Cosplayers are proving that they do not only have what it takes to portray their favorite characters, but that they also can be their own characters in a video game.
Z. Year One, described as Magic: The Gathering meets "The Walking Dead," will be released as a video game for PC, Mac, Linux, mobile devices and also as a physical tabletop card game.
Z. Year One currently has a Kickstarter campaign that looks to raise $10,000. As of the time of writing, it is well on its way to hitting that mark, with over $9,000 worth of pledges already received and 14 days to go in the campaign.
In the card game, players can choose between the Survivors, who are the humans, and the Fallen, who are the zombies. The tabletop version is recommended to be played with two to four people, while the digital versions of the game will have both single player and multiplayer modes.
In addition to the combination of a card game similar to Magic: The Gathering and the zombie genre, one of the biggest selling points of Z. Year One is the fact that every card image utilized in the game, both for the tabletop version and for the digital versions, are high-quality photographs of cosplayers suited up as either human survivors or ravenous zombies.
The game's developer, Downward Viral, decided to go with actual pictures instead of drawing pictures or using 3D models. The company hired cosplayers to pose in front of cameras to flesh out the story and characters of Z. Year One, along with a few celebrities. One of these celebrities is the popular former Mythbuster, Grant Imahara.
While Downward Viral's decision to go with cosplayers instead of digital drawings for the card images will not be the deciding factor on whether the game succeeds or not, it certainly helps give Z. Year One a distinct difference compared to all the other card games that are being released in the market.
The physical edition of the game features 9 decks and over 400 cards, and will have a very limited print run. The digital editions, on the other hand, will feature 600 cards and extensive customization options.
