Software:The Dead Linger

The Dead Linger
Developer(s)	Sandswept Studios
Engine	Unreal Engine 4
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS
Release	Cancelled
Genre(s)	Survival horror
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

The Dead Linger is a canceled sandbox zombie video game developed by Sandswept Studios.

Gameplay

Gameplay in The Dead Linger was to be similar to other survival games. Player versus player gameplay is allowed, but discouraged among the community and development team. The game focuses on surviving against the zombies and the elements.

The zombies consisted of a normal walking zombie, a fat postal worker zombie nicknamed "Bob", and a zombie dog. Future builds would have presented new character models for both players, zombies, and non-player characters (NPCs). Some of these NPCs include soldiers called "Sirens of the Apocalypse" that were sent in as riot control when the infection first started, sniper teams that are a special branch of this group, crazed survivors, sane survivors, various wildlife such as deer, rabbits, boars, alligators, birds, etc.

The Dead Linger was set in a short time after the zombie apocalypse begins. The player was tasked with the simple necessities of searching for supplies, such as food and water in a procedurally-generated world of 360 square kilometers, containing permanently placed roads, trees, and landscapes with randomly placed houses and items. Every building throughout the world was enterable and explorable to the player, ranging from suburbs, towns, cities and prisons.

The Dead Linger features many gameplay mechanics. Some of the more notable mechanics included free-form barricading, a fully explorable world not limited by invisible walls, loading screens, or impassible obstacles, and modular housing and zombies.

There were to be First-person shooter and survival horror elements, including melee and ranged weapon mechanics like hitting and shooting, running, jumping, (soon) swimming, hunting and skinning animals, etc. By its full release, the game would have supported multiple vehicles ranging from small boats to motorcycles to airplanes, free-form welding, various unique types of non-special infected, mine shafts, interstate systems, a "treasured items" system, a full crafting and cooking system, complete character customization, and more. Some of the more desirable features that would have been included by release include: a sanity and hallucination system, a free-form driving system (one must open the door manually, enter, start the car, repair the car, etc.) and a full seasonal system including weather.

Development

The Dead Linger was announced in late 2011. The official alpha Build 1 was released on October 31, 2012. The game was set to be more of a realistic setting of the zombie apocalypse than other titles at the time. The game was originally being developed using the Ogre3D Engine, but was replaced with the Unity Engine for Build 10, released in September 2013, and later underwent a second engine change to Unreal Engine 4. As of the switch to Unreal Engine 4, the in-game play area was no longer be procedurally-generated, but rather be set in a static environment with future plans for randomized regions and events.

Between July and November, the Unreal Engine 4 build was developed and released. The first build released was not accessible by regular game keys, but this was quickly fixed once the issue was uncovered.

On November 12, 2015, Geoff and Richard Keene jointly posted "The Final Word", citing an inability to continue financing the game's development. Development of The Dead Linger was halted at this time. Unable to continue financing the project, Sandswept ended all development of The Dead Linger on November 12, 2015. Sandswept labeled the game 'indefinitely postponed' with future development unlikely, and the game was removed from sale on Steam shortly thereafter.