''ZPC'' (''Zero Population Count'') is a

first-person shooter A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...

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which uses the ''

Marathon 2 ''Marathon 2: Durandal'' is a first-person shooter video game, part of the science fiction ''Marathon Trilogy'' by Bungie. It was released on November 24, 1995. The game is mostly set on the fictional planet of Lh'owon, homeworld of the S'pht, ...

'' engine. It was developed by Zombie LLC, published by

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and released on December 14,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. It was noted for its stylized look adapted from artwork by

Aidan Hughes Aidan Hughes is a commercial artist. He was born in 1956 in Wallasey, Wallasey, Merseyside, England, and was trained as an artist by his father, himself a landscape painter. In the 1980s, Hughes published a Pulp magazine, pulp-style magazine cal ...

(also credited with the game's concept).

Gameplay

The story focuses on Arman, an exiled "Warrior Messiah" who has come of age and sets out to reclaim his throne.

Development

The game had a development budget of less than $1 million.

In other media

At some point prior to November 2003, Hughes announced plans to create or bring about a full-length ''ZPC'' film, but nothing came of this.

Reception

Air Hendrix of ''

GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...

'' found ''ZPC'' severely outdated, for both its 2D graphics and its gameplay, which he found made little advance beyond 1993's ''

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (1934–2020), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitche ...

''. However, he remarked that the "stark, sombre visual style" and moody music would highly appeal to many, and that this would make the gameplay more enjoyable to those players. A ''

Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...

'' critic said much the same: "Gameplay sticks to the tried-and-true tactics of the legion of ''Doom'' clones ... While the level and puzzle design are entirely satisfying, ''ZPC'' would be just another pretender to the throne if it weren't for the tremendous atmosphere provided by artists Aiden Hughes and musicians Roland and Paul Barker". He elaborated that "Hughes's predominantly black and red palette and structuralist approach make ''ZPC'' one of the most unique-looking games around."

References

External links

Zombie Studios

Archive
of

Infogrames Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA ()), also known as Atari Group, is a French holding company headquartered in Paris that owns mainly video gaming-related interactive entertainment properties. Atari SA's core subsidiaries include ...

's official website for the game (no longer online as of 2004)
ZPC
at Traxus Project, a

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

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* {{Zombie games 1996 video games Classic Mac OS games First-person shooters GT Interactive games Marathon engine games Multiplayer and single-player video games Sprite-based first-person shooters Video games developed in the United States Video games with 2.5D graphics Windows games Zombie Studios games