Project Zomboid

The lore of Project Zomboid and the Knox Event is given through radio broadcasts and TV channels. After about July 18, most of these channels go off air. The cause and origin of the Knox Infection are unknown. However, it is theorized by several characters on KnoxTalk, a radio station in the game, that it could be a prion disease, an act of God, or bio-terrorism. The infection is known to spread through saliva, blood, and later on, through water droplets in the air. However, the player is immune to the latter form of infection. After being infected, the player will begin to experience anxiety and nausea, which will progressively worsen until the player eventually succumbs to the infection. There is no cure for the Knox Infection, and it is invariably fatal.

The game begins on July 9, 1993, approximately three days after the United States military set up a blockade surrounding the infected areas of Muldraugh, Riverside, West Point, and Rosewood, dubbed the Knox Evacuation. General John McGrew, a U.S. Army general in charge of containment measures within the Knox Exclusion Zone, later publishes a statement regarding the event, telling people to remain calm and claiming that "There is NO evidence of fatalities within the Exclusion Zone."

On July 11, the WHO grounds all non-medical or non-military international flights to protect other countries from being infected. Riots begin to break out in cities across the United States, and curfews are placed on New York City and Miami after riots cause multiple deaths and injuries. Later that day, a picture is leaked from West Point to the media, showcasing a man with only one arm with blood on his mouth, standing in a street full of dead bodies.

On July 14, thousands of infected people breach the military blockade surrounding the Exclusion Zone, leading the military to pull out. Louisville also becomes infected around this time, although the player can visit Louisville on July 9th and find it infested with zombies. As the Exclusion Zone widens, it is revealed that the virus is beginning to spread through the air. In a last ditch effort, the United States destroys bridges that span the Ohio River, trapping any survivors and zombies within Knox County.

Finally, on July 17, the virus is confirmed in Cincinnati, Mogadishu, Seoul, Okinawa, and multiple cities in England. John McGrew delivers one final broadcast, informing any survivors to take up arms against the zombies and defend the United States.

Project Zomboid heavily uses windows and drop-down menus for interface navigation.

In Project Zomboid, the player aims to survive for as long as possible in an apocalyptic and zombie-ridden area around the city of Louisville, Kentucky – referred to as 'Knox Country' – which has been quarantined by the government.[6] The player can choose their character's appearance, occupation, and traits before selecting to spawn within one of four starting towns, the type of trait that is chosen also will influence where exactly the character will spawn (e.g. a firefighter has a higher chance of spawning in a fire station if the chosen town has one). On top of avoiding zombies, the player has to manage their personal needs (such as hunger, stress, fatigue, and boredom) to stay alive through resting, scavenging for supplies, and using survivalist techniques. The player can level skills through activities and reading skill books and magazines. The game uses the traditional Romero style slow-moving zombies, though certain zombies are faster than others, and sandbox mode includes a setting for 28 Days Later-style "sprinter" zombies.

The game features a variety of preset difficulty modes, along with a sandbox mode, which allows the player to customize game settings such as zombie population, virus transmissibility, and the rarity of loot.

'Knox Country' – the playable region in Project Zomboid – heavily bases its locale on the Louisville metropolitan area. The towns of Muldraugh, West Point, and Louisville are loosely replicated in the game world alongside other fictional locations, such as Riverside. The world becomes more desolate and decrepit as time progresses, with water and power grids being shut off within a month, followed by the erosion and overgrowth of the region's structures. Additionally, the game features a set of fixed 'challenge' scenarios, some of which are set on separate, smaller maps and/or feature unique gameplay elements, like an endless winter storm or a zombie horde which tracks the player after one in-game day.

The modding community is very active for this game, further allowing for customization of gameplay via downloadable mods. The mods range from minor changes to the interface such as visible stamina, hunger, and water bars, to complete overhauls of gameplay mechanics, or even the addition of entirely new mechanics. These mods can be found in the Steam Community Workshop. A community wiki is also actively maintained by the players.

According to the developers, the game has been something they "always wanted to make" and their "dream game" although they felt that they would be unable to due to time commitments. This changed after the success of Minecraft, which showed them "another way to develop a game" that would produce a quicker result.[9] They have also said the main inspiration for the game were zombie movies as opposed to zombie video games.[9]

• Official website
• The Indie Stone forums