Zombies, Run! Season 3 continues today with a new batch of missions.
This week’s new missions are named “Return To The Forbidden Planet”, “The Road Goes Ever On And On” and “Brand New Start”. As usual, no spoilers, but we’re eager to hear what you think of them!
To get access to all previously released missions, you just need to purchase the relevant Pass from the Store. But surely you’ve already done that, right?
If you’ve not visited the Zombies, Run! blog in a while, you may want to scroll down and have a look at a few of our latest posts. We have some exciting news about Zombies, Run! for Google Glass, as well as upcoming features for the Android version of the game.
Zombies, Run! is all about putting the player in an post-apocalyptic world with a gripping story and gameplay that motivates you to run faster, further, and more frequently than ever before. That motivation is why over 900,000 people, from beginner runners to expert marathoners, have bought the game and become Runner 5.
Lots of people ask us why we don’t include graphics or interaction while you’re running. The reason is simple: if you’re a jogger or runner, you know there’s nothing more annoying than having to dig out your phone, unlock it, and then try not to drip sweat on the screen. That’s why Zombies, Run! is an audio-first game: we don’t want to do anything that takes you away from your run or from our brilliant story, written by co-creator Naomi Alderman.
But that’s for the billions of smartphones in the world today. What about tomorrow’s technology?
To answer that question, we’ve been secretly developing a prototype version of Zombies, Run! for Google Glass, with the expert help of the people at Google.
What’s in ZR Glass Edition?
We’re bringing the core Zombies, Run! experience to Glass – an exciting, motivating experience that takes place in the real world. ZR Glass Edition includes the first three missions of Season 1 for free, and it comes with a beautiful new interface that’s precisely designed for Glass.
Players can easily monitor their pace, distance, and time at any moment, along with real-time visual information on events like chases and item pickups. No need to unlock your phone or wait until the next time/distance audio notification – all that information is available in your vision.
And of course, you can listen to your music at the same time – even streamed from Google Play Music.
ZR Glass Edition is an experimental first step for fitness games into a new world of heads-up displays and wearable devices, and we have plenty more ideas about where we can take players. We’re really excited to hear what you think of it!
I’d like to thank Babu Madhikarmi, our lead Android developer on this project, for his hard work and dedication, along with all of the lovely people who work on Zombies, Run! Babu will be at the Google I/O conference this week wearing the Zombies, Run! T-shirt – say hello if you spot him!
– Adrian Hon, CEO of Six to Start
P.S. You might be thinking, “Wait, if ZR Glass Edition can play Google Play Music, what about the main Android app?” You’re in luck: our next Android release will include experimental support for not only Google Play Music, but also Spotify – and potentially other streaming music players. If you’re one of the lucky 25% who are running 3.1.2, then have a look in the app’s Settings screen for more details, and let us know how it goes.
P.P.S. Haven’t gotten Zombies, Run! for your iPhone or Android yet? The world isn’t going to save itself, you know…
As we’re releasing the second set of episodes from Zombies, Run! season 3 this week, our lead writer Naomi Alderman spoke to writing legend Elizabeth Bear about the guest episode she’s written for us. It’s so exciting that wonderful writers like Elizabeth are interested in Zombies, Run! and we asked her a few quick questions.
Elizabeth, it’s such an honour for us that you’ve written a guest episode for Zombies, Run! How did you first hear about ZR, and what made you want to write for us?
It’s hard to remember now exactly what the “vector” was (a little zombie humor), but I know I had heard of the game via internet buzz for a while before I started playing it. (My phone was too primitive at the time!) The real triggering incident, though, was my friend Emma Bull’s love for the narrative. She actually came on the fan podcast I’m involved in, the SF Squeecast, and picked Zombies, Run! as her topic of fannishness.
As we all know, there’s nothing like word of mouth to sell something. And once I started playing, I was totally hooked. I’ve never actually been much of a fan of zombie narratives (weird, right?) but the way the game treats the zombies as a combination of natural disaster and individual pathos and humor worked much better for me than the more traditional horror approach.
As for writing for the game–honestly, who wouldn’t want to, if they were a writer? Great characters, tense storylines, snappy dialogue! That’s just fun!
Can you say a little bit about your episode? How did you decide where to take Runner Five?
Hah! Well, honestly, I started with a joke and an homage. The homage is still key to the episode (I don’t want to spoil it too much, but let’s just say I’ve always had a weakness for campy 60s spy shows), but the joke got left on the cutting room floor.
I got the genesis of it while participating in a zombie obstacle course run in Texas last year–like Zombies, Run! for real… ish–and the rest of the plot sort of dropped into my head all at once while I was out for a run one day over the winter. I do a lot of plotting while running.
(I hang my head in shame about the cutting of the joke. This happens to everyone writing for ZR… to fit in arc plot other things have to go.) But finally, what’s your favourite song to run to?! And, which member of Abel Township would you most like to go for a run with?
Oh, gosh. It’s hard to pick just one, but Rob Zombie’s “Living Dead Girl” is a big favorite on my Zombies, Run! playlist. (I amuse myself by picking appropriate music for the apocalypse.) It powers me up the hills really well. I’ll also date myself by admitting that Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s “Runner” is also in heavy rotation.
I’m not a very fast runner (unlike Runner 5!) and I’m a bit of an asthmatic. So I think I’d pick Maxine as a running partner. I’d trust her to drag me home if anything went wrong.
The Zombies, Run! Season 3 hiatus has ended! We’re back to releasing new weekly missions for you to enjoy every Wednesday. Season 3 Part 2 will contain another 20 missions, after which we’ll be taking another short break before Season 3 Part 3. But don’t worry too much about that, there’s plenty to enjoy before then!
Additionally, we’ve released a new version of Zombies, Run! for Android. This update adds audio notifications for distance and time, which we know is a feature you’ve been after for a while. Head on over to the Google Play Store and update your app for the new feature.
This week’s new missions are named “Sin In My Heart”, “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and “I’m With Stupid”. As usual, no spoilers, but we’re eager to hear what you think of them!
To get access to all previously released missions, you just need to purchase the relevant Pass from the Store. But surely you’ve already done that, right?
Keep an eye out here on the blog, because tomorrow we’ll have a special message from author Elizabeth Bear about her experiences writing a Zombies, Run! mission!
If you enjoy Zombies, Run!, you may be interested in another of our games, The Walk. It’s a great way to track and improve how much you walk day to day, and it’s got a full length story by Naomi Alderman, lead writer of Zombies, Run! It’s also 80% off for the next week only, so you can now get your hands on it for just $0.99 USD!
The story of The Walk is told in a similar format as Zombies, Run!, however there are some important differences. Check out this blog post for a full run-down of what those differences are.
The Zombies, Run! hiatus ends next week, so you can look forward to a new batch of Season 3 missions releasing on Wednesday June 18. In the meantime, happy walking!
In the latest version of Zombies, Run! for iOS, we’ve made it much easier to share your stats, bases and run logs with the world. We’ve added automatic sharing of run logs straight from the app, as well as an updated stats bar on the front screen. Drag it along to see your top-line stats and then tap it to dive into the full statistics page. How handy!
Sharing your base is easy: Just tap the share button in the top right hand corner and you’ll be given a camera overlay. Pinch and drag to position your base exactly how you want it, then press the camera button. Simple!
If you’re curious about what your tweets will look like, take a peek at this real-world example.
Likewise with your run logs and stats. Just tap that share button and choose whether you want to push it to Twitter or Facebook.
To activate automatic posting of runs to Twitter or Facebook, head over to the Settings > Player page and scroll down until you see the options below.
You may also notice that we’ve added an indicator on the Mission Complete screen, which will let you know whether you currently have autosharing for Twitter or Facebook enabled. You’ll also be able to enable and disable them from here, in case you forgot to do so before you set out on your run!
A big thank you to everyone who has submitted something for the latest Zombies, Run! community round up. As usual, we’re blown away by the amount of great Zombies, Run! related stuff you guys produce. We’ve lots to get through, so let’s get started!
First up is Crim (Crimson Sun on Tumblr) who has created some stunning Zombies, Run! artwork. We don’t have the space here to show you all of their amazing work, so be sure to check out their Tumblr (specifically Zombies, Run! related stuff is here) if you like what you see!
Next up, Alexander Riley has created a collection of posters, the likes of which we wouldn’t be surprised to see pinned up around Abel Township. Again, we’ve not got space to show you them all, but if you’re interested in seeing more you can go ahead and check out xanderiley1’s Tumblr page.
Kristen Coughlan sent us her fanfic titled “My Zombie Life – The Recording”. You can find an excerpt below and the full story is available to read right here.
Before the Zombie Plaque I did many jobs: data entry, website designer, paper delevery, factory worker, and call centre worker. The ecomony was bad and jobs didn’t last long. They either went out of business or laid off workers to send the jobs overseas.
When I wasn’t working, me and some friends were working to restore an old hotel on a large piece of land in the country side. We pooled in our money and won it in an auction. It used to be a getaway for the rich during Victoria Times. We planned to fixed it up and either make it into a business or sell it. One of the plans to make it off the grid and self-suffant. We lived in rooms that were fixed up until the construction was done.
If you’re hankering for some more Zombies, Run! fanfiction, you can check out the fan-run ZR Delicious, which is updated regularly. If you see anything you think deserves to be featured here on the official Zombies, Run! blog then let us know by emailing jem@sixtostart.com.
Also, we don’t have many details yet, but Londoners may be interested to know that there will likely be panels about Zombies, Run! at both Nine Worlds Geekfest and Loncon 3. We’ll update you as soon as we have additional news about this.
Since the start of Season 3 we’ve seen a huge resurgence in fan activity — clearly these new missions are inspiring you! So much so, in fact, that some Zombies, Run! fans have started a regular podcast.
Episode 1 is embedded above and you can find Ep 2 on the Podcast Detected tumblr page. New episodes are promised regularly!
We’ve also found a couple of pieces of great Zombies, Run! fan art. Here’s a brilliant pic of Janine dressed up as Captain America (based on Zalia’s fanfic) as drawn by Crownleys.
We’re looking to put together another Zombies, Run! Fan Roundup soon, so we need you to let us know if you’ve created something awesome (or seen something awesome someone else has created). It could be art, fiction, audio, tree carving or even just a cloud you think kinda looks like Sam Yao.
You may have noticed that the Zombies, Run! app has been updated on both Android and iOS recently. We’ve been hard at work since Season 3 launched, squashing bugs and making sure every feature works exactly how it should. Here’s what’s new in the latest versions on each platform:
Android (v3.0.9)
New Airdrop Mode designer – we’ve made it much faster!
You’re now able to share your statistics on Twitter straight from the app.
We squashed some bugs which were affecting base synching and miles/km conversion.
Improvements to the user interface. (Added in 3.0.8)
We fixed the store error, so everyone can go ahead and purchase a Season Pass. (Added in 3.0.7)
iOS (3.0.2)
Older devices will no longer crash during long runs.
Materials have been retroactively awarded for any Season 3 missions that have been run.
Fixed issues with run logs related to failed chases.
Various bugs squashed alongside user interface improvements. (Added in 3.0.1)
The Season 3 Special Pass is now available to more users. (Added in 3.0.1)
These updates are available right now, so head on over to the appropriate app store to grab them.
We’re already up to our third mission drop of Season 3! Where does the time go? These new missions are available to download right now for all Season Pass holders.
Mission 7: “Life’s A Happy Song”
Mission 8: “Believe”
Mission 9: “I Don’t Want to Get Over You”
If you haven’t picked up a Season Pass yet, they’re on sale until Tuesday 6 May, so do yourself a favour and grab one now to save yourself a bit of money! Here are those sale prices in full:
Season 3 Pass: $5.99 (usually $7.99) – Includes all 60+ Season 3 Missions
Season 2 Pass: $5.99 (usually $7.99) – Includes all 60+ Season 2 Missions
All Access Pass (iOS): $13.99 (usually $17.99) – Includes Season 2, Season 3, Race Missions and Interval Training Mode
All Access Pass (Android): $11.99 (usually $15.99) – Includes Season 2, Season 3, and Race Missions
Season 3 Pass Plus (iOS): $7.99 (usually $9.99) – Includes Season 3 and Interval Training Mode
Zombies, Run! 