Jump to content

Lore-Related Questions


Brex

Recommended Posts

So I had some questions about the lore of PZ, or at least what I've been able to discern from the radio and TV broadcasts. Was wondering if whoever wrote those broadcasts would be able to clear up a few things.

 

1) Why isn't the President named at all? Given that this is 1993 and the in-game backlash to the President's response to the Knox Incident by Republicans, it's pretty clear that the President is supposed to be Bill Clinton. Yet none of the radio or TV broadcasts ever refer to him by name, something you rarely see in American news media. 

 

2) According to broadcasts, the border camp supposedly set up outside Valley Station is apparently overrun at the end of the first week, at which point Louisville is infected and the outbreak abruptly goes global. With the devs saying that Louisville will be a future playable location, will you be able to spawn in it at the beginning of the game, and if so how does that make sense from a timeline standpoint? 

 

3) How are helicopters flying over Knox County if a no-fly zone has been declared? I'm pretty sure even military helicopters are restricted from flying in no-fly zones. 

 

4) There's mention of a photograph of a zombie that's leaked to the public, giving America the first real glimpse of the scope of the outbreak. But how the hell was that photograph taken? This is a time before digital photography. So it seems to be implying that someone snapped a photograph in the middle of Knox County, subsequently escaped Knox County, and gave the photograph to a member of the press WITHOUT the military stepping in to cover the whole thing up. I'm not saying it's impossible, just trying to figure out the sequence of events.

 

5) There's also mention of secret camps (especially around Fort Knox) where hazmat teams have been quarantining human survivors. Will we ever see those in-game? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1) That would be a good question but I like the fact that the president is not mentioned by name. But thats me. Allows the belief of alternate world and events leading to it. 

 

2) I would think that if they included that, it would be a scenario. Much like the others, for example the mall where certain events are hard coded in to happen at certain times. 

 

3) Military choppers are allowed with permission or orders over no fly zones. No fly zones are for civilian pilots. 

 

4) Even without digital photography, its still VERY possible that a photo was taken on scene and smuggled out and to the press without the military stepping in. This has happened a number of times in the history of the US. Maybe not with zombies but pictures of secret places. Its like for example, many of the photos that leaked out during the Vietnam war. 

 

5) I wouldnt have a definitive answer but they have mentioned before that the map is not finished so I like to think we will. 

 

 

Some interesting links to lore based questions, answers and posts. It seems like much of the lore is shrouded in misinformation and rumors too. So that picture for example may not have even actually been true. 

 

https://steamcommunity.com/app/108600/discussions/0/365163686069785272/

https://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php?/topic/17231-general-lorebackground-storysetting/

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

55 minutes ago, FinestHops said:

1) That would be a good question but I like the fact that the president is not mentioned by name. But thats me. Allows the belief of alternate world and events leading to it. 

 

Well I think we all know who would be the best president to guide the country through this crisis: 

 

uJHK0ZI.jpg?1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1) Why isn't the President named at all?

I kind of like the idea of the President being named, but also it "puts words into somebody's mouth" that the devs might not like to do. Also from my understanding the developers are British. I'm taking a note from Canada here and pretty much until the Harper Government, the news mostly said the party in power instead of the Prime Minister. It literally might be a country thing.

 

2) With the devs saying that Louisville will be a future playable location, will you be able to spawn in it at the beginning of the game

I certainly hope not. I would love a few places that were unlocked over time. Especially with NPCs here, it would be great to have the place over-run with the massive hordes.

 and if so how does that make sense from a timeline standpoint? 

New profession or scenarios, soldiers and the like who'd be there. With factions you'd be probably hated by survivors. Lots of things you can do with that. Start two days before the horde comes, maybe do a quest or something.

 

3) How are helicopters flying over Knox County if a no-fly zone has been declared? I'm pretty sure even military helicopters are restricted from flying in no-fly zones. 

 

I think the only people who would stop the military from flying in a no-fly would be the military. Either chain of command is broken down so much they are disobeying the rules, or they have decided to break no-fly in order to gather intelligence.

 

4) There's mention of a photograph...

Many things in history have been exposed by people working in the organizations that are enforcing the media blackout. All it takes is one soldier to have access to something like that who is upset at how the military is dealing with the situation in order for there to be a leak.

 

5) There's also mention of secret camps (especially around Fort Knox) where hazmat teams have been quarantining human survivors. Will we ever see those in-game? 

 

With NPCs I don't see why not. That is years down the road though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 09/02/2018 at 5:25 PM, Brex said:

So I had some questions about the lore of PZ, or at least what I've been able to discern from the radio and TV broadcasts. Was wondering if whoever wrote those broadcasts would be able to clear up a few things.

 

1) Why isn't the President named at all? Given that this is 1993 and the in-game backlash to the President's response to the Knox Incident by Republicans, it's pretty clear that the President is supposed to be Bill Clinton. Yet none of the radio or TV broadcasts ever refer to him by name, something you rarely see in American news media. 

 

2) According to broadcasts, the border camp supposedly set up outside Valley Station is apparently overrun at the end of the first week, at which point Louisville is infected and the outbreak abruptly goes global. With the devs saying that Louisville will be a future playable location, will you be able to spawn in it at the beginning of the game, and if so how does that make sense from a timeline standpoint? 

 

3) How are helicopters flying over Knox County if a no-fly zone has been declared? I'm pretty sure even military helicopters are restricted from flying in no-fly zones. 

 

4) There's mention of a photograph of a zombie that's leaked to the public, giving America the first real glimpse of the scope of the outbreak. But how the hell was that photograph taken? This is a time before digital photography. So it seems to be implying that someone snapped a photograph in the middle of Knox County, subsequently escaped Knox County, and gave the photograph to a member of the press WITHOUT the military stepping in to cover the whole thing up. I'm not saying it's impossible, just trying to figure out the sequence of events.

 

5) There's also mention of secret camps (especially around Fort Knox) where hazmat teams have been quarantining human survivors. Will we ever see those in-game? 

 

I don't usually comment on lore stuff, as often it's querying stuff that I'm aware of and have left open to interpretation - as the idea is that your character is trying to work out what's going on themselves amidst a mix of panic and misinformation. 

 

What I will say though re: the President is that it's not Clinton - although the game takes place in the early 90s it's not 'our' early 90s. Just as all the brands, music and many of the locations mentioned are fictional, so are the grand majority of current affairs. There are various political events, disasters and military operations mentioned in the broadcasts that aren't real.

 

President Clinton worked in a real world where McDonalds was a thing, this unnamed President presides over an America that has Spiffos instead. Likewise with the vehicles we have models that are approximated from real world 90s cars, but not the exact ones. In many ways, I guess, we do this to avoid copyright issues and whatnot - and so that we're in keeping with this 'not quite real' aspect of the game then the lore is also one step away from reality. Hopefully not so far as it becomes annoying though.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Batsphinx said:

 

I don't usually comment on lore stuff, as often it's querying stuff that I'm aware of and have left open to interpretation - as the idea is that your character is trying to work out what's going on themselves amidst a mix of panic and misinformation. 

 

What I will say though re: the President is that it's not Clinton - although the game takes place in the early 90s it's not 'our' early 90s. Just as all the brands, music and many of the locations mentioned are fictional, so are the grand majority of current affairs. There are various political events, disasters and military operations mentioned in the broadcasts that aren't real.

 

President Clinton worked in a real world where McDonalds was a thing, this unnamed President presides over an America that has Spiffos instead. Likewise with the vehicles we have models that are approximated from real world 90s cars, but not the exact ones. In many ways, I guess, we do this to avoid copyright issues and whatnot - and so that we're in keeping with this 'not quite real' aspect of the game then the lore is also one step away from reality. Hopefully not so far as it becomes annoying though.

 

 

 

Well Muldraugh and West Point are nowhere near a prison or country club, so I guess anything's possible. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...