Developer Log: PaTT Day 2 - Becoming a Zombie

Since the test began yesterday, many survivors and zombies have already been fighting and even cooperating together. In Zeverland, zombies are never just enemies. They might be your next identity, a part of your weapon, or even the seed of a whole new form of civilization.

In today's log, we’ll talk about some of the design ideas behind the “human-to-zombie” gameplay and explore one question: in the apocalypse, who truly rules — humans or zombies?

If you have any feedback, suggestions, or questions about Zeverland, feel free to leave them on Discord or any of our social media platforms. We will record everything one by one.

Q1: What are your plans for the human-to-zombie system?

A: We’ve seen a lot of lively discussions and creative suggestions in our Discord server about the human-to-zombie gameplay, which honestly surprised us. Our team is now having internal discussions on it because it’s a very interesting direction. We already have some ideas, but since Zeverland is still in its very first minutes, your experience and preferences will shape how this system grows. We’ll wait and see your feedback from this test before making final decisions.

Q2: After dying as a human, can I choose to become a zombie and join their side?

A: Not exactly! Only those who die from infection can be reborn as zombies. If you are killed by wolves or bitten to death by zombies, that counts as a normal death. There are many ways to die in Zeverland, but turning into a zombie must have a logical reason behind it.

Q3: Can you eat and drink the tomato can as a zombie? This is a serious question.

A: No, you can’t. But your still-human buddy can. Once you’ve turned into a zombie, your limbs are too stiff to open the can, so you can only watch helplessly as your friend eats the tomatoes.

Q4: After being infected, can I choose to die and respawn instead of turning into a zombie? If I become a zombie, can I turn back into a human? What happens if a zombie dies? Do they disappear forever?

A: Of course, you can choose to die with dignity and respawn as a human. If you’ve already turned into a zombie, you can still return to being human. The infection isn’t strong enough yet to make the change permanent. As for what happens when your zombie character dies, that’s a secret. Come try it yourself and see!

Q5: Will zombies be customizable, like dismantling and rebuilding body parts for different bonuses?

A: Right now, you can take limbs from special infected types, such as Parkour Zombies or Spider Mutants, to enhance weapons used by humans. As for directly modifying your zombie form into an eight-armed war beast, that’s something we’ll think about for the future.

Q6: I hope to evolve as a zombie, become a Zombie King, and lead an army to attack the human faction.

A: We get it. The idea of becoming a Zombie King and commanding a horde is very cool. We’ll think about it. We never reject the possibility of new civilizations, even zombie ones.

Q7: Can zombies get their own talent tree? Like losing arms when hit, then eating to heal? And can human infection speed depend on resistance and virus strength?

A: Recently we’ve been lurking in the Discord server and noticed huge enthusiasm for zombie evolution! Now our team is working overtime to expand and refine the zombie gameplay system. We’ll also be keeping an eye on how everyone experiences playing as zombies during this test and taking that into account. Btw, we already have a pretty detailed skill progression system planned for the human faction.

Q: Zombies shouldn’t just disappear. They should be purified. If not, they could contaminate nearby animals and crops, creating new infection zones where more zombies are born.

A: Good idea! The infection source doesn’t simply vanish when a zombie dies, so we’ll consider this suggestion. Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll find a zombie pumpkin growing in your garden because you killed a zombie near your base.

Q9: What about “Headcrab-style” zombies? When a zombie dies without a headshot, it could detach from its body and look for a new host. It would mainly target AI zombies and take 15 seconds to take control, interrupted by any damage. Against humans, it could briefly control their movement, similar to the Jockey in Left 4 Dead. Humans could struggle to break free after a short time.

A: Very creative! We’re always open to fun mechanics that don’t ruin the experience. Adding super-aggressive special zombies might make survival even harder than it already is. We’ll see how the overall flow feels after this test before deciding whether to unleash more terrifying infected types!

Whether you want to be a human survivor or a three-headed, six-armed Zombie King who throws boomerang arms, we want to hear your ideas. Every suggestion helps define the civilization of this world.

If you think this apocalypse is a bit of fun, don’t forget to add Zeverland to your Steam wishlist!