Last Days - the Out-Of-Game site

1) What is all this really? Who created this site & for chrissakes, why?!

There's a thorough explanation of what this site is and why it was built right here.

2) Okay, so why can't I register a character in the West U.S.?

I (Chad Kukahiko - NOT Kevin Phillips cause that guy doesn't actually exist) created this site after I wrote a TV pilot which follows Ned, Allan, Kim and Sandy as they struggle to survive in a very similar world to that of this site. I've since written a feature film version of the story which follows only Ned during his first year after the outbreak and I'm also currently working with a very talented illustrator, Charles Allen Harris, to create a comic book version of the story. We expect the first issue of the comic to be available in the new year.

I'm currently working through several different options regarding an actual production of either the episodic and/or film version of lastdays, but if characters not created by me interact with characters that are in either story, this can make a sale or production quite problematic. So to protect my ability to pursue various different options, I made the West U.S. off-limits. But I thought it looked funny with them all by themselves on the West U.S. page, so I then asked some family members, close personal friends and writing partners to create a few extra characters in the Western United States but with a solid (written and signed) agreement that their characters NOT interact with those of my pilot, feature or comic book script.

So if you'd like to do what many users have already done and place your people in Central US or Pacific Islands/Polynesia, but then list their city and state somewhere in the western United States, feel free. However, none of the characters of lastdays - Ned, Allan, Kim or Sandy - will be able to interact with your characters, except perhaps for a simple comment here or there.

Hopefully we'll be able to provide the whole experience - show(s) included - but in the meantime, have fun and don't get mad if and when my characters ignore you or your comments - believe me, it doesn't mean I don't appreciate your contributions to the site or think what you write isn't fun or valid.

3) There's this idiot on the site that's playing all wrong! Boot him!

I honestly don't how you manage a site like this. I've never seen anything else like it so I don't know how it's done. At the end of the day, I hope people have fun with this site (see 'What is lastdaysjournal.com?' for more info). That's why it was built and I imagine that's why people keep coming, but it's a strange site for interesting, creative people, and playing it 'right' is not really a definable thing.

I'm working on fine-tuning the Groups feature so that people can divide more easily and clearly into groups of like-minded people with similar rules - for instance: slow-moving zombies vs. running zombies, only humans can be infected vs. animals can too, etc. etc. I have a definite set of rules for the world of my characters (both types of zombies and no animals, if you care), but I didn't build this site to dictate or bully people into agreeing only to what I like about the zombie genre - I wanted a site where all kinds of zombie fans can come and make up their own rules. But the character and story interaction can sometimes make this an odd and uncomfortable thing. At the end of the day though, please remember to have fun.

I hope not to have to actually boot people for being annoying, but I am developing a set of 'Rules of Engagement' so that total nay-sayers and player-haters know what they can and cannot do. In the meantime, if you have ideas about what those rules should or should not be, feel free to forward them to me. I am totally open to suggestions. In the meantime, group up, choose your own leaders and make up your own rules. This site is for you.

However, if you see people violating copyright laws or plagiarizing, feel free to direct them to the Terms and Regulations and if they don't correct the problem, don't hesitate to report them. Your dilligence will help ensure this site can continue to exist.

Well, that's all we got here for now. Please let me know if you have any other questions or suggestions for the Out of Game FAQs or any other part of the site by emailing me directly at chad@lastdaysjournal.com - There's a lot to do for a single man trapped in the middle of the Pacific Ocean =P and I'll take all the help and suggestions I can get.

And again, please have fun!
=ck