#sixtostart

[artist-issues]

humbly asking that you post more ZR content please <3333 but also please have spoiler warnings, I'm in the middle of S2 lol

Hmmm

Here, I’m sorry it’s bad, I never finished/fixed it because I couldn’t be satisfied at the time, but I don’t have anything newer because I haven’t run in a while! 🫠

but you may see this failure because I appreciate our shared love for Sam Yao

[gogamesnow-blog]

Games #7 - Zombies, Run! 10 (Six to Start) GoGameNow

[midwestern-runner-five]

Stress doodles of Mr. Yao. (The colors got so screwed up somewhere between Photoshop and here hhh my bad)

[lulaica]

Zombies Run be calling out my 2020 pretty clearly on my restart for 2021. Last year I twisted my ankle pretty badly and couldn't really walk for a couple of weeks, my mental health went down the tube, and i started using glasses for painting minis. . . . #zombiesrun #sixtostart #abeltownship #runner5 #honest2020 #callmeout https://www.instagram.com/p/CJhUDWNnD9Z/?igshid=hexjsk900wbk

[nicoleales-art]

Happy one year #runiversary to me! I can’t believe it was a year today that I first tried to jog, signed up for #zombiesrunvirtualrace in feb and started their #zr5ktraining app in March and now I’m 40lbs lighter, 2 pants sizes smaller and more importantly feel so much better emotionally and physically understanding the joy and freedom of running every day! So thankful for my ZR family and for #sixtostart for helping me get here! On to the next goal! #iamrunner5 #raisethegates #runninggoals2017 #zombiesrun

[justabookworm39]

Question for Racelink/Zombies, Run! virtual race users: based on your experience, about how soon before the actual race do the training missions become available?

(AKA: I entered the Race to the Deep and can’t find my training mission yet. Should I do worried or nah?)

[aventurineandco]

Look what came in the mail last week (which I forgot to open until this morning)! I've signed up for the Halloween virtual race from @zombiesrun_app 😄👍 #abelrunner #zombiesrun #zombiesrunvirtualrace2017 #virtualrace #halloween #halloweenrace #fitnesschallenge #runner5 #exercise #fitnessjourney #running #run #runner #sixtostart #zombiesrun!

[o0yono0o]

"Zombies, Run!" - the app that changes lives

Did an app ever change your life? Did an app ever make you laugh, cry, yell - while making you healthier? Did an app ever get you so caught up in a story that you forgot the world around you while listening to it? The app “Zombies, Run!” does all of those things for me on a weekly basis.

Seeing how my favorite app ever is currently celebrating its fifth anniversary, I thought I would tell you once again just why you should try “Zombies, Run!”

I have been running on and off for ten years. Back in early 2007, I think, I began because I wanted to lose weight. It did help. And I did get in much better shape. But I never really made it past 5 km runs. I got bored.

Soon to be three years ago, in May 2014, I saw a Tumblr post describing an app in which you ran from zombies while being a part of an awesome story line. Having been more off than on running for a couple of years at the time, I decided to give it a try.

I have never regretted it.

I remember it vividly. The first time I played “Zombies, Run!”. It was May 29, 2014, at 10.06 AM. I pressed that “Start mission” button, and then I wasn’t in Copenhagen anymore. I was on a helicopter, making my way over an apocalyptic England towards a small settlement called Abel Township.

Only before I reached the township, my helicopter was shot down by an unknown party. Having survived the crash, I had to run through a zombie-infested area to get to safety, with a stranger named Sam talking to me in my headset, guiding my way. “I’m gonna call you Runner 5,” he told me. I have been Runner 5 ever since. And now I have even managed to finish a 25 km run. That’s quite a bit more than the 5 km ones I began with.

The glory of this app is that YOU are Runner 5, and Runner 5 can be ANYONE. The characters talk to you, but they never indicate gender, age, or looks. It also doesn’t matter whether you go on short or long runs, or even whether you run or not - you can also walk the missions, if you want. What the characters do tell you, however, is how important you are to Abel Township. That what you do matter. You become a hero.

As you run, you make your way through an amazing story line: Each mission is an episode in a season, as if you’re running a tv show. There are currently five seasons. The writers are working on a sixth. I am continuously amazed at the twist and turns of the story, the character development, the “ohfuckingshitthatdidnotjusthappen” moments … And that’s saying something, because I can be a picky skeptic.

You can use your own music playlist for your runs. Every mission has music breaks between the sound clips. During these breaks, you also pick up items to expand your base in the app. And (if you choose to put that setting on) you can get zombie chases - which means that when the app tells you that zombies are approaching, you have to speed up to get away from them. It’s great for interval training, and it’s completely optional; you can turn it on and off.

All in all, I want to recommend this app to anyone who needs motivation to get out there and move your body - or to anyone who wants to listen to a well-written and exciting post-apocalypse story with zombies and lovable people. And if you’re just starting out and would like a training program to follow, you can also check out their “Zombies, Run! 5k” app, which guides you through eight weeks of training, from couch to 5 km runs. The story line is not as “on the edge of your seat” as the original app, but still very captivating.

So what are you waiting for? Go find it where you usually buy your apps! The first season is free, the rest costs less than 200 DKK a year, and it is money well spent. And then let me know how much you enjoyed it!

[hey-canisitwithyou]

I’ve been using Zombies Run! for almost 2 months now. I hate running, but I’ve loved this app, and it’s really motivated me.

I did the same route today as I did the very first time I ran with the app (minus 0.20km apparently) and compared it to the stats in my first run.

I’m so surprised and pleased with my progress. Thank you @zombiesrungame for such an awesome app and for helping with the positive changes I’m making in my life ♥️

[mrs-elijah-wood]

Just finished S4E22 lads............................and i am deceased bc i have drowned to death under all of my tears 

~~MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW~~

That three episode span was like a rollercoaster if the rollercoaster started at the top of a cliff and then went vertically down all the way to hell bc i am literally just. in shock. 

when it ended like that i literally screamed on the trail bc my legs were dying and i didn’t have enough time to listen to the next episode but Sam can’t be dead??????? Like there’s no way that’s not possible i do NOT accept it. We’re gonna go for this retrieval mission and he is going to be safe and sound bc runner five will literally break if he’s actually dead. He mentioned there being a cage in the room, maybe he hid in that???? I’m just.....and you KNOW if Five wasn’t holding the baby and if Sam hadn’t told her to run she would be breaking her own bones to get the bars off that window to save him. It’s literally her nightmare scenario, she’s petrified of losing people she cares about and could never even FATHOM a life without sam in it. 

AND WHAT WAS UP WITH THE MULLINS SENTIENT ZOM WITH FIVE’S FACE??? And was it tom who planted those comansys landmines or is someone else out to kill five? At the end of the episode i was mentally begging moonchild to come back and help Five help Sam, although i imagine Moonchild was pretty pleased all things considered.

god and imagine being owen third wheeling that whole goodbye. 

brb im going to sleep so it can be tomorrow and i can go find out

[artist-issues]

Hello hello I have very big and complicated questions that started out broad and complex but got more and more specific and more and more personal like my questions to my family and friends always do. Whoops lol. Buckle up.

I wanted to ask about fanfiction. I've really been thinking about that post you made about how a lot of fanfiction can be just used as a form of escapism, and not in a good way like Tolkien described it, but as a 'I hate life so I'm gonna read and write extensively about fictional characters rather than working hard/trying to improve my own life' Which I really want to avoid and not do. In the past I've certainly fallen into that trap- I would get so caught up in writing Marvel or Percy Jackson or Harry Potter fanfiction (not to toot my own horn, but was objectively good and I do think grew my skills a lot as a writer and character analyzer) that I would spend every free moment and many of ones when I really should've been working on school or chores or spending time with my actual family reading and writing it. I was probably doing that 5-8 hours a day when I was 11/12. (Yikes) Thankfully, my parents smacked some sense into me lol. It really just goes to show you how, for lack of a better term, soul-consuming, that these kind of fantasy pursuits can really be. Thankfully, I don't do that any more. I actively limit myself to a max of 3 hours of reading and writing fanfiction over the course of a week, which is a big improvement.

So yay! Now I have a definte separation from writing fanfiction to improve my writing and writing it to waste time because all of my energy is focused on it to the point where it is in my every thought. Good! Growth!

But now my new thing is this- I want to make sure that any and all fanfiction I write has a definite point. I want it to point to good things and have clear messages and blue flowers and point to Jesus, even if it isn't specifically a 'Christian' fanfiction.

For example, let's just point at that Voice in the Dark one shot I wrote, which is one of, if not the, best singular fiction piece that I've written. I think the reasons why it was so good was that A) I expanded on the story in a way that was intriguing, and got inside my characters heads and accurately depicted their thought processes through it B) Made it pleasant to read with details and action and emotion and everything, C) set everything up for a part 2 conclusion of Sam and Five really connecting and talking about what they both said/thought, and becoming friends (which after procrastinating for months, I'm finally working on), but most importantly, D) Had clear themes of hope, perseverance, connection, trust, and encouragement. Which is really what I think made it so much more excellent than other fanfiction pieces I've written. I had a clear point and intention going into it that was more than just 'Have it be something I love and just for my entertainment' although that was one of the reasons I did decide to write it I will say- you do have to love what you want to write in order to write it well after all. But this is absolutely what I want the point of all my fanfiction writing to be like from here on out, being morally great, as well as well-written.

So now, because I really enjoy ZR and its really is kinda perfect for a fanfiction format, I want to turn it into more of an ongoing piece with my favorite missions and Five's relationships with the characters. But how do I go about this trying to intentionally bring in blue flowers and good messages and beautiful themes, and not just only write it for my entertainment because its a piece of media I love? How to I make sure to firstly know what themes I can bring in, and then do it in such a way that's well-written, while also being able to have those fun moments and situations that are both in the game and I've thought up?

And finally, last thing, is I'm wrestling through if I should continue writing fanfiction to 'fix' a story (which is why I started a Percy Jackson and Marvel fanfictions, I wanted to take the parts of each story I didn't like and were poorly done and make them better) rather than make my own point with it. For most of the fanfiction writing I've ever done, my goal was to improve it, to act like a ghostwriting editor the author hired to fix their fundamentally flawed story. But now I'm realizing that I was spending so much time and effort (which don't get me wrong, I do not fully regret, I really do think that I've gotten far better at fiction writing through this) and I didn't even add any more goodness or morals to the story in a way that made it more soul-sustaining and truly good. I wanted to add a lot of bits that made be as a reader squeal and get happy over which... I don't think is bad per say, but its not what I want my fanfiction to be like any more. With my writing, I absolutely do want to improve on the source material, yes, but I also want to figure out what sort of themes and goodness I'm going for with it. So should I continue writing these large projects (cause each piece covers several books/movies) for improvement and also try to expand on the good ideas and themes the authors had, even bringing in my own, or should I just set it aside as that was great, but now I need to focus on making writing morally good and not just for entertainment?

I know a big part of this is wisdom and descretion- things that God has blessed me with but I know I always can pursue more of. So I know a absolute perfect answer to this question will require time and experience. But after sorting through my word-vomiting (sorry lol), what would you say to all of this? Thank you!! <3

Hey! First of all, I love getting questions from you, and I especially love it because you take enough time to read the previous things I say that we can have a very level conversation, and a deep back-and-forth, which is not always the case with everybody who sends me questions (I like those questions too, I’m just saying.) So thanks for typing all that up!

Second of all, I’m no expert on fanfiction writing. You’ve read what I have to say about making sure the “Tone & Style” and “Themes” of any “Continued Work” stay true to their source material when it comes to like, sequels and expansions? Well, I guess I would apply that philosophy, generally, to fanfiction, too.

But the point of my “second of all” is actually, there are better people to ask about this than me. I can answer you in a broad “here’s how I apply my storytelling philosophy to this hypothetical scenario” sense, but other people have more experience actually doing what you’re talking about with fanfiction. Specifically, @doverstar, who, if you don’t follow her or read her stuff, I seriously think you’re missing out.

So in summary, talk to Doverstar. She’ll answer this better. But if I had to try and succinctly respond, I’d say: “Intentionality is always better than doing something by accident. But if you genuinely value goodness, beauty, and truth, in your own personal worldview, in a way that is genuine, and you cultivate that…it’ll come out in your writing on accident.” So in a way, even when you’re being intentional, as long as you remember that, you don’t have to be too militant whether you’re writing fanfiction or fiction.

(That’s a thought I’m still learning to put into practice, myself. I err on the side of “control everything to a T, outline everything, everything has to have a tie-in to the theme—if it doesn’t you’re failing—“ and I don’t recommend that mindset 😅) That’s the “short” answer to your ask. I’ve got a deep-dive below the cut if you’re interested, though.

How do I make sure to firstly know what themes I can bring in?

This has to do with knowing the source-story.

ZR unfortunately gets very political and social in further seasons, but to do it credit, the main, recurring, broad theme of Zombies, Run continues to be “Something greater than yourself is all that’s worth living and dying for.”

They keep coming back to it with literally every villain, and every hero, from multiple angles. You’ll see. They say, “the pursuit of pure happiness alone is bad because it’s selfish—the pursuit of immortality is bad because it’s selfish—the pursuit of everyone’s affections is bad because it’s selfish; but sacrificing for others is the real happiness, the real immortality, the real love, etc.”

So any fanfiction—even if, surface-read, it appears to be about Five falling in love with Sam or Janine learning to communicate, etc—that comes back to “Something greater than yourself is all that’s worth living and dying for.” is a success. Because it carried on the Main Point of ZR. Or it carried on a point that could be tied to the main point, whatevs.

But your question (for other fandoms) is “How do I know what themes I can bring in?”

Okay, well, that’s actually not so hard. Lots of “sub-themes” fit under the umbrella of the main theme. “Something greater than yourself,” well, that entails “self-sacrifice, gaining a broader perspective, finding empathy,” etc. (something you can see they do with sheltered characters or brittle, mission-focused miopic characters like Janine.)

But how did I find the main theme to begin with? This post. In summary:

Take in the Story, With the Single Expectation that They’re Trying to Tell You Something.

Take Note of Where You Felt Something. Then Figure Out Why You Felt It.

Figure Out What Each Character Wants, and If They Have a Moment of Change.

Look at What Decisions the Storytellers Reward, and What Decisions They Punish.

You can apply this to Marvel, to Percy Jackson, to anything. Once you figure out the main theme, it’s not so hard to break that down into little supporting ideas. And inject those into your own story. And you can even figure out where the storytellers dropped the ball, or lost their theme and did something totally out-of-character, and then fix that with your fanfiction.

Or, galaxy-brain, is when you figure out what the story was trying to say—and it was saying something bad or wrong, but you liked some of the setting or characterizations, you can fix that. Like I’ve always wanted to do with A Streetcar Named Desire.

What you don’t want to do is try to make the story about a theme that has nothing to do with any good or true thing—it’s just gratuitous. For example, I see about sixty fanfics for Twisters (one of my new favorite movies, you may recall) and they’re all about Tyler (the main guy) needing to be defended from his abusive alcoholic dad.

There is no mention of his dad, or alcohol, or Tyler having any emotional trauma, at all, in Twisters. Because the point of the movie Twisters is the girl character’s trauma (and her best friend’s,) and Tyler’s role in all of that is to be the guy who pushes her past that. Because he’s lived a lifestyle of “you ride your fears, you don’t run from them, you don’t even just face them.”

So why would a character who’s whole conception, who was created to say that, be curled up in a sad little miserable ball because his out-of-nowhere made-up father is back in town? He wouldn’t do that. His lifestyle is “ride your fears.” He’d be the guy reaching out and inviting his dad to lunch to see if something he does can make the outcome different, even though his dad never shows up, or always makes a scene, or whatever, because that would be “riding his fears.” That’s Tyler’s character. So why would you have him curl into a little ball and need his 126-lb girlfriend to defend him?

I’ll tell you why, it’s because the point of your story was not the point of Twisters, or anything good. The point of your story was, “I have a thing for emotional scenes where a man gets all weak and vulnerable and needs his love interest to take care of him,” and it shows. So you just hung skin-puppets and names of established characters on “your thing” and that’s trash storytelling. The characters are supposed to serve the story, and the story is supposed to serve the audience, not serve you.

That would be an extreme example of what not to do.

And then do it in such a way that's well-written, while also being able to have those fun moments and situations that are both in the game and I've thought up?

If my fanfic is all about Sam and Five coming clean about their feelings together, that’s fine—but they should be driven to do that because not doing that is selfish. And selfishness is the opposite of “something greater than yourself is all that’s worth living and dying for.” So I’d have Sam avoid admitting to himself that Five means so much to him because if he does, he opens himself up to crippling worry after what happened to Alice. So out of fear, which is ultimately self-protection, he doesn’t admit that he has feelings for her. But then eventually he comes to realize that caring about someone else actually drives him to work harder for the Greater Good, etc.

See what I mean? Your fanfic can be a string of scenes of will-they-won’t-they, romcom popcorn, as long as the thread holding them together is that character arc that points back to the game’s main theme.

To make it well-written, you just have to be genuine. I know everyone has lots of good tips like “show don’t tell” but books like Jane Eyre tell much more than they show. Some people say, “break up the pace with dialogue,” or “cut the tension with comedy, then ramp it back up,” etc., but there’s no cut to the tension in Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. There’s breaks to every rule. There’s an audience for every style. Just do what C. S. Lewis says and “tell the truth, without caring two pence if it’s original.”

If you know your source material and love the loveable parts for what it is, and then you marry that with what you really believe and value in the real world, you’ll get it.

Know what you’re trying to say, love what you’re trying to say, and sacrifice to say it.

I think now that you’re thinking about this stuff, you’re going to have a hard time not writing something morally good, with entertainment as a supporting pillar.

[themotleygeek]

Tested out #TheWalk on today's grocery trip for the #BoardGameFitnessChallenge. Great storyline and voice acting, but it felt rather lacking on the immersion and gameplay fronts. The Walk by #sixtostart 🍎: https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/the-walk-fitness-tracker-game/id678971662?mt=8 ▶️: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sixtostart.thewalk2&hl=en #TheMotleyGeek @zayasgames #app #zombies #itunesapp #playstore #appgame #boardgame #boardgames #tabletop #tabletopgames #prizes #challenge #fitness #health #weightloss #running #jogging

[nokkiart]

I’m so excited to finally be *ABEL* to announce this!

I got to collaborate with the awesome folks at SixToStart to bring you guys some new ZombiesRun merch, featuring my designs of Sam Yao and Runner Five! https://shop.zombiesrungame.com

It’s been an absolute dream come true working on this collab! I hope you guys enjoy it!!

AND to make things even better, they have a holiday sale happening in the ZR shop right now where you can get 10% off with the code “HOLIDAY2020”!

[disabledrunner5]

Well I knew things were going to be bad but... (spoilers ahead for S3: M45/M:46)

Firstly The Comansys’ ships got blown up in Aquarius! Five unknowingly blew up the ships and then was only told about it after by Moonchild. That’s straight up abuse and manipulation (I mean Five’s being manipulated anyway through mind control but yeah it’s awful!) but then I didn’t think it could get much worse!

And then Shoot The Runner happened and that mission broke me, like A Voice In The Dark did:

“You’d think they’d know this is serious! ‘Just a runner.’” - Sam sounded angry and hurt by this! Duck the ministry! Sam Yao’s feelings are important!

Sam correctly assuming it was Five in the bushes!

SAM HAS KEPT THINKNG HE’S SEEN FIVE SINCE FIVE GOT MIND CONTROLLED!

Janine thinking it was more likely Tom

Zombies attacking Abel!

“Taking position six. It’s okay, just a few zoms, right? Just a few zoms.” -Sam sounding really worried really hurt me!

JODY GETTING PUNCHED BY FIVE! I really hope she’s alright!

Moonchild talking about hearing voices and Five hearing voices- oh god that’s not going to be good in the long run is it? I’m guessing that’s planting another bit to the storyline in the future? Is Five going to be hearing voices from now on?

Then the final section which genuinely made me cry!

SAM! JUST SAM IN THIS ENTIRE MISSION! MAKING A JOKE (that genuinely made me laugh), TELLING FIVE THEY KNOW THEY’RE STILL IN THERE! BEGGING THEM TO FIGHT IT! FIVE ALMOST KILLING SAM BUT THEN SAM’S SHOUTING SNAPS THEM OUT OF IT!

(It’s like sixtostart and the zr team expect us to ship 5am (platonically or romantically)

Then Five hears voices, past lines from previous missions and this one, which is Five snapping out of it, I’m guessing, as we hear what I’m guessing is Five running away.

and then... Archie? ARCHIE? ABEL... WARD? VAN ARK IN THE NEXT TIME TRAILER???? WHAT???

Long story short:

[nicoleales-art]

Barely made it for the #zombiesrun #virtualrace due to ACL strain but finally about to run after almost three weeks of recovery (those super slow times are me crying while shambling). Not PRs but definitely a testament to my knees recovery and endurance build up over the last 6 months. I still made it under my 10k goal of 1:20:00 set in April, so I treated myself to Starbucks afterwards. And I drew knee braces on my Shoggoth 😂🦑 seasons ghoulings everyone and stay safe out there! #zombiesrunvirtualrace2017 #runner5 #iamshoggoth5 #sixtostart #iamrunner5

[atlantisprincess]

A little #love from the creators of #zombiesrun First 25 #kilometers #milestone 😘 I am officially #truly #madly #deeply and #crazily #inlove with the #creators from #sixtostart Today's pace: 3.35km in 33 mins :) (at Quezon City, Philippines)