Hiya.
Attempted to watch video...I can' only see black, with some white lights, and some 'zombies' when they get close to the shooting gun. From what I did see...uh...hmmm.... It needs some polish...
**Lighting: Need more of it. "All Dark" isn't very mood enhancing. Lighting should illicit an emotional response or some sort of 'expected outcome'. Blue light is 'cold', 'distant', 'alone'. Red is 'hot', 'angry', 'exciting', 'frenetic'. Yellow is 'warm', 'comforting', 'intellectual'. Green is 'relaxing', 'rejuvenating', 'nature-oriented'. Think of what other colors tend to make you feel and think. Now apply them to your level to help define an atmosphere for what you want the player to feel.
**Level Design: From what I could see, it looked pretty simple. Very square and '90-degrees' looking. You need some angles. Levels with 90-degree angles all over do nothing to draw the attention of the player and don't engage the players 'mental 3D eye' (picturing the area as if he was 'there'). Some arches, slopes and non-90-degree walls/corridors would go a long way to a more engaging area. Don't forget about one of the best things about 3D games...3D! Overlapping ledges, passages that go 'under' rooms, catwalks, etc.
**Models: Again, the zombies looked pretty, well, lame. They most definitely need to be one of the main things you should focus on if not for any reason other than they are what the player is going to be primarily looking at and focused on. One thing to help that is variety. Maybe have 3 or 4 different models, each with two different skins (a zombie that is missing an arm, one that drags his foot, another that maybe has to pull himself along on the floor with his arms as his guts trail behind him, etc.). For a game about killing zombies, zombies should be one of the most developed thing in your game.
**Music: Not sure about the music in the video. Is that the same in the demo? If so, perhaps give the player an option to switch to a more 'haunting' type musical score...or no music at all. For me, personally, when I hear 'evy Metal type music in a video game it screams "Hey! I'm an angst ridden teen! Don't you think I'm cool because I'm all N' ur
F@CE! and stuff!?!" *groan* Good music enhances the mood, but the player doesn't really 'listen' to the music; the should hear it, but it shouldn't distract them.
**Sound: I couldn't get your demo to even install (straight to "Error. Send to Microsoft?" when I click "install"; I'm running WindowsXP Pro 64-Bit, btw, if that helps). But, from the other mistakes you made, I'm going to assume that they are either non-existent or quick, simple, and repetitive. Like music, sound should be heard, and not noticed. Don't forget ambient sound! The hummmm of flourecent lights, the squish of feet on dead zombie parts/bodies, the slosh of water along a roadway ditch, etc.
Ok, now the harsh stuff.
This game isn't worth selling right now. It needs some serious work, but you did manage to actually finish a BETA. I say BETA because it's obvious it's more or less complete, it just needs some fix'in up. Well, it also needs to actually have a demo that will install and run. Some more tests on various computer set ups might be a good idea (friends, relatives, etc.).
Anyway, good luck on the revision! Have fun!
