Horror video game is 'murder simulator like no other'

[MichaelMyers]

In early January, a Reddit user posted an emotional story about waking up on a beach and befriending a fellow lost soldier. But the soldier's health began to deteriorate. And the author was eventually forced to kill his friend with the other man's own gun to end his suffering. "His voice gone, I sat there staring at my monitor and began to cry," the Redditor wrote. "I'll never see that friend again and I miss him very much."

"God damn," wrote a commenter. "Alright I'm getting this game."

The writer was playing DayZ, a zombie apocalypse multiplayer PC game that sold its 1-millionth download last week, less than a month after its Dec. 16 release. That release is only the game's early-access alpha version, which developer Dean Hall will be enhancing and improving for most of the next year before launching it in beta. But even at this stage, the reason for DayZ's enormous success is becoming clear--the game play leads to a degree of psychological tension and emotional response that players report never before experiencing in a computer game.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3025201/m...tests-your-emo

[Despare]

I just got the DayZ mod (thanks to the humble bundle store having Arma II and Opperation Arrowhead on sale for $6.00) and I don't know... the games I played were full of people with sniper rifles who were willing to pick off fresh blood for the small bits of kit they had on them. It's fun, don't get me wrong, but as of yet I haven't experienced anything of any emotional depth.

[Angra]

Originally Posted by Despare

..the games I played were full of people with sniper rifles who were willing to pick off fresh blood for the small bits of kit they had on them. It's fun, don't get me wrong, but as of yet I haven't experienced anything of any emotional depth.

I would've felt frustration and anger right there.