a player... you'll become a battle-hardened survivor. And before long, you won't die from the zombies anymore... no, you'll find NEW ways to die in the long run. You find an armed survivor who has "THAT look" in his (or her) eye? BAM! Shotgun to the head. You've survived for a month. Run out of food, and forced to eat rotten stuff? You've gotten sick, and don't have the proper medication! You've survived for 6 months. You're constructing that huge tower for defense, but accidentally trip, and fall down four or five stories? SPLAT! You've survived for 10 months. You've been through Spring, Summer, and even Fall! Now you're at the end of Winter, and frostbite has your limbs frozen beyond a simple "patching up". Hypothermia finally claims you. You've survived for 1 year. You've got the hang of things, now. People recognize you, and come to your base. You think you can trust them, since they have a skilled chef. The chef, however, sneaks bleach into your soup, and offers it to you. You've been poisoned! You've survived for 3 years. In the end, this game's still in "BETA", but has come farther than DayZ (AND most of its other competitors), offers you more freedom than most of them do, treats survival a LOT more realistically (We have to eat 3,000 meals in one day... WHY again?) If there's one thing that I must warn you about, Reader, it's this... don't listen to the people who claim that this game is "Dead", because it is FAR from it. Go to https://www.projectzomboid.com/ and see for yourself, then ask those "Dead" sayers to SHOW us where the developers said that they "Quit", or "Give up". Unlike SOME famous developers out there, THESE guys still dedicate at least ONE day weekly to tell us how they're doing, as well as how the game's doing. At LEAST one day a week! Now, go to another developer's website that's been around since 2011, and tell me how long THEIR last announcement was, following the one before it. Six years. Almost seven, now! And they STILL haven't given up! If these guys aren't considered "Dedicated", then please, do clarify the meaning of that word, so that we may better understand your train of thought, and compare it to the rest of the people out there.