Week 7: Darkness Falls

Summarize your experience in DayZ from the point of view of a researcher, what did you learn?

Washing up on a random shore. Confused and dazed looking around for the nearest person. A simple set of gear to start with. You must now go looking for gear to survive in this new world.  Finding a map can help you navigate the world. Finding food and water will keep you alive and healthy. Finding a gun will help you protect your gear. When starting your adventure you may come in contact with others like yourself. Those who share the shame goals as you. Do you trust these random people, avoid them, or murder them? There are many choices to make when starting your adventure in DayZ. Those same choices may change day to day as the world molds you into something else, a survivor. DayZ has become a great simulator to what might be seen in a post apocalyptic world. Players can be friendly with the hopes of s helping any and all players. They build the world in the hopes that an established law can be created. Bandits are killing machines in the world. They move around the world looking for better gear and players to kill. Then there are the survivors. Those who ignore others just to make it another day.

There are many different ways players can enjoy DayZ. The major feature that draws players to DayZ is the one life rule. That means there are now respawns, revivals, or restarts. Once a player has been killed they must create a new character and start from the shore again. They have to find all the gear they had from before or, if their lucky, find their body. There is no way for players to buy gear besides find it.

This does not discourage other players from trying to gain access to gear they should not have. Hackers are a major part of the game themselves. They bring in guns and gear to help them. Some add in god mode to kill off players and ensure a high player grief. Some decide to have fun with the entire server. They will teleport players around the map, move buildings with ease, create a thunderdome in which to pit players against each other, or do all of the above.

To become a great legend as a survivor many players should know many of the common traits of the game. To survive a player should know the map they are on by heart. They should be able to understand what each weapon does and how it sounds. The same must be said about vehicles. Players should know where certain gear spawns and how to obtain it. They should know where players like to hang out and how they move. They should understand how zombies move and what they are capable of. Above all players should be patient and watch their surroundings. My making any mistake players will pay with the ultimate price, death. Once players understand how this game works and how to play there will be no greater relief than death.

There are many different maps to choose from and each have certain features to work around. Each player must understand what dangers each map presents and how to work around them. They should become familiar with vehicle spawns and industrial drops that will help fix those vehicles. Players should also be prepared to walk short and long distances around each world. There is no stopping any player with a sense of exploration.

Above all players should remember that this is a game. It is a simualtion based within ARMAII, a military based simulator. There will be times when the game does not make sense. There will be players who do not like you. Not every server will allow you to kill the admin without repercussions. In the end each player should have fun. DayZ is best played when with a group of friends with a love for zombie survival games. Good luck survivors!