Zombie RPG Dead State Hits Kickstarter Goal

DoubleBear Productions's development of zombie RPG Dead State will continue as planned. Their Kickstarter drive for gamer funding has passed its goal of $150,000.

Dead State begins at the outset of a zombie apocalypse. Players gather friendly survivors and create a shelter to ward off the invading undead. You'll explore the surrounding area to find supplies, craft weapons and armor, and expand your base.

Like The Walking Dead, Dead State concerns itself more with the human survivors than the zombies. Players have to watch after the other people in their shelter and keep their morale high. There's over 10,000 lines of branching dialogue in the game. You'll have to make tough decisions, some of which might turn fellow survivors into enemies.

This isn't just a base simulator, though. You'll personally head out into the world on missions. Encounters with zombies are turn-based and feature stealth elements. Staying out of line of sight or avoiding noisy actions will keep zombies from noticing you.

The game sounds fascinating. Zombies are everywhere in gaming but no other game to my knowledge approaches the subject from a strategy/RPG direction. It's the sort of unusual, daring project that you love to see on Kickstarter.

DoubleBear is a studio founded by Brian Mitsoda and Annie VanderMeer Mitsoda, former writer/designers from Obsidian Entertainment. Brian is perhaps best known for his work on Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines.

There are 10 days left in Dead State's Kickstarter drive so DoubleBear has announced a few stretch goals. For example, raising $180,000 will result in the developers adding new weapons. Other goals will result in new areas, characters and other content. If players give $360,000, they'll provide a mini-expansion to backers after the game's release.