Zombies, Run! Season Pass Summer Sale!

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We’re celebrating the sunny British weather (as short-lived as it no doubt will be) with a Zombies, Run! Season Pass Summer Sale! All three Season Passes are available for half-price until Monday, July 15. Yes, even if the weather takes another turn for the rainy.

If you’re new to the game, this is the perfect opportunity to gain access to 30 already-released missions, plus another 30+ which we’ll be releasing on a weekly basis starting from Wednesday, July 30.

  • Season Pass: Now $1.99 (usually $3.99): Includes 40+ Season 2 Story Missions

  • Season Pass Plus: Now $3.99 (usually $7.99): Includes 60+ S2 Story Missions and Sidequests

  • Sidequest Pass: Now $2.99 (usually $5.99): Includes 20+ S2 Sidequests

So far, Season 2 has been packed full of great missions. From the profoundly epic, to the intimately daft. We’ve even had Margaret Atwood make a special guest appearance. As you need more incentive, completing certain missions will unlock new buildings and amenities for your Township. This will continue as we enter the second half of Season 2 in late July.

Just in case you haven’t bought Zombies, Run! yet, you can grab it from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store via the links below:

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*Image via webdesignhot.com

Introducing the ZombieLink Social beta and Achievements

The Zombies, Run! website just got a whole lot better. We’ve added social features and redesigned your profile to improve your ZombieLink experience. At the moment all of this is available as part of an opt-in open beta. As a result, there may still be some bugs which we’re ironing out, but we wanted to get these features into your hands as quickly as possible.

In order to gain access to ZombieLink Social, simply head on over to the beta website (beta.zombiesrungame.com) and login as normal. As a beta tester, we would be very grateful if you could report any issues you find with the new website to us directly to us at support@zombiesrungame.com.

Social Features

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Signing in to ZombieLink, you’ll notice a new sidebar on the left hand side. This is the News Bar and, as well as displaying the latest news from the Zombies, Run! Blog, will also be populated with the activity of other Zombies, Run! users who you follow. That’s right, interacting with your friends (and enemies) is no longer restricted to stalking their ZombieLink profile pages, now you can follow people and let their latest run records come directly to you.

To follow someone, you will need to visit their ZombieLink profile through the Zombies, Run! beta website. You will see a “Follow” button under their name, as shown above. Visiting another player’s ZombieLink profile through the normal Zombies, Run! website will not work, so if you’re having problems make sure you’re on the right version of the site!

The URL to the user’s profile should look like this: https://beta.zombiesrungame.com/adrian/

 

New Profile Page

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We’ve also given your ZombieLink profile page a drastic makeover. We’ve managed to fit a lot more run information on your profile page, while simultaneously making everything clearer at a glance. At the top you’ll notice a spotlight view of your latest run, alongside a thumbnail of your actual base.

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Top level stats are also shown here, displaying a total number of runs as well as the total distance, time and the number of supplies you have collected since you began playing the game. You’ll also notice horizontal bars underneath several of these stats, which indicate how they stack against your other runs.

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The coloured arrows in the “Pace” column of your run table indicate which runs are above and below your average pace. Depending on the intensity of the colour, you can quickly see which of your runs feature your best and worst pace. A bright red arrow, for example, means this run is well below your average, while a light green arrow means it’s slightly above average.

The idea of this redesign is to make it easy to see at a glance which of your runs are interesting and out of the ordinary. We think this helps everyone and is an innovative way of displaying your information.

Click that “Edit” button at the top of your run table and you can edit distances, share preferences and visibility options right on the profile page, as well as deleting any superfluous run logs you may have accidentally created. We’ve improved the visibility options, too. It’s now much harder to accidentally hide runs, as well as easier to make them visible again if you need to.

This is all the first step towards our ZombieLink Social vision.

 

Achievements

The next step is something that we think you’ll all be very excited about. We’re introducing a full achievement system into ZombieLink. If you’re unfamiliar with such a thing, this means that by completing in-game tasks or reaching certain milestones, you’ll be rewarded with a badge for your profile which you can show off to your friends.

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We have a huge array of achievements planned, ranging from the simple (collect 100 supplies) right through to some which are much more difficult (run more than 20k in one run). We’ll also have some properly hardcore achievements for the completionists out there, such as one which requires you to run for a total of 1000 miles.

Achievements will be available soon and we’ll be letting you guys know as soon as we have more information and/or a solid release date for that. Don’t worry, you’ll be receiving any achievements you’re due retroactively, so you won’t need to start from scratch again. We’re not masochists.

 

Your Zombies, Run! Stories

Finally, you may recall the Zombies, Run! Fan Survey which we set up recently. There were a frankly insane number of people who submitted their Zombies, Run! stories to us and we’ve managed to collate the majority into a ludicrously long testimonial page. Check it out and see what your fellow Zombies, Run! players are saying about the game!

To everyone who did submit something, thank you so much. We really appreciate the time you’ve taken to write to us about how the game has benefited you. We’re humbled and proud to have such a passionate fanbase and we’re working hard to bring you more of the content you deserve.

Latest Zombies, Run! Android update adds Race Missions

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We’ve just updated the Android version of Zombies, Run! to include Race Missions! These six missions take place towards the end of Season 1 and provide more background towards the story about New Canton and Van Ark.

The first three Race Missions (a 5k, 10k and 20k mission) are free, while the second batch of three (another 5k, 10k and 20k mission) are just $1.99 for the pack.

These missions work a little differently from classic Zombies, Run! missions. They’re distance based, so story clips will only play once you’ve travelled a set distance. For accelerometer users, we have included a couple of options for us to estimate your distance, even on a treadmill, so you won’t be left out.

We have also added the ability to build add-ons in your base. This will let you upgrade your buildings by building specific new items, giving you a one-time increase in base stats.

There will be more news coming soon about updates to Zombies, Run! and ZombieLink, so keep an eye out for that. And don’t forget to join us tomorrow for our live Q&A with the Zombies, Run! writers!

Join our live Zombies, Run! Q&A on July 3rd

Our live Q&A with Naomi Alderman and Rebecca Levene (lead writer and co-writer on Zombies, Run!, respectively) is just a few days away! We’re getting everything prepared behind the scenes here so that we can make our first Google Hangout broadcast as memorable as possible.

To participate in the Hangout, follow the Zombies, Run! Google+ page in your Circles and you’ll be notified when we begin the broadcast at 6pm London time. If you’re not a Google+ user, you can still visit the Zombies, Run! Google+ page and watch the broadcast live.

We’ll be announcing extra details on Twitter and Facebook, so make sure you’re following us on these to be kept up to date in case things change.

Don’t worry if you miss it because we’ll have a YouTube recording available shortly after the broadcast goes live.

Send us your Questions

One thing we need from you is a selection of questions for us to ask during the broadcast. So, if you have anything you want to ask Naomi and Rebecca, you can let us know by shooting us an email to support@zombiesrungame.com with the subject line “Zombies, Run! writers Q&A” and we’ll collect the best ones together to use on the day.

This is a great opportunity to ask about the writing process for Zombies, Run!, as well as writing in general, storytelling in games and the plot and characters of the Zombies, Run! universe.

We’ll also be taking live questions from Twitter – use the hashtag #zrstory so we can see it!

New Zombies, Run! merchandise available at Teespring

Zombies, Run! is returning to its crowdfunding roots today. No, we’re not funding a new app! On the back of ongoing requests from fans for new T-shirt designs, we’re revealing a couple of new additions to our merch selection.

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A new, limited-edition “Runner 5: Semper Currans” T-shirt, bearing the game’s iconic zombie hands as well as the motto “Semper Currans” (“always running”) is available in both black and red, in unisex and women’s fits.

We’re also very pleased to be offering a much-requested new type of clothing:

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Our Radio Abel hoodies (both with or without a zip, depending on your preference) proudly display the Radio Abel logo on the front and back and are available in grey and blue.

You can grab these new designs over at Teespring, the crowdfunding T-shirt site. If you’re interested, make sure you grab one soon, as they are available only until July 18th. After that, they’re gone for good, so make sure you take advantage of this limited time offer.

Shipping costs become much more reasonable the more shirts you buy, so there’s an added incentive to purchase more than one. Other than making us happy, of course.

Join us for a live Q&A on July 3rd

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Today marks the start of the Zombies, Run! 2 mid-season hiatus, which means we won’t be releasing any more missions until July 31st. When we come back we’ll have dozens more missions for you to enjoy, but in the meantime we’ve got a lot of cool stuff to share with you:

One of these, which we’re very excited about, is a live Q&A about the Zombies, Run! story with lead writer Naomi Alderman and co-writer Rebecca Levene. This will be taking place on July 3rd (time currently TBC, but probably around 6pm UK time / 1pm Eastern / 10am Pacific) and will happen via a Google Hangout on that day. Don’t worry if you can’t attend, we’ll be recording it and posting it online for everyone to enjoy.

This is an experiment of sorts, so if this goes well expect to see more live video and audio content from the team at Six to Start. As we approach July 3rd we’ll be giving you an opportunity to submit your own questions via Tumblr and Twitter for our esteemed guests (as well as asking questions live during the Hangout!).

Until then, we hope you enjoy the latest episodes of Zombies, Run! Season 2. Be sure to let us know what you think of our mid-season finale.

Zombies, Run! 5k Training update now available for Android

A quick note to let you guys know that we’ve now released an update for Zombies, Run! 5k Training on Android. This version fixes a few issues and UI problems that we’ve been receiving feedback about recently.

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 Here are the full patch notes:

  • All workouts are now available from the start.
  • Various problems that could cause the app to crash have been fixed.
  • In response to player feedback, we’ve increased the volume of workout instructions.
  • Synchronisation with ZombieLink is now automatic.
  • We fixed a bug that caused workouts to run significantly slower on some devices.
  • Improved workout timings and instructions.

There is also an update for Zombies, Run! 5k Training for iOS in the works which will have similar improvements. We’re hoping to have this available soon. We’ll have more information on that once it’s released.

Don’t forget to take part in our survey if you haven’t yet. Just follow this link and let us know what you think of Zombies, Run!

Tell us your Zombies, Run! Story!

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We know that Zombies, Run! has an incredibly strong community and we’re looking to put together a Testimonials page on the official website to spread the word about how much you guys love the game. We’d love it if you could take a few minutes to fill in our short survey with as many details as you are willing to provide, as well as your thoughts on the game and the Zombies, Run! story.

We’ll be closing the survey on Tuesday June 11th, so you have until then to let us know your thoughts!

We also want to put together a compilation video, so we’re welcoming any and all fan video submissions, too. This could be in vlog form, in which you tell us your favourite things about Zombies, Run!, or maybe something more similar to the great fan videos (such as this one and this one) which are set in the Zombies, Run! universe. The brief is open! As long as it’s from a fan and involves Zombies, Run! in some way, we want to see it.

Please upload your videos to YouTube and tag them “myzombiesrunstory” and we’ll find it.

To be clear, we’re not looking for “reviews” of the game. Just tell us what you think, what you’ve enjoyed and any interesting Zombies, Run! experiences that you have.

This won’t just benefit Six to Start. For each video we receive which is more than a minute long, we will be donating $3 to charity, so you’ll be doing two nice things at once!

Everyone here at Six to Start loves hearing your feedback, so we’re very much looking forward to seeing what you guys have to say.

*Photo credit: Flickr user Goat Karma 

Manual distance input for ZombieLink and updates to both apps

Since the launch of Zombies, Run! 2, we’ve been continuing to update the app on both iOS and Android platforms, as well as the online ZombieLink service.

This week, we’ve added a much requested feature to your ZombieLink account: you can now manually update your distance for any run log, and it’s particularly useful for all of our players who play on treadmills. It’s also a solution for players who experience issues with GPS tracking. 

To manually enter your run distances, simply follow these steps:

  1. If you are logged in and looking at their own profile page.

  2. An edit button (replaces hidden cog) now appears on each month set

  3. Click on the edit button to toggle editing mode

  4. Edit runs as appropriate

  5. Runs will save automatically once a field has been changed

  6. A save spinner and finally a green tick will indicate when the run has finished saving

  7. Upon save the calorie count will be recalculated using the weight of the user when they synced the run

  8. Click “Finished Editing” button to return to normal view

Next up, we’ve released version 2.1.2 of Zombies, Run! for iPhone and iPod Touch. This update fixes a bunch of bugs, as well as adding a handy dialogue box when you complete a mission so that you know which buildings can be built and upgraded with your new supplies. We’ve also fixed an issue that prevented ZombieLink Codex entries from updating. Version 2.1.2 is available right now and we’re already working on the next update, which will include some pretty neat new features!

As for Android, our most recent 2.0.5 update for Android brought radio mode back! You’ll be prompted to download the Radio content on the news page, and this is necessary to start hearing both Season 1 and Season 2 Radio after completed missions. This update also rewards those of you who completed Season 1 missions with materials to spend on your base.

If you haven’t been keeping an eye on the in-game news feed, you may not have noticed that we’ve been releasing new episodes on a weekly basis. So far we’ve released twelve new missions since the game has launched. You can get access to all of these (plus the dozens we have left to go in Season 2) by grabbing the Season Pass in the store section of the Zombies, Run! app.

We’ll continue to update the apps and ZombieLink and, as soon as news on these updates and features is available, we’ll be sharing it with you here at the Zombies, Run! blog.

We Want You (To Join Our Team)!

Six to Start is growing! We’re looking for an Android Developer, a Javascript Developer, an Artist, and a Production Assistant to join our team to make Zombies, Run! even better, and to help develop brand new games that will be just as innovative, fun, and good for people as Zombies, Run!

We’re also experimenting with new game concepts that use smartphones, tablets, and other wearable devices and computers in novel ways, and we’d like more people to be part of that.

We get emails every day from people whose lives we’ve improved with our games – people who’ve lost weight, become healthier, and gained confidence. There’s nothing like knowing that your work is valued by hundreds of thousands and is doing good in the world.

Note: Most of the positions require that you’re based in or near London, but some (like the artist) are not.
 

ANDROID DEVELOPER (London)

The simultaneous release of Zombies, Run! 2 on Android and iOS shows that we take the Android platform extremely seriously, and we’re incredibly excited about taking advantage of the latest Android services and tech in ZR and in our new game. If that sounds like a fun challenge, then Six to Start is for you.

The Highlights

  • We require 1+ year experience of professional Android development.
  • We need you to show us something you have coded. It doesn’t need to be a game, it doesn’t need to have graphics, it doesn’t even have to have zombies, it just needs to be interesting.
  • You’re able to work from our office in Gospel Oak, London (nearest tubes: Kentish Town/Tufnell Park)
  • Salary is competitive, and dependent on experience.

See full details on the job posting, including how to apply
 

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Some of our intrepid developers!
 

JAVASCRIPT DEVELOPER (London)

We want an enthusiastic and agile Javascript developer who can help us develop games for the web, and compelling online experiences for our mobile games. And we want someone who can help us think up and create entirely new game concepts, branching out on to exciting new platforms and pushing the boundaries of what is possible with the web on mobile devices.

The Highlights

  • 1+ years experience of professional Javascript development, and/or an excellent portfolio of your own work.
  • A working knowledge of server-side development (in any language).
  • Experience with and a strong interest in mobile web development.
  • You’re able to work from our office in Gospel Oak (nearest tubes: Kentish Town/Tufnell Park)
  • Salary is competitive, and dependent on experience.

See full details on the job posting, including how to apply
 

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It’s a small farm, but it’s a start!
 

ARTIST (Remote or London)

Our new game will be much more visual than Zombies, Run! (which itself is more visual than the Season 1), so we’re looking to expand our team. Specifically, we want someone who can create illustrated-yet-realistic landscapes in 2D, along with the types of isometric 2D buildings we have in the Zombies, Run! Season 2 base.

The Highlights

This can either be a remote contract position, or a part-time on-site position (with the potential to turn into a full-time job).

  • We require familiarity with how art is processed during game development (e.g. working to code specs, making sure assets fit in, how they need to look on different devices, etc.)
  • You can mimic the painting style we currently use in Zombies, Run!
  • You have deep experience in Photoshop.
  • Salary is competitive, and dependent on experience.

See full details on the job posting, including how to apply
 

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Margaret Atwood visiting is pretty rare, but our soundbooth is still pretty magical
 

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT (London)

We’re currently looking for a part or full-time Production Assistant who can assist in the production and maintenance of our games (including Zombies, Run! and new games). This is a job with real potential for advancement within the company and the industry, providing that you’re smart and can work hard.

The Highlights

  • You’ll be providing general assistance to the production team, including copywriting, editing game data, organising recording sessions, and auditioning new actors.
  • You’ll also be assisting with online customer support.
  • You’re highly computer literate and experience with Microsoft Office and Google Docs.
  • You have very good written and spoken English skills.
  • Salary is competitive, and dependent on experience.

See full details on the job posting, including how to apply.