I like the odd bit of computer game playing

There is nothing better than a movie with a little apocalypse end of the world situation, some sci-fi and a few zombies thrown in. So, when I saw this game called “SCUM” which is basically exactly that – I decided to give it a go.

The game is described as a “prison riot survival game” and features an open world.

The gameplay takes place in Croatia where players attempt to survive and get off the island by first removing the implant which prevents them from leaving. The player will earn fame points through participation in various action-driven events or simply by surviving in a hostile environment. These fame points allow the player to be cloned back in case of death, and used as currency to purchase or trade in various safe zones. Players will be able to fortify existing structures and points in order to secure positions or store items when needed.

Characters possess four main attributes: strength, dexterity, constitution, and intelligence. These help players create characters to suit their preferred playing style. It aims to simulate the human body, and thus has an interface called the “BCU monitor” to track character’s calories, vitamins, health, and other stats. Players can choose to ignore these elements of the game, or can delve deep into these systems in order to improve the character’s performance (speed, stamina, carry weight and so on). Another aspect is digestion; for instance, if a character gets all of their teeth knocked out, they will have to find a way to liquefy food to digest it. Toilet activities leave physical evidence that could be used to track that player. Aspects such as combat depend on the player’s own skill, but also are affected by stamina, health, and so on. Wetness, smell, medicine, cooking, hacking, crafting, hunting, and poison also play a major role in the gameplay

It sounds complicated but really the rules are simply “run around trying to collect stuff while not being zombied to death”. The graphics are gorgeous and its quite easy to make your way around this massive world.

Let’s play SCUM Online

I approached this like a project –

• I did my research (read a dozen SCUM blogs)
• I consumed product information (watched dozens of YouTube videos on SCUM)
• Project Initiation (installed SCUM and played a couple of hours in Single Player)
• Then decided to Beta Test (joined a Internet Server and recorded the experience)

It did not go well 😉

But its’ amusing, so I’m going to stick with it for a while: