When we were guests at Unity Unite 2019 in Copenhagen, we were also presented with some interesting projects. One of them is a new zombie survival shooter being created with a new technology.
What is this “technology of the future”? The new shooter, which has yet to be named, is being developed with DOTS technology. DOTS (Data-Oriented Technology Stack) works with various Unity products and enables MMORPGs to have larger worlds and more content.
The special thing about DOTS is that developers can display significantly more objects in their game with much less processing power, without having to compromise on graphics. They have fewer limits on how extensive their game can be.
DOTS is somewhat comparable to the also new technology SpatialOS, which used to also belong to Unity. Both technologies promise gigantic worlds in new games.
New survival shooter with thousands of zombies
This is the new shooter: The project that was presented to us is a survival shooter with zombies. The developers of the currently untitled game are the Swedish indie studio Far North Entertainment. The core features of the game include:
- a comprehensive crafting and building system with defense installations, a heating system, and agriculture
- multiplayer/co-op
- “raids” where you can collect especially valuable loot from dangerous places
- millions of zombies
The game is currently still in an early stage of development, which is why most of it is not yet finished.
This is the core of the game: The focus of the game is to survive with friends, protect your home from zombies, and supply yourself with new materials. The CEO, Jimmy Malmer, told us:
The game is a complete multiplayer experience. We developed it from the ground up to be played online, so every aspect of the game can be explored together with friends. We aim to make it especially fun in multiplayer.
Team play and cooperation will also likely be one of the big features. Jimmy mentioned that in groups of players, some might run around with exoskeletons to carry more, while other players protect them as bodyguards with heavy weapons.
We want to reward people for playing as a team. However, it’s also important to say that you can still play the game completely alone.
Jimmy Malmer, CEO of Far North Games
Gameplay with the “technology of the future”
What makes the shooter special? With DOTS, the shooter can calculate and display huge numbers of zombies simultaneously without the game hitting its limits. The mentioned figures go into the tens of thousands.
For the players, this means they can slice through even larger hordes of zombies than World War Z promised while still having room for fancy weapons or cosmetics.
Is that all? At first glance, the gameplay might seem a bit lackluster to many interested. However, these are also recordings from the earliest development. Everything that can be seen is still being improved, changed, and polished.
So far, the focus of development is on being able to calculate as many objects in the game as possible. Once the developers reach the desired state there, adjustments will be made regarding what else might come.
