Zombie Cliche Lookout: Taking Advantage of Distraction
One of the zombie’s primary strengths is their ability to keep after potential prey long after a living person would have to stop due to exhaustion or other needs (food, water, bathroom, etc.). This dogged determination helps make them truly terrifying, and is essential is setting up one of my favorite aspects of zombie stories: the siege.
Of course that same strength can be turned into a weakness in the right circumstances. For instance, if you know the zeds are paying attention to a certain area because they’ve tracked a potential food source there, you can avoid it altogether. Otherwise, you might be able to more easily sneak by without being detected because their attention is elsewhere.
About this Episode:
Okay, let’s talk about that duck. That was one of the features of the set when I built it, and I decided to leave it in the comic when I originally started using the set for two reasons: 1. I like ducks, and 2. I thought it was kind of funny. I regret that now; I wish I had removed the duck, and possibly the small pond/water feature altogether. It’s kind of distracting, but I’m just going to tell myself it’s a statue.
You got that everyone? The duck is a statue. A statue of a duck.
Discussion Question: How Observant are Zombies?
Building on the cliche lookout above, how well do you think it would work in real life (the version of real life where zombies actually exist, obviously)? Would the zeds be so single minded that they could easily miss other prey? How easy would this be to take advantage of? And, finally, what’s your favorite instance of this happening in a zombie story? Or, if you don’t care for this trope, what’s the most egregious example?
egregious: use a radio for round ups. Who’s always 😈 playing music at the apocalypse? Wouldn’t that be heard in/from the studio? Why are they playing the music from point a to b and the dead only bother at point b? Where were the batteries; now in the tape player; when the flashlight was dying at that critical time? Who remembered to charge their I-accessories when the generators were only used for important stuff when ppl actually found gasoline to use? How many ppl have a solar charger? Add nausea.
Best: the latest “Dead Rising” mini-quest for survivors. You do them quickly and not so loud the mini-game wraps up fast, the more obnoxiousness you use/are, the more the WHOLE game goes WHOLESALE on you.
Also the duck looks nice, it could be used for a setup, it quacks first. Second the zeds turn to see the heroine’s back and are about to have both for an evening (lighting suggest early night sky) snack. Finally a chase/kill scene.
I haven’t played the new Dead Rising. Seems like people either loved it or hated it. What did you think?
Haven’t played, but watched a few walk throughs, and loved what I’ve seen, good to the originals, nice updates, funny updates, smarter / better original zeds and perfect classics. There is also a bugged gleck that is just barely pants on and no upper 1/2, so far it is such loved bug, that it hasn’t been changed! I just think it’s a comment about the hanging pants society.
Another example of attention getters are the car alarms on what people think are dead cars -> I think this only works if the scene is pivotal or it’s the end of that’s person’s story.
Sounds hilarious!
I’m intrigued by the game, but haven’t had the cash to check it out. Maybe for Christmas or something. I really liked the second one, and sort of liked the third. I never played the first since I didn’t have an XBox.
I like to think zombies happen for a reason. So I always imagined them focused on eating human beings. Not that I don’t like them to attack anything alive either but I kinda prefer them to be single minded on devoring men and women.
I guess that makes them even harder to distract actually.
That raises some interesting questions though. For instance, will they only go after a person if they can see them? Do they know if a person is already infected? How do they differentiate healthy people from infected or other zombies?
Can’t say to much here as I’m working on it… I’ll try to explain that in my upcoming blog about my coming… Coming summer 2017 😛
Typo alert: “Building of the cliche lookout” of–>on 😀
Just one? Score!
Also, fixed.
Regarding the duck, maybe it is real, but the zeds don’t see it as something they want to eat.
You know how the joke goes: “How do you feel after eating raw duck?” “Down in the mouth!” It’s entirely possible the zeds have the same humorous attitude towards birds! 😉
Hah, I like it.
Deleted dialogue
Barb: Holy shit… What is a duck doing here?
We need a “like” button for things like this.
You know, Dave, that’s a most excellent addition to Barb’s line for the last panel in this episode! When can you make it happen? 😀
Hah, I’ll have to put that in the backlog.
I think you’ve created a(nother) monster Dave.
The duck that’s going to haunt your comic from now on. 😉
I can’t wait for the Scrimshaw and Duck guest comics and fan art to start rolling in.
I guess it depends on the type of zombie and what condition its in. I can imagine a shambling coprse to have much left in the way of senses left after the damage sustained to their sensotory organs from…well…dying…or being consumed by other undead.
But that would make a rather boring story, the night of the living dead…who have no way to hear taste feel smell or have any ballence to really do amything ;3
Interesting point. I’d imagine we’d end up with a lot of blind zombies, since the eyes are so delicate and easy to damage.
Quack! (in French: “Coin!”)
Thanks for the French readers! 😉
To be more precise most of the time we double it, giving “Coin coin !”
I think I earned the 2017 MUPOTY (Most Useless Post Of The Year)…
I love hearing what animals say in other languages. Well done, all.