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Why do zombies bang on doors/windows?


GodWaffle

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As more of a lore-type question, and a question about zombies in general (not just in Project Zomboid), I just had a thought: Why do zombies bang on doors and windows?

 

Now firstly, just gonna rule out any of the 'smart zombie' stuff, I would never watch any zombie film that has memory-retaining or tool-using zombies in it simply because I find it stupid, it doesn't and will not make sense to me no matter what anyone tries to say.

 

 

So let's look at the zombies in Project Zomboid, where they will see you inside a building and walk towards the windows or doors (why don't they all push up against the walls?), but they will stop at the window/door and stand there, repeatedly bobbing back and forth trying to smash through the window, however doing this seems like it would require some extent of thought processing:

 

  • See food
  • Chase Food
  • Walk into invisible wall (window)
  • Lean back and then headbutt window to create force to smash through

 

Surely a zombie's thought process should simply be to see, chase and eat people, they shouldn't have the ability to know that there is a window in front of them, they should simply attempt to walk through it, effectively pressing themselves up against the glass.

 

Windows would still smash, however I'd imagine that a single zombie wouldn't be able to break through a window by himself, there would need to be a few pressing against it, using their body weight to break through, rather than them consciously doing it.  Now this may just be due to the animation they have when breaking in, but it does bug me a bit.

 

The same applies for zombies that vault over fences and through the windows, I don't see how this would be possible, they need to trip/stumble over an obstacle if it is low enough, or get stuck against it until their sheer weight breaks through it.  I don't like how they seem to posses the same motor skills as you do.

 

Just my thoughts on this, would like to know how you guys feel about these things!

 

-Ben

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I understand what you mean, but I think maybe when the new animations comes, it'll look more natural... For now they are quite limited.

I also don't think it's so weird for them to want to get inside a house looking for flesh. A lot of zombies wander around without a specific purpose, so why not want to wander inside a house as well as anywhere? Maybe they saw a shadow reminding of a person inside (maybe even their own shadow) or a rat making some noise in there. I've never really been bothered with this, but I can understand if you miss a specific "behaviour" implant that they lack. In sandbox settings you can change their behaviour a lot too, example; no memory and path finding behaviour.

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I am definitely on your side about the intelligent zombies (tools, weapons etc) GodWaffle.

 

However, It depends on how far you want to take it.

 

Should zombies even know how to walk? Should they even know how to eat? (ie. Catch Food, Kill Food, Food enters Mouth hole)

Should they know how to identify another zombie from a living person?

 

Zombies do, in a sense, retain some motor skills. I think a zombie battering its way (albeit slowly) through an obstacle to get to the thing it desires isn't taking it too far.

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The vestiges of memory tells them to do so. Because deep down they know that it is an entry way, they just cant remember how to use it.

 

Same goes for migration, they remember walking with other people but they can't make sense of it so they just... Do it.

 

Even in Romero lore, zombies often went to places of work or places they spent lots of time because the zombie has some basic sense or instinct telling them to do so.

 

If you throw away all mental faculty from the lore, they would be comatose and unresponsive to everything. A zombie does indeed still have a thought process, and you can argue until you are blue about what is realistic when it comes to a walking dead person. In the end it is all impossible. So might as well give them behaviour that won't result in them just laying on the carpet and lawn like catatonic people.

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If it is a general lore-type question then you have to look towards the Romero movies. It is shown, and stated, in the movies that they have some lingering memories of life. This is why they are attracted to light, gather in malls and other shopping districts, and sometimes even return to where they lived, or worked. Over all, thought, they are very very limited in this capacity. Higher brain functions are gone and it is mostly base instinct that drives them. 

 

This runs in-line with another question often asked. Why do they want to eat people and nothing else? Well, again you have to go back to Remero and the original Night of the Living Dead. There is a whole scene were they are actually shown eating bugs, mice and other things as well as the remains of people who were blown apart. So, they just see most things as food. One would assume, though, that they can smell the difference between good (live) food and rotting zombies.


Ah.. I got beaten to the point by Viceroy :D

Edited by TheGmork
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  • 2 weeks later...

Windows would still smash, however I'd imagine that a single zombie wouldn't be able to break through a window by himself, there would need to be a few pressing against it, using their body weight to break through, rather than them consciously doing it. 

There could be a difference between the zombie types. A runner trying to run a window will probably succeed while charging the glassy thing, while a slow and encumbered one will probably just put his face on the glass, pressing with force to get through.

Maybe this is a good example for a real life experiment. Get some friends and try to get into your neighbors houses by pressing/pushing/charging their windows. Trust me, nobody would question the logic behind that.

 

 

The same applies for zombies that vault over fences and through the windows, I don't see how this would be possible, they need to trip/stumble over an obstacle if it is low enough, or get stuck against it until their sheer weight breaks through it.  I don't like how they seem to posses the same motor skills as you do.

 

I am very unhappy with this, too. More realistic would be if they fall to the ground after they jump a fence/window(try to walk over, hit it, fall over). But the idea, when I am escaping a horde by jumping over a fence, 20 dead people fall over it, while following me, would seem to be veeery slapstick I think 8) LETS DO IT!!! By now my favorite way to level my carpentry to build multiple rows of fences in small streets to slow down hordes... not for entertaining.

 

Additional I like the idea of a crowd stuck in a door when 3 or more tried to pass the door they get into each other and chock each other.

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I have always liked the slow moving Remero zombies that have a little of there memories. But that's me I like the old school zombie.

 

But I do agree with the OP about low fences and windows. The zombies should not clime in or over they should fall over them and then get up. It will slow them but not stop them.

 

BTW zombie joke "why did the zombie cross the road?"..........."to eat the chicken" :P

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I like the idea of zombies stumbling / falling over low obstacles and then getting back up.

OTOH, it would also be cool to see them smash walls, not just doors and windows. I think that's been pointed out as something the devs want to do, but I can't point to any reference of that.

 

As with "higher" brain functions: I like how they do retain those, while not driving cars, shooting guns and throwing dynamite a la RE5.

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If it is a general lore-type question then you have to look towards the Romero movies.

 

Sure, but stop and the end of dawn of the dead.  That intelligent zombie crap that Romero keeps pulling needs to be ignored.

 

As an aside, my favorite zombie of all time was in the original dawn of the dead.  One of them grabs a characters m-16 by the barel and keeps carrying it around like that for the rest of the movie ;).

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If it is a general lore-type question then you have to look towards the Romero movies.

 

Sure, but stop and the end of dawn of the dead.  That intelligent zombie crap that Romero keeps pulling needs to be ignored.

 

As an aside, my favorite zombie of all time was in the original dawn of the dead.  One of them grabs a characters m-16 by the barel and keeps carrying it around like that for the rest of the movie ;).

 

Yeah, that was a good one. But remember, even in Dawn of the dead they ask the question 'Why are they coming to the mall'? and they seem to agree it must be some sort of residual memory. 

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If it is a general lore-type question then you have to look towards the Romero movies.

 

Sure, but stop and the end of dawn of the dead.  That intelligent zombie crap that Romero keeps pulling needs to be ignored.

 

As an aside, my favorite zombie of all time was in the original dawn of the dead.  One of them grabs a characters m-16 by the barel and keeps carrying it around like that for the rest of the movie ;).

 

Yeah, that was a good one. But remember, even in Dawn of the dead they ask the question 'Why are they coming to the mall'? and they seem to agree it must be some sort of residual memory. 

 

 

Dammit, going to have to go watch Dawn of the Dead (original) again.

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If it is a general lore-type question then you have to look towards the Romero movies.

 

Sure, but stop and the end of dawn of the dead.  That intelligent zombie crap that Romero keeps pulling needs to be ignored.

 

As an aside, my favorite zombie of all time was in the original dawn of the dead.  One of them grabs a characters m-16 by the barel and keeps carrying it around like that for the rest of the movie ;).

 

Yeah, that was a good one. But remember, even in Dawn of the dead they ask the question 'Why are they coming to the mall'? and they seem to agree it must be some sort of residual memory. 

 

 

Sure, I like the idea that a zombie might go to the mall or something because they spent a lot of time there as a person.  It would explain all those zombies in the bathrooms and even gives a good reason for zombies to tend to stay in and around a town when the lack of food would more logically cause all the zombies to eventually just leave in search of food elsewhere.  It would even be amusing to see a zombie in a less serious movie sitting in a car and making vroom vroom sounds.

 

That being said, personally, I draw the line at zombies being trained and especially do not support the fully sapient zombie crap he pulled in land of the dead.

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I've brought this up in another topic. About intelligent zombies too I think... Anyway. Why are the zombies in the mall? Two choices. One, people died and reanimated in the area, were pulled to any survivors in the mall, they died, bam. Zed city. Two, the zombies travelled to the mall as a result of some memory or desire. Essentially, they moved due to an external or internal stimuli.

 

In my little-idea-head-canony-thingie, people who die and reanimate while experiencing strong desires have that desire applied to their shambling corpse, albeit faintly. So, a survivor is desperate to get to the mall. They know supplies are there. They -really- want to get in, get the goods, and get out. They get bitten en route, and die. The resulting zombie still feels a faint urge to 'go in that direction'. Not enough to move, but enough to be pointing in the direction of the mall. Through various random movements, chasing of birds, survivors, etc. the zombie ends up in the vicinity of the mall. At this point the zombie is close enough to see a survivor or two, and in he goes.

 

As for zombies banging up against windows and doors repeatedly? Similar kind of thing. The short memory of a zombie coupled with external stimuli. The zombie is staggering along. It's not too aware of it's surroundings, doesn't pay attention to the fine details. What the zombie is used to seeing is what it's been seeing for however long it's memory lasts. For example, a zombie has been staggering along the highway for five minutes, it's got a memory that holds information for five minutes. To this zombie, 'normal' is moving forward in a relatively quiet landscape, with very little motion seen besides the moving scenery. So, it keeps moving forward, after all, that's what it's always done, right? Why would it do anything else? Suddenly, thump. The zombie walks into a door or window. This is not normal. That sound. That's never happened before, this means something has made that noise. That something... Something is food! So, the zombie tries to walk towards the noise. Thump. Thumpthump. The food must be behind here! That noise keeps happening. This noise isn't normal. Normal is quiet, normal is moving forward...

 

Eventually, the memory of walking forward in the quiet is forgotten, replaced by a thumping noise and the banging/scratching of the odd brown slab in front of the zombie. 'Normal' has become the repetitive head butting of the door. Eventually, the zombie forgets that normal is banging into the door. Normal is standing around and listening. So it does that. This explains why zombies will eventually loose interest in attacking a door/window, or stop moving once the obstruction is destroyed. They're dumb, forgetful little buggers :P

 

On an unrelated note, this is one of the things I love about the Zomboid community. Zombies behave a certain way in the game/the game's lore. Why do they act the way they do? Everyone's got an opinion, and all those opinions are equally valid. The discussions are quite fun <3

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On an unrelated note, this is one of the things I love about the Zomboid community. Zombies behave a certain way in the game/the game's lore. Why do they act the way they do? Everyone's got an opinion, and all those opinions are equally valid. The discussions are quite fun <3

 

That they are, keep the forums populated with the discussions.

 

PLUS if things get out of hand, it keeps the moderators entertained. :P

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If it is a general lore-type question then you have to look towards the Romero movies.

 

Sure, but stop and the end of dawn of the dead.  That intelligent zombie crap that Romero keeps pulling needs to be ignored.

 

As an aside, my favorite zombie of all time was in the original dawn of the dead.  One of them grabs a characters m-16 by the barel and keeps carrying it around like that for the rest of the movie ;).

 

Yeah, that was a good one. But remember, even in Dawn of the dead they ask the question 'Why are they coming to the mall'? and they seem to agree it must be some sort of residual memory. 

 

 

Dammit, going to have to go watch Dawn of the Dead (original) again.

 

I just got the movie too. Going to watch it soon

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If it is a general lore-type question then you have to look towards the Romero movies.

Sure, but stop and the end of dawn of the dead. That intelligent zombie crap that Romero keeps pulling needs to be ignored.

As an aside, my favorite zombie of all time was in the original dawn of the dead. One of them grabs a characters m-16 by the barel and keeps carrying it around like that for the rest of the movie ;).

Yeah, that was a good one. But remember, even in Dawn of the dead they ask the question 'Why are they coming to the mall'? and they seem to agree it must be some sort of residual memory.

Sure, I like the idea that a zombie might go to the mall or something because they spent a lot of time there as a person. It would explain all those zombies in the bathrooms and even gives a good reason for zombies to tend to stay in and around a town when the lack of food would more logically cause all the zombies to eventually just leave in search of food elsewhere. It would even be amusing to see a zombie in a less serious movie sitting in a car and making vroom vroom sounds.

That being said, personally, I draw the line at zombies being trained and especially do not support the fully sapient zombie crap he pulled in land of the dead.

Lol a la Shaun of the Dead style when his Step Dad shuts off the music in the car?

I agree with what you are saying though. The intellegent zombie thing just breaks too far away from the original quality of Romero's original zombies.

The ease of movement in the mall in Dawn of the Dead was quite hilarious though.

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If it is a general lore-type question then you have to look towards the Romero movies.

Sure, but stop and the end of dawn of the dead. That intelligent zombie crap that Romero keeps pulling needs to be ignored.

As an aside, my favorite zombie of all time was in the original dawn of the dead. One of them grabs a characters m-16 by the barel and keeps carrying it around like that for the rest of the movie ;).

Yeah, that was a good one. But remember, even in Dawn of the dead they ask the question 'Why are they coming to the mall'? and they seem to agree it must be some sort of residual memory.

Sure, I like the idea that a zombie might go to the mall or something because they spent a lot of time there as a person. It would explain all those zombies in the bathrooms and even gives a good reason for zombies to tend to stay in and around a town when the lack of food would more logically cause all the zombies to eventually just leave in search of food elsewhere. It would even be amusing to see a zombie in a less serious movie sitting in a car and making vroom vroom sounds.

That being said, personally, I draw the line at zombies being trained and especially do not support the fully sapient zombie crap he pulled in land of the dead.

Lol a la Shaun of the Dead style when his Step Dad shuts off the music in the car?

I agree with what you are saying though. The intellegent zombie thing just breaks too far away from the original quality of Romero's original zombies.

The ease of movement in the mall in Dawn of the Dead was quite hilarious though.

 

 

Yeah, like Shaun's Step Dad :D

 

Watched the original Dawn of the Dead now. Yes they all concur that there must be some form of residual memory though all higher thought is gone and only instinct remains. 

I don't think they were moving around the mall that well, falling over fountains, freaking out on escalators falling down stairs... falling down just because :D 

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