Jim Dattilo

Writing Zombie Exodus long enough that the community around it feels like part of the project itself. Readers who've followed four parts catch things I put in without realizing. I thank everyone who's followed me from the start.

One of the things I try to do with every character in Safe Haven is figure out what the apocalypse specifically reveals about them that normal life was covering up. For some characters, the collapse sets them free. For others, it removes the structures they were dependent on.

Kelly in Zombie Exodus is one of the characters I find hardest to write because she's genuinely self-aware, and that doesn't protect her from anything. She knows exactly how she comes across to people, and she spends real energy managing that impression.

Do you like this idea as a Zombie Exodus scenario? You find out someone in your group has been making small, unauthorized trades with an outside faction. You get to decide how to handle it: give them a warning, punish them, kick them out, etc. What do you think?

What other IF games are you playing? I'm reading Hunter: The Reckoning — A Time of Monsters by Paul Wang buff.ly/Hiwqisg

Here are the latest patch notes for Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven. buff.ly/VAAq5FK

I'm genuinely curious what keeps people coming back to zombie and apocalypse stories, because writers and readers often have different answers. Is it the survival fantasy, the moral pressure, the characters, or the world falling apart? What is it actually for you?

The thing about writing choices that took me the longest to figure out is that the options themselves matter less than the feeling they create before someone clicks. If a player reads through the choices and immediately knows what they're going to pick, you probably haven't created a real decision yet

think one of the reasons zombie stories resonate so strongly is that they're really asking a question most of us wonder about at some point: how would I actually behave if everything I normally rely on was suddenly gone?

One of the characters in ZESH I get the most questions about is Jillian. She came into the story as someone who was very clearly working the angles, and somewhere along the way she started caring about the people around her, which she finds almost as surprising as everyone else does.

In Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven, are you honest with the people in your group. Do you tell the group what you know, or do you keep things from them? And how do you treat other people you meet along the way?

You're out scavenging and find a small group that's clearly struggling with barely any food. Someone is injured, and there's no real shelter nearby. You have enough to share but doing so means your own group goes short this week. Do you stop and help them or keep moving?

Question for anyone who plays zombie or apocalypse games: is your main character usually yourself (a self-insert), do you play an original character, or are you a character from another story/game/show?

Woody in ZESH is a post-doc anthropologist who says things at the wrong moment and can't read the room. I wasn't sure he belonged in the cast through most of Part 1. By Part 2 I couldn't imagine the series without him. That's what happens when you spend enough time with a character.

In a zombie apocalypse, would you rather be in a group that's highly skilled but where nobody actually likes each other, or a group that genuinely trusts each other, but is missing key skills?

There's a difference between a morally complex character and one who's inconsistent. A complex character has reasons for what they do. Their values might not be black and white, but when they make a bad choice, you understand why. An inconsistent character just does whatever the plot needs.

One of my favorite characters in Zombie Exodus is Billie. She was running her family's farm when everything collapsed. She adapted faster than most people. She's talkative and morally good, even though it gets her in trouble sometimes.

Someone reliable in your group wants to leave, because they heard a family member might still be alive three days away. Do you try to talk them out of it? Offer to go with them? Wish them well and let them go?

In Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven. do you save George when you first meet Gina? Do you take her in your group?

The news just reported the dead are rising. What is the first place you go to gather supplies? A) Pharmacy B) Pawn shop C) The mall D) Camping store