[Amosca]

I'm going to play with design more, but the idea behind it is set. I'd want him to pop out of things and be able to relocate to other objects.

[Engelszorn]

Update. I'll change her left arm, it's bothering me.

[MauryRuiz]

Just wanted to throw some ideas out there...

Consider the line up of Zombie characters, and try to add something that's not there... for example, those creatures are all full bodies, so you could think in the direction of partial bodies or multi-bodies. Both have been done, but just throwing out some ways of thinking that could spark some ideas.

Something else I see here are their attacks. Most are mele attacks, some are ranged.... you could think of passive attacks like traps waiting to snare you or dissolving black tar figures that adhere to you and pin you down... so many possibilities... organic gas, liquids and solids in mele and range... ?

Again, considering the line-up... . . . what other living and now undead things lurk about the urban / suburban ecosystem?

The zombie genre has had so many contributions, it could be easy to fall into the mold of choosing a theme of "fireman" zombie or "plumber" zombie... wardrobes can help, but the line-up of zombies presented surpass their wardrobe / job influence and depart into the more dynamic "form follows function." I would look toward this direction, since this is what has been given to you as the world of zombies you are contributing to.

Parameters, in my opinion, are the most powerful element to any design assignment I've come across. They help guide you and give you direction. Instead of thinking of them as confining, think of them as a way of liberating you. I may never have come up with certain designs if it were not for having to take certain approaches, and in contrast, avoid others. (Parameters)

Hope some of this helps! Best of Luck!

[pushav]

I decided to push my earlier concept a bit more.....

[Voodoo-Mama]

Thanks for the crits docslav and gregopalinski!
I have shortened her and added a bigger hunch. I didn't add the walker because I wanted her to run fast as soon as she sees you, but i gave her those big kniting needles.
well here;s just another wip. I'm thinking of doing hte back view too

[samwilliams]

Sorry if this has already been discussed. Are we required to post WIPs for this challenge or just a final image?

[XenoBunny]

So I'm not dead set (heyoh) in the NAME of this creeper. Few came to mind though, swarmer, bee keeper, hummer, barker, hive, husk. Husk sounds cool but Mass Effect totally has that one atm.

IDEA is a chewed up zombie/ skeleton whose body is hive to an infected swarm of: black flies, bees, wasps, dunno. I'm going with wasps atm because their hive archatecture looks the most dessicated and matching on a corpse.

ATTACKS and ROLE. Zombie moves at a shamble pace, but has a whip like flail attack with his arms that snares players and "aggitates" the hive and releases swarms that attack anything near. To bring this zombie down properly you must use small arms, single shot guns at range, shotguns and auto fire will only piss the hive off. Blast too many holes, you release the swarm.

WIP/Sketch in progress. where is spellcheck?

[samwilliams]

Cool design XenoBunny - makes me feel very uncomfortable.

[samwilliams]

My take on the specialized zombie is a praying mantis type zombie that hides in the shadows and lures you over to her using her set of twins. I imagine her creating a sound that sounds like girls giggling to increase her chances of landing her prey. Once the target gets close enough she slashes them to death with her claws and then feeds on the remains.

WIP

[KennyMcB]

The Howler (WIP)

A tank-like zombie that rushes its target with its spiked end exposed when threatened. It attempts to shield his bloated arm. The Howler takes more damage when shot in his bloated arm, but it causes his blisters to squirt and eventually burst into a large pool of bile. As it takes damage to his bloated arm it howls with a shrill and echoing scream that attracts nearby hordes.
.................................................. ........

I'm a long time lurker. I've been playing L4D2 a lot lately. Figured I'd give this one a go for some practice. Here is a gray scale sketch for a start.

[Artwilly]

Having fun with this one!

[RickOtey]

Put a stick in this one, its done!

[Amosca]

Hey, so I'm finished. There's some neat ideas here! My special would move from item to item hiding in it. Using it as armour, trying to pull you into it when you stroll by. I think it would be awesome if there was a reward system introduced for being a good Zombie in l4d. In the case of my zombie, he would have three stages, growing in size in each, allowing him to hide in bigger things eventually dumpsters and move around like a hermit crab, dragging with his hands. It would allow for dynamic placement of your trap, which would have the potential to be really good/funny. It could be a little out of place, you'd be sketched out running through the levels thinking it could be in anything. Really would add something fun to a survival/horror shooter. Ne ways, C&C welcome. Thanks.

@Scourge - Your guys reminds me of a Venus fly trap.

[Amosca]

@ Samwilliams - That sounds awesome, but as far as game play goes, in l4d. Just avoid those girls like the plague!

Maybe if they could be put somewhere as a distraction, so they look one way while the zombie mantis comes out the shadows behind them, (while their looking at the decoys). Eventually in-game the decoys would mean look behind you or anywhere but where the decoys are, giving you the option to hide behind the decoys. Huge room for metagame.

[samwilliams]

@ Amosca - My thoughts exactly. I lengthened the decoy arms so that the Mantis can put them quite far away from her body so the player is never really sure where she could come from. They act as an extra set of hands that she can puppet and move around like a couple of girls skipping together. Since the hands move around, the player would never be really sure of where the main torso is lurking.

I understand what you are saying that the player might figure out the technique after the first encounter which is why the environment will play a big role (a lot like the witch in the current game). In an interior environment the Mantis can hide in the ceiling or beneath the floor boards. Hopefully making for some creepy and challenging gameplay