Zombie King George Romero Speaks on L4D2
Based on Left 4 Dead 2, Romero indicated that zombie games need to slow down and make room for humor player innovation.
Recently George A. Romero spoke with G4TV's fearnet.com in regards to his new zombie flick, Survival of the Dead. The interview talked about the benefits of using CGI rather than humans and props--this allows for more interesting zombie mutilations than when using the conventional hands-on special effects.
However the interview turned its focus to the popularity of zombies on the gaming front, highlighting Valve's popular zombie FPS, Left 4 Dead 2. Host Joe Lynch asked his thoughts after showing a few action-packed clips.
"It's so fast," Romero said with jumbled words. "You know, it's all splatter. There's no humor to it. I mean, you're really fighting... every split second, one of them is in your face." He goes on to talk about a sequence where the player plows through a sea of zombies with a machete, but noted that there was no time for dark humor, a trademark that has kept Romero's work original and above all the other zombie clones.
"I don't know if there's room for that kind of humor," he said. "I'd love to talk to a gaming company about it. Is there any way to slow this up and still make it cool for the fans who like to play these things? If you could slow it up and have a little more story and a little more humor and clever ways to kill. Could you do a different kind of strategy play?"
Apparently Romero would like to see multiple options for the player, the ability to pick up anything and use it as a weapon to maim and mutilate the undead, a pick and choose method of survival with unlimited killing possibilities. "I don't know if that kind of game would work with gamers today," he admitted. "I don't know enough about the mentality there... of the player, the people that fall in love with these things."
Lynch explained to him that Left 4 Dead 2 is more about the moment than the story, an environment built for friends to group together and have a gibfest with the undead. With that said, Romero may have been more impressed with the Resident Evil series, a slower-paced zombie-fest with a fraction of humor. There's also Siren: Blood Curse for the PlayStation 3, a new level of gritty, evil zombie madness that makes adult diapers seem standard.
Romero, creator the zombie genre, once collaborated with developer Kuju Entertainment and publisher Hip Interactive on a first-person shooter called City of the Dead. The game was slated for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PC, however development came to an abrupt halt in March 2006 due to financial problems.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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bogcotton Someone actually suggesting making awesome games again!Reply
Kind of like the people who thought outside of the box and brought us games like gta3.
Games are getting a little bit stagnant, I want this kind of realism in a game. See a lamp? Rip it from the wall and smash it on someones head.
See bug spray? Spray it in their eyes.
This man should direct a new zombie game, doesn't even need to be big budget, I'll bet it would be fun. -
icepick314 L4D and L4D2 got humor...Reply
but you have to pause and listen to the dialogues...
and PLEASE someone pick up City of the Dead!!!
a zombie game with Romero's direction would be THE zombie game of the decade.... -
scytherswings hahaha my friends and I have spent countless hours playing that silly but addicting Plants Vs Zombies game... :DReply -
t0r012 l4d1 is way better than l4d2.Reply
Had I know l4d2 was going to be a run and gun silly game I wouldn't have bought it.
L4D2 just sits in my steam library collecting virtual dust while I play the original.
I like the dark creepy feel of the original.
The Oh S#!^ I better back my butt into a corner I'm fighting for my life feeling is tons more interesting than the cartoonish just to kill things feel of the second.
Feels to me "dumbed down for the console tards" to steal a quote form Yatzee -
dragonfang18 He is a movie specialist... Slow things in games just make things less intense and looses the fear factor. Why ask a movie specialist what to do in video games? I think Uwe Boll is a prime example of how much that can screw things up. However, his concept sounds better in an open world GTA type setting.Reply -
pocketdrummer I liked the pace of L4D better than L4D2. There was suspense that added to the intense moments when they happened. In L4D2, it's action from start to finish, so you never get that "oh-shit-here-they-come" feeling. Not to mention, melee is only fun if you're holding the bat (or whatever). For everyone else holding guns, you're the most annoying shot-blocker known to man. On top of that, the specials appear so frequently that you can almost call them The Usuals. Their appearances are equally as deadened due to the pace and frequency of their little visits.Reply
That's not to say that L4D2 is bad, it's a good game. But they got "Sequel-Syndrome" and tried to give us quantity instead of quality. -
lightbulbsocket How do you write an article about George Romero commenting on zombie video games and not mention Dead Rising? For that matter, how do you interview him without showing him Dead Rising.Reply
I mean, it comes closer than any other zombie game to the type of gameplay he describes as wanting to see, and it's sort of an homage to Dawn of the Dead.