14 DAY TRIAL // When developer Techland set out to make Dying Light one of the most realistic zombie survival games out there, that meant that the company had to adopt an innovative approach to the entire process.
In order to properly convey what zombies are all about, the team decided to do what everyone does when aiming for accuracy: hire an actual consultant with real-world expertise on the matter at hand.
So, the team set out and recruited the services of an actual zombie, to function as an in-studio consultant on the matter of recently deceased but still somewhat alive and kicking (or biting) humans and their day-to-day habits.
A bizarre but hopefully lucrative decision
Hiring the undead comes with a slew of unforeseen challenges. Sure, they might get less sick days overall, but you always risk the chance of them shambling off and taking a bite out of your artists or programmers.
The video that developer Techland created shows off some of the perks and hazards of working with Steve, whom the team described as being "a model and an inspiration." The devs use an in-depth scanning technology that enables them to scan pretty much every real-world object and then place it inside the game, from weapons and tools to boxes, debris and doodads to populate the game world with.
The hi-tech procedure also enables Techland to have zombies with realistic and varied faces, and the motion capture tech utilized translates into natural, life-like movements for the zombies you'll run into while playing Dying Light.
A sprawling open-world post-apocalyptic adventure
Dying Light is a pretty big game, with the potential to offer one of the most engrossing survival experiences ever created, due to a mix of high-speed gameplay blending a satisfying melee combat system with a lot of parkour elements.
The game will also present a challenging experience, one that will enable you to choose from a wide variety of courses of action, but will also demand that you commit to the chosen path and know your limitations.
You are, of course, stronger than your enemies, but that strength whittles down in time, and the more your sprint and finish off opponents, the more you risk getting exhausted and overwhelmed.
You will have to traverse huge urban environments, looking for supplies and crafting materials and new survivors to rescue, complete with a dynamic day and night cycle that completely alters the way you engage the infected and how you plan out your missions.
Dying Light is scheduled to come out at the beginning of 2015, on January 27 in North America and January 30 in Europe, headed to the Windows PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 platforms.
