Choose Your Own Night of the Living Dead

One of my favorite online choose your own adventures is the George Romero-inspired entertainment experience The Outbreak.

The undead action puts you in control of a middle-aged white guy who’s trapped in a backwoods house along with a token girl, the cocky badass, the creepy guy, and the injured one. You’re all attempting to stave off undead intruders and survive the zombie apocalypse. Make one wrong move and your brains are for dinner.

The Outbreak comes from interactive design firm SilkTricky and is a fantastic addition to the new media archives of zombie entertainment. But how’s it hold up against one of the genre’s progenitors?

Night of the Living Dead is arguably the greatest zombie flick of all time. The film debuted in 1968, is directed by zombie king George Romero, and inspired a franchise at least two remakes and six Living Dead movies long. It’s also owned by you and me.

Due to copyright law and a distributor’s snafu, Night of the Living Dead entered the public domain, which means you can watch the whole movie on Google Video, and creative online video types can remake the movie into an online, interactive choose your own adventure game.

Editing the Dead severs Night of the Living Dead into a handful of installments, each concluding with an action you, the viewer must take. Turn on those lights! Go in the house! Do you stay in the car or get the hell out of Dodge? It lacks the complicated decision trees utilized by more modern choose your adventure creators, but if it’s been a few years since you’ve gotten your Living Dead fix, it’s a great way to watch the movie. It’s also a fantastic simulation to help you hone your zombie escape plan.