Zombie Cliché Lookout:
Every group needs the alpha dog. This is the character that’s going to stand up and lead the rest of the group to safety or ruin. The alpha dog isn’t a permanent position, as the person who starts off making the decisions can often prove to be incompetent (or eaten by zombies) before too long. Trouble starts to brew when you get more than one person in a group who believes themselves to be a natural leader.
In horror stories, characters always dramatically turn off the television or radio prematurely. They think they have everything they need to know, but if they just kept watching for another few minutes they’d learn some invaluable information.
This seems a lot like Left 4 Dead…
I’d say the primary influences are the original Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead. Left 4 Dead is fun, but it’s far too action oriented for my taste. I’m also not a fan of fast zombies.
Thanks for the comment. I hope you keep reading.