• No, you are not a zombie, that would be stupid.
• Serious examination of a national crisis or natural disaster. Humans and a lack of order are a bigger threat than the undead. Think Hurricane Katrina, Children of Men, Dawn of the Dead NOT Resident Evil, Return of the Living Dead, zombie shooter-type games.
• Game is open-ended. There are characters and events that could happen, but the story depends on where you go, what you do, and who you meet. Of course, there's a lot more to this and we'll go into more details as time goes on.
• Skill-based, with some very basic stats.  
• Food is important. It's somewhat like a form of currency. It's one of several important resources in our game. The player will never have to worry about feeding themselves in the normal mode of the game, though it will be a factor in the survivor mode (the hardcore/iron man mode).
• No Deathclaws. No vampires or werewolves either. Or even chupacabras. Juuuuuuuuust zombies. A lot. A LOT. OF ZOMBIES.

-Set during the breakdown of society as emergence of zombies causes widespread panic and disorder.
 
-Slow, shambling zombies. Spreads like a virus/bite transmission. No, you are not a zombie, that would be stupid.
 
-Serious examination of a national crisis or natural disaster. Humans and a lack of order are a bigger threat than the undead. Think Hurricane Katrina, Children of Men, Dawn of the Dead NOT Resident Evil, Return of the Living Dead, zombie shooter-type games.
 
 -Game is about survival. Scavenging resources, exploring the area, dealing with other survivors, and managing a “shelter” of sorts are the main focus of the game. More on this later.
 
-Game is open-ended. There are characters and events that could happen, but the story depends on where you go, what you do, and who you meet.  Of course, there’s a lot more to this and we'll go into more details as time goes on.

As a matter of fact, food is important. It's somewhat like a form of currency. It's one of several important resources in our game. The player will never have to worry about feeding themselves in the normal mode of the game, though it will be a factor in the survivor mode (the hardcore/iron man mode). If the player has allies, they will need to eat or conflicts may arise.

In Dead State, there are multiple ways we randomize the events of the game outside of just reacting to player choice or from resource shortfalls. On our area map, for instance, some locations for allies and resources are randomized at the start of the game. You may never even find some of these locations on your first playthrough or you may discover them much later than your first playthrough/friend’s playthrough. Everyone will have the chance to discover these locations – we always spawn them – but prior knowledge of these events won’t make finding them any easier. Some locations/allies will always be in the same place, so you’ll somewhat of an advantage when playing a second time, but not for everything.
 
We also randomize some events. For example, in one game you might meet someone who tries to hold you up for your loot, claiming you’re surrounded by their friends. In one game, they might be bluffing, and in one they might actually not. There are a few events like this. There are also some allies you might not realize are allies on your first playthrough, and some allies that may behave differently than expected the second time… And, of course, zombie bites aren’t 100% infectious, so your infected ally population may vary game to game.
 
One of the other ways your game might change due to pure chance is from random events that hit the shelter itself. Don’t want to spoil too many of these, but I will give one example of how this works. Illness is one such random event that can strike allies. It’s a very real possibility, given the circumstances of the world and the exposure to unsanitary conditions. When an ally gets sick (which won’t happen often) they will ask to be taken off the active roster that day. The player might need them – you were going to raid an enemy position today! – but forcing them to work or fight when they’re already fighting a cold can be asking a lot of them. You may opt to give them the day off – but you’re now short one active member. You may push them into service – but it will sour their mood toward you. You may use your negotiation skill to make them more loyal for the day off – but you’re still short one active member.  Or you may use strong leadership to make them feel like they are a necessary component of your operation – but you’re going to have to have pumped some major points into this skill. Illness can be annoying when it hits an ally or two, but it can be pretty devastating when a serious illness starts to spread around the shelter. IF that happens, it would be a bit more inconvenient…

Even if it didn’t have zombies, I’ve waited at least a decade to play a modern game with X-COM’s mechanics commingled with a few of the original Fallout’s RPG sensibilities.