Dead State Design Update

This week's design update for DoubleBear's indie RPG Dead State offers a pretty interesting read on randomization in the upcoming zombie survival RPG.
In Dead State, there are multiple ways we randomize the events of the game outside of just reacting to player choice or from resource shortfalls. On our area map, for instance, some locations for allies and resources are randomized at the start of the game. You may never even find some of these locations on your first playthrough or you may discover them much later than your first playthrough/friend's playthrough. Everyone will have the chance to discover these locations we always spawn them but prior knowledge of these events won't make finding them any easier. Some locations/allies will always be in the same place, so you'll somewhat of an advantage when playing a second time, but not for everything.

We also randomize some events. For example, in one game you might meet someone who tries to hold you up for your loot, claiming you're surrounded by their friends. In one game, they might be bluffing, and in one they might actually not. There are a few events like this. There are also some allies you might not realize are allies on your first playthrough, and some allies that may behave differently than expected the second time. And, of course, zombie bites aren't 100% infectious, so your infected ally population may vary game to game.