I hadn't eaten for nearly two days, my water supplies were low and after two more pulls of the trigger on my almost broken handgun I would be defenseless. Welcome to Day Z, the dead walk and the living don't stand a chance.
I found a possible salvation located about 300 yards east (well I think it was east), an abandoned house that may hold some water or a can of soda, anything I could drink before I passed out and became an easy target for another survivor to loot. I waited a while and watched. There were four undead wandering aimlessly around the perimeter of the house, normally with such little ammo I would avoid this place but I was desperate, hungry and close to death. I crawled on my belly towards the house, stopping every few meters to scout about and make sure I wasn't being observed or was about to crawl right into the jaws of a a Z. Every inch close to the house I got the faster my heart raced. The moans of the dead grew louder as the possibility of surviving diminished, then the unthinkable happened, a survivor far better equipped than me appeared and dispatched the dead with ease. I got up and ran for the house hoping wildly that I could get to some water before the other survivor could, I burst through the door and saw him crouched over the items the house had to offer completely unaware of my presence. I raised my weapon and made a fatal mistake, I hesitated, in the land of the dead I was about to add to their numbers for a possibility of some water, did I want to cross that line? Could I cross it? I never got to find out, the survivor in front of me spun round and fired, putting an end to my characters existence. As I bled out on the floor of that house with a stranger riffling though my almost non existent supplies I saw the words "should have done it quicker" appear in the global chat. I will return, back on the beach like all the new survivors and from now on there will be no hesitation.
This is just one of the hundreds of stores generated by Day Z, a mod to the Arma 2 game which throws players into a realistic world of survival in the zombie apocalypse. A world where every interaction with other players is nerve racking. Each player wakes up somewhere on the coast with a few supplies and a gun. You start off with no map, no compass and no way of knowing where you are. You just have to survive, and with this one single goal the scope and your choices in-game become very clear, you get what you need however you can, if you have to kill to survive then so be it. Oh and did I mention that the game uses a perma-death mechanic so if you die, you die. No respawns, you will be back on the beach with all the others, scared and under prepared.
Finding food and gear is done by searching the houses in the countryside or in the major cities however the more populated the area the more undead there will be, so you have to choose whether you are going to live off the land by killing animals and getting water from streams or whether to go mercenary and stealthily infiltrate and scavenge the cities for the better prizes.
The dead are the least of your worries though, it is the other survivors that are the most lethal, gangs of bandits roam the countryside, stocked to the gills with night vision goggles, sniper rifles and camo gear, picking of survivors for supplies and occasionally for fun. Then there are the helpful sort, people willing to team up to get at supplies easier, ironically enough these short alliances are the most tense encounters of all. You are working with a stranger you just met in a land you dont know. Are they truly helpful or will they turn on you once the area is clear and take all you have? This is where the game is the most involving and where it puts itself head and shoulders above other games. Its a look at how far you will go to survive, as the old saying goes, "Nice guys finish last" or in this case nice guys end up dead.
