Alive Inside

Over a year ago I was introduced to a game called Project Zomboid - A hardcore horror survival game with crafting, farming, and base building. Little did I know that by being introduced to this game, I would find myself becoming quite a passionate player and fan of The Indie Stone. Project Zomboid, then, was in Build 40, had a decent player base of up to 5,000 monthly players, and exceeded expectations of what a zombie survival game should look like. You start alone and afraid, unaware of your surroundings and expected to survive an unforgiving environment. As you're rummaging the building for supplies, trying to be as quiet as a church mouse, there it is - the sound of something heavy dragging down against the window. They found you.

December of 2021 came with the release of the long-awaited Build 41. With this release, the players were given an animation and character overhaul, vehicle handling improvements, soundscape overhaul, a new foraging system, and more! Statistics for Project Zomboid jumped from 5K monthly players to a current 65,000 player base.

Alright, so this is a blog, and to those of you interested in my opinion and not just facts that any blog or article can spew, the release of Build 41 has been amazing for The Indie Stone! They have worked hard, long hours and their passion can be seen with each release and with all they plan to in the future. As their numbers surged, we were given new YouTube content. And creators on Twitch were finally giving this game the time of day.

New players have flooded the servers, giving growth to long-running dedicated servers. With this, though, are players who are seeking help and advice on how to better enjoy the game. Not everyone was too willing to go out of their way, risking their characters' lives, to help someone new but, by extending my helping hand, I found myself in an admin position. You see, dear reader, this is where I've been spending the majority of my free time - helping players adjust to the game, ensuring smooth gameplay, and server health. The server has been up for a month now, and in that short period, we have had to expand twice, maxing out capacity each time. As a team of three, running a dedicated server almost became a full-time job but, I'm proud to say we've finally found our stride.

As an admin who experienced this game in Build 40 then into Build 41, you can't help but hold a deep appreciation for all the work that has gone into not just the build but, the reworking of admin powers and tools. As a player, this game proves to be all the more challenging (with options to lessen) and has this potential that we get to expand upon either through our own story-telling or, as we get the joy of creating or using mods. I'm excited to see all that The Indie Stone has in store for us and look forward to playing this game for years to come.