29 December:
Version 1.8 Released
Happy New Year! This is likely the final update for 2024.
Main Changes:
- Players now have 3 lives instead of just one.
- A Survivors' Leaderboard has been added.
- Fixed the glitch where attack animations would freeze.
- The screen now turns red when health (HP) is critically low.
- Score have been replaced with experience (XP).
Why no new levels?
Yes, I promised new levels, but I had to rethink the game's current state. Analytics finally started working, and it confirmed my worst fear: most players leave the game before even reaching the second level.
So, what's the point of adding a 5th level when players don’t even last 5 minutes in the game?
I’ve focused on making the game more engaging instead.
The red screen feature has been surprisingly effective! Players fight until the end rather than running away with 1 HP and getting frustrated when they die. The red screen now appears when HP drops to 5 or below, which is the maximum damage a zombie can hit. If the screen turns red, any hit could be your last—so it’s time to run!
The Survivors' Leaderboard lets players compete and feel like they’re not alone.
Three lives instead of one were added to reduce frustration and make deaths less discouraging.
XP is here? Hooray!
Score have been replaced with XP, which means character upgrades are coming soon! Let’s face it—killing zombies for the sake of killing or endlessly running from them isn’t that exciting.
But leveling up your character adds purpose!
I don’t think it will be too hard to implement. Upon reaching a new level, players could choose to upgrade health, attack strength, or defense. Or maybe not defense—defense could depend on different clothing items players can collect.
Plans for the Future:
I’m still working on the 5th level, but it requires significant improvements to the level editor, so it’s going to take some time.
I’ve also realized the game needs a short tutorial. New players don’t know when their health is running out, how stamina works, or why they suddenly can’t run anymore. They also don’t know where to find food to restore HP. I initially thought it would be fun for players to figure everything out on their own and explore a new game world without guidance.
But the reality is different—if players don’t understand something, they quit and never come back.
World Map Idea:
I’ve had a new idea: instead of levels, there could be a world map. Players could move between cities and even revisit cities they’ve already explored.
Sounds cool, doesn’t it? What do you think?
