It's strange, but we've just closed out the E3 event not so very long ago, and what happens? A new game crops up that's really rather impressive in its own way. It's another slice of indie joy, and from the look of things, it may well have an unexpected mix of experiences that will top anything coming out any time soon from the major players.
Product of Garry Newman, creator of the famous--some might say "infamous," depending--"Garry's Mod," the game in question is called "Rust," and it's bringing together an absolutely spectacular number of different experiences all in one handy package that may not be a graphic wunderkind, but will certainly blow a few minds for its sheer ambition.
"Rust" is described as a combination of--and you're going to want to brace yourself for this one--"Minecraft," "DayZ," and "S.T.A.L.K.E.R." Now that's a combination that one typically does not find in gaming choices, and the breakdown of why these names were cited is especially telling.
First, the comparisons to "Minecraft" come around as the result of the environment. Players move around the field--which looks pretty sizable--and gather resources. Players are given two medkits, four signal flares and a hatchet (assuming I heard the breakdown correctly from a first impressions video from the alpha version) and are let loose on a map that looks like a set of smallish towns in the middle of a mountainous pine forest sort of setting. That hatchet can allow players to gather wood to build structures--which is especially useful given the circumstances--but also for something else, much more visceral and deadly.
That's where the "DayZ" comparisons come in. Players will be dropped in that world crammed full of zombies, and the hatchets will be used not just to gather lumber but also to put down roving hordes of the undead. Of course, they can also be used to put down fellow players, which will allow access to the inventories of said players. The zombies are also carrying inventory of their own, which makes killing them a valuable proposition for several reasons.
Finally, the "S.T.A.L.K.E.R" reference: the world is irradiated. What? Those zombies had to come from somewhere, didn't they? Some parts of the world will be more irradiated than others, and not surprisingly, the irradiated parts will have more zombies and more loot.
The game went into open alpha last night, and closed out by early this morning, so it's clear how popular the idea is, despite the fact that it's just in alpha. Still, it's clear that this has a lot of possibility connected with it, and I think it's sending a clear message to the gaming public as a whole, both gamers and game makers alike.
It's not surprising that a richer experience is being posed here; more and more, the indie developers are bringing out experiences that are on par with some of the best in terms of sheer ambition. Sure, the graphics may not be the greatest, but the idea of it all! Hunting zombies for supplies in a post-apocalyptic wasteland? Sounds terrific! Sounds Fallout, even!
As good as this is, it's really only the start of the list. Consider the recent release of "State of Decay;" about the only bad thing to say about that one was that there wasn't much, much more of it out there. The indie developers in PC and in consoles are starting to bring out some spectacular new ideas, and they're going beyond the standard on the rails first person shooter of the kind we see so often these days.
The question is, what will follow? What else will come out of the rapidly developing pool of unusual ideas that's showing up these days? Only time will tell just what arrives, but between "State of Decay" and "Rust," it's becoming quite clear that there are some very big ideas out there to be had.
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