Day Z, for those unfamiliar, is a mod for the game ArmA II, that’s very simple: you’re on an island, full of zombies and people who may or may not shoot you in the face once you get in range. Survive.
The results are players trying new and different strategies. Like, for example, enslaving other players to use as scouts.
This happened to Adam Ruch. He was attacked by a group of six players who then “recruited” him as a slave of sorts.
The results are pretty interesting and illustrate what happens when you design a game with a simple objective and let the players do whatever they want to achieve it. Apparently the players had formed a weird sort of clan where you start out as a “slave”, basically an unarmed scout who gets forcibly recruited at the beginning of their game. Do well enough and they award you points. Get enough points and you get a gun and get to enslave someone else.
The central irony is that this is actually an effective system in the game world, since it means six heavily armed guys are watching your back as you scout various dangerous areas. Hey, that’s life in Day Z.
photo courtesy Adam Ruch