A new version of Zombie Exodus is live on Choice of Games’s site. It fixes bugs, cleans up typos, and alters some stat changes. If you want to try the Web-based version or purchased the game there, please test it and report errors.
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Congrats on getting ZE published on Steam! I’ve made an announcement about it on the HG FB page.
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Thanks, Samuel! Hopefully many more HG games get to go on Steam soon.
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Congratulations with the Steam release! 
I am so sad that the game already got 3 negative reviews, one of which is quite unfair (the one about lack of graphics and music in the game). I have already written to the author of this review that Choice of Games games don’t need this stuff and are complete on their own, and that Zombie Exodus is an awesome game. Unfortunately, it didn’t help at all, and even started quite a discussion on what a game should have. Steam society is less friendly than the one here (within the CoG forum), and they continue pushing the point that the game without graphics add-ons is not a game at all. I think it’s rude and unfair anf hope that the author of Zombie Exodus will not be offended with it =_=
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I totally agree. Clearly it’s meant to be a book, not a 3D video game with a million dollar budget. And to say that a 750k word story isn’t worth $6 is just crazy. Although, I’m wondering if the presence of music and illustrations in my own games might help them do better on Steam, when and if they ever get released there.
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There are still some minor text bugs though
One more thing
In Part 5, after revealing Tom’s plots through out the game, if you decide to leave, the interactions between Tom and you become strangely friendly than you would expect from recent revealed rivals.
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@Liudmila thanks for your efforts in discussing the game on Steam. I take reviews with a grain of salt. Upfront the trailer and description say no graphics or sound, so if people buy it and become upset, it’s like buying a tuna fish sandwich and being mad it lacks beef. If a review has constructive criticism, I pay more attention to it.
@HKO2006 thanks, I will fix those. I appreciate you reporting those issues!
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Unfortunately, I think yes, you will need pictures/music…Steam society is extremely demanding, not to mention spoiled by all those hi-res graphics in other games. They will not consider a game an actual game unless it has all these graphics add-ons. Though, again, they are absolutely unnecessary! I remember drawing maps on my own when playing old text-based games. And it was so cool! And it is cool that I can imagine my own character while playing CoG games!
Oh, and I hope to see your games in Steam too 
Hope they will be successful!
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I bought ZE (along with Deathless) on Steam this weekend and yeah I read some of the reviews too. Hell, if in any facet of life, you please 80% of users, you chalk that up as a win! And Jim’s tuna analogy is spot on of course.
I’m not sure if it would help satisfy a certain Steam element if future releases had dozens of images or sound. It probably still wouldn’t be enough for some of them to view it as a game. I think we all agree these really aren’t “video games,” so if that’s what some of them expect, they’ll never be satisfied with CoG/HG.
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I usually call CoG games text-based games 
It seems to be the right term to describe it, while most of them have no pictures. Still, these are games, not just interactive books.And it’s really sad and insulting to read messages in Steam like this “Choice of Games need to stop peddling their shit like it deserves money. I’d buy this for 50c.” This is so awful to write anything like this, and when I or somebody else try to tell them that they are being rude or that what they say is not right these people just make fun of us. And it`s extremely sad. To the point it made me cry today.
How much sales does steam generate anyway for cog games?
I think it is a more of a video game platform that is why many don’t understand cog games.
I have never used it and I just signed up to support Jim.
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Steam users are usualy fps and mmo fans, they are casuals. We’re a dedicated community that is slowly bringing text adventure back to life and CoG authors put up new standards for text adventures. I think we’re acomplishing something awesome and their moronic view of what a game is shouldnt affect you. Most of those who start arguing like that are twelve year old trolls too so really their opinion is worth less than dust.
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The first time I played, I improved offense and defense two/three times, giving me 72 defense. In the bandit’s big attack, Candace & Starr died. The second time I played, I also improved defense two times, this time defense raised to 58, I also recruited Eugene and Devilin. This time, only Starr died. So it is kind of strange that higher defense does’t translate into less casualty.
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@HKO2006 that scene has crazy coding, so I’d have to look at all factors but if I recall, positioning of people affects what happens as much as offense and defense.
@jcury I don’t know about sales other than basic stats. I didn’t expect much fanfare from Steam users but am happy to be available there. Lots of people don’t have credit cards and Steam offers other options.
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@JimD I found very disturbing, the fact of How Tom launched himself over my Girl. Who even didn’t have a good rapport with him at all. The fact my minister girl didn’t want romance anyone made it even worse. I almost thought he was about rape me . It was awful, but I have to recognize that goes well with Tom personality. But maybe some kind of middle ground between the old and new. I want a choice to kick him in the family jewels or poison his beer… I hate him so so badly know 
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just dropped a post on Steam about ZE not being a game, &@JimD i’m looking forward to buying ZE on steam once I get paid, im happy to support a product I enjoy & have bought it for several devices, keep up the amazing work.
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I only have Morrowind and Skyrim in steam because I only have a laptop computer and I literally hate computers. I am still coding in phone tablets and doing even college homework and essays, Yes, I totally know I am a freak lol. But I am about explained that stupid people a lot of things about game history. Many of first serious rpg or graphic adventures born in 70’s from If and text adventures in general. The cave is amazing, and there still on sale today in Google play and Android. At first there were no colors and the green radiation screens only reproduced commands and white lines and points. You only could play graphically stuff like pong. If you were looking something with actual guion. Text adventures were the only real gaming interactive experience until 80’s. Heck I have in home a 4 colours Synclair
Spectrum 1984 with a game called Alice in Wonderland and it’s a small game with few graphic pictures and 90% text with few interactive commands. In fact, if I pick that guion and put in code You totally believe is a Cog. Within Text adventures there were no Fallout, no elder scrolls and no Bioware today.
Of course, that stupid people think videogames born with COD and Halo. And a game have to be filled by explosions and over the top graphics. Meanwhile, people still play a game called Mario maker were you design games using a 30th years graphics and have a lot of fun. Saying that Cog and Text adventures are no games is exactly as say Egyptian scriptures are no books because are all figurines no letters. I am angry 
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i agree Mara, & I feel stupidity should be extremely painful.
I also remember those text adventures from the 70’s
This is the first time I hear such an expression towards some specifical part of the human body…and it sounds awesome 
High five, my friend ^^ I can’t explain how angry I was to see such a review. There is one more negative review for Zombie Exodus, but it’s an adequate one, its author evaluates the quality of the writing and the story along with some stats features, not that the author “didn’t bother to add any pictures or music”.
I have already written about 30 messages in the discussion for the review in question, and still they continue pushing the topic of importance of gaming features to consider something being a game. The really frustrating thing is that they don’t listen to anything you say and constantly push the idea that CoG games are harmful for the gaming industry.
No matter how I’m trying to look at it, I can’t understand why they are saying it. What harm is there from text-based games? Do they make people agressive? Do they kill your brain like tap-tap games (the ones who have to endlessly tap to get something)? Are they as adsurd as Bread Simulator (ok, it’s of a fun title, but it’s just so strange…)?
As I see it, text-based games - for example, CoG and Hosted games, - if they are well written like Zombie Exodus, Fatehaven and Way Walkers, for example (I could write lots of other titles, but the message will be too long then 
) have great educational value. For example, for people for whom English is not a native language. They also give an opportunity to learn some part of programming while using ChoiceofGames Script, not to mention that it allows to present stories in more entertaining way. Give a text-based game and a book to my 12-years-old students - and what do you think they will select? I think it’s obvious ^^ And non of them will say that they are playing with a book.
Also, I think any additional elements like pictures and music will just kill the main idea of the CoG games. They are created to give us a chance to use our imagination and to think off anything we like. I don`t like it when character appearance and personality is preset, it destroys the atmosphere. Not to mention that a player might dislike the added music. Then he will simply turn it off, so, what’s the reason to add it at all then? If you mix yellow and blue you will get green colour. But if you add red - you will only get a mess.
Also, it`s such a shame that I can properly explain my thoughts only here, on this forum. Each time I come to that review I become so frustrated with both the answers I get there and with a simple expectation of these answers (which, for sure, will be quite spiteful is some ways) that I completely loose my senses and start making fool of myself. I don’t think it helps in proving my point about how unfair the review is and how shallow their ideas are. I’m so sorry for being so useless, because I want to protect the games I like and their authors to the best of my ability T_T I wish you, @poison_mara, would represent my ideas instead, because you managed to say all the right things with just a few words and everything is really relevant to the topic, including technical aspects.
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First, family jewels is a popular euphemism here in Spain. And about the steam post It’s a futile attempt trying to explain them what gaming industry and or history is or has been before. They belong to the Gaming equivalent to Graphics. Anything within that close minded concept is not a video game. They never watched a old game prior Doom lol. Also that people probably never read anything with actual choices prior this so they are confused.
Thanks, for like my post. Hey, maybe I am improving my writing skills. Or maybe you are too kind