You should do something like Fallout 3 or Fallout: New Vegas where they had a main quest and tons of side quests. The everyday hunting, exploring, and surviving is a AWESOME idea but the players will get bored of the game quick if that is all it has to offer so adding in a bunch of quests that are cool and rewarding will make the game better.

[quote name='Ink.' timestamp='1297031076' post='4770651']
In a sense the game would kind of be like minecraft

What? How is minecraft anywhere like what you described?
[/quote]

The basics of the game, i.e By day, safely wandering around, gathering materials and building your shelter. By night, avoiding danger and taking refuge in your shelter.

Seems quite a lot like minecraft to me.

I'm still a bit new here at GD, but I thought Id mention something just to keep this one going. What about the main goal of the story? In "I Am Legend" the protagonist is there only because it's ground zero, and he's a scientist who is attempting to fix the virus, but is also responsible for the disaster in the first-place. This give's the character a motive and a reason for being there.

I believe this kind of film could successfully be turned into a game story, however id air on the side of caution when copying too much from that plot, perhaps look into developing another reason why the character is there, and what the overall goals are, That way players will be able to give more empathy, and thus be drawn in more to your idea, rather than potentially flaming it as a rip.


Aimee.

I'm still a bit new here at GD, but I thought Id mention something just to keep this one going. What about the main goal of the story? In "I Am Legend" the protagonist is there only because it's ground zero, and he's a scientist who is attempting to fix the virus, but is also responsible for the disaster in the first-place. This give's the character a motive and a reason for being there.

I believe this kind of film could successfully be turned into a game story, however id air on the side of caution when copying too much from that plot, perhaps look into developing another reason why the character is there, and what the overall goals are, That way players will be able to give more empathy, and thus be drawn in more to your idea, rather than potentially flaming it as a rip.


Aimee.

You raise a good point depending on what kind of game this would be. For example, if it was primarily or purely a survival/combat, open-world and divergent game, then muddling the mechanics while trying to define a main character seems unnecessary. Just let people fill in the blanks - the OP does equate the game to Minecraft, after all, and I don't think too many people are examining the inner workings of their builders' mind. Conversely, if this were a linear experience, then such character development definitely becomes more important (well, many of us think so, many still don't, 'cause killin' stuff's fun).

I once worked on an MMO design pitch based around the book "I am legend" (infinitely better than the film btw!).

It could definitely be made to work.

We focused more on the fact that at first you wouldn't be alone but that the decline would be slow and inevitable. People who were once allies would one day succumb to the illness/attack and turn into your undead(-ish) enemies. In the process they'd have known where you hid from being your friends etc.

This would be awesome to prototype in a simple 2D version

i know this is an old(ish) post but im loving the idea, and agree with Nineyearcycle, obviously as humans we find safety in numbers, so why not start off in a group of survivors, the first few tutorial missions would be tasks you are given by the 'leader' of the group. These could teach you how to gather resources/build shelters/make or shoot weapons/learn about the monsters, for when you need to do them by yourself. Then your task is also to keep your fellow survivors alive, if they die and re-animate, their going to know where your hideout is, you have to find them, making you go into one of these horror houses full of the monsters to find your once friend and dispose of him before night falls.

i also agree with Amzbee, why is he/she there, does he/she want to save people, is he/she a scientist, or was he/she just one of the many unlucky souls who have got stuck there? maybe he/she has family who managed to get out and wants to hold on just to see them one last time, evoking some form of emotion to seperate it from just another bog standard zombie game.

Also the book and the film are two completely different stories, in the book the monsters can talk, and have regular conversations with the protagonist about how they're going to bleed him dry or how they want him to join them. The main antagonist in the book, was his next door neighbour and best friend before he turned. it would be awesome if they could talk, just please dont make them scream and run at you it was great in the days of serious sam but now we can do so much more. have them sneak up on you and not make any noise till their basically sitting on your face, it would make the game so much more immersive and atmospheric. i dont know if these were ideas but i hope they help.