E3 2012 News: Human Element, a Zombie Survival Horror Yarn, gets announced at the same time as E3 2012, but not during the actual show.
Robert Bowling, former Call of Duty Creative Strategist, who resigned from Infinity Ward last March, jumped straight back into action, creating his own studio Robotoki Studios. Talking to Game Informer, the studio's first game will be a survival zombie romp, going by the name of Human Element.
I wouldn't hold your breath just yet, as the new title isn't expected until 2015, but if Bowling's teasing is anything to go by, it'll be well worth the wait. The game will pit survivors in a decaying world, plagued by zombies. Players will be offered a choice of three different classes (Action, Intelligence and Stealth) with each character having their own survival and problem solving solutions. The game will also feature a choice of three different identity profiles: Survive Alone, Survive with a Partner and Survive with a Young Child.
Bowling said that he wanted to focus more on the threat of survival rather than just create another game involving the annihilation of wave upon wave of flesh hungry zombies. He told Game Informer the zombies' instill an Уunreasonable fear that leads us to do unreasonable things to survive." He went on to say that "How you choose to start in the world will determine how you can engage and impacts the scenarios you will be presented with on a physical and morality level."
It would appear that Bowling intends to inject some serious replayability value into this game. Survival in the zombie apocalypse for an action-oriented man going it alone will be a whole different kettle of zombies compared to a stealth oriented character, taking a young child under their protective wing.
Human Element is scheduled for release on next-generation consoles, PCs, smart phones and tablets in 2015.