I remember a few years ago seeing an image of four 1950s housewives carrying weapons like chainsaws, an axe and a wrench. The picture brought on the idea of a videogame with the storyline of men becoming zombies while women had to save humanity. I thought it was a pretty cool concept, so I reblogged it and forgot about it.
I’m happy to see that Aberford is on its way to becoming a reality.
Developer Sketchy Panda Games and original artist goddessofcheese came together to work out a deal to make the game. The storyline is that the men of Aberford, Ohio have mysteriously turned into zombies, and it’s up to the four main characters to save the day. Along with that, each character will get her own story arc. There will be themes covered like the racism and sexism of the time, and there will be some LGBTQ characters.
Originally, the men were going to be infected with a virus based off their chromosomes, but it has changed to being linked with testosterone levels (but will avoid male children).
As far as gameplay goes, there will be a narrative story along with combat and multiplayer. Since the game will focus on melee attacks, weapons include frying pans, rolling pins and baseball bats but far range weapons like baseballs, jars of screws, and pistols are being developed. According to the Youtube video, there will be more strategy to the attacks, and button mashing won’t get you anywhere.
Right now, there are four main characters. There’s Peggy Whitman, Betty Smith, Doris Baker, and Sylvia Hornberger. Other characters are being developed still and some already have back stories written up, like Norma Thompson, Mary Kuroki, and Alejandra.
The game is being developed on the Unity Engine, and will be available for PC. Once the game is released, there will be versions available for PlayStation, Xbox, Wii, Mac, and Linux.
Sketchy Panda Games have not yet launched their Kickstarter campaign, but are thinking of doing so this month.
What’s great about this game is the twist. It’s set in the 1950s, and while the industry picked up again after WWII, it was a terrible time for anyone who wasn’t a white man. POC and LGBTQ members were treated poorly to say the least. While women did get the chance to work better jobs during the war, they were pretty much sent back to the house and oppressed again.
Overall, it sounds like it’s going to be a fun game. The choices Sketchy Panda has made regarding the time frame, the characters, and the issues they’re going to be addressing, makes it sound like more than just a social justice warrior game or another indie zombie apocalypse. Personally, I’m excited and I can’t wait for it to come out, although I will have to work on not button mashing when I get into a tight situation.
What do you think about the game? Are you going to play it when it comes out? Comment below and let me know what you think.
