Talk:Fast Zombies

Previous page history was archived for backup purposes at Trope Workshop talk:Fast Zombies/LQT Archive 1 on 2016-05-31.

I've added a definition of "fast" per the thread below, plus a little more text. With that I think the trope is launchable. Opinions?

No objections, so I'm launching.

"fast" is some what vague. Does it just mean faster than a notably faster than a typical Zombie Gait? Does it mean something that you have to jog or faster to out run one (assuming out running on foot is possible)? The bare minimum of what I am want to go for is faster than a healthy adult human of average size taking a casual walk (I am willing to set the bar higher). I want this trope to remain unlaunched until a minimum speed is decided (not necessarily solely by me, I want multiple people to agree on a speed). Also it might be worth defining what the distinguishes a normally sluggish zombie that is capable of a Deadly Lunge from a zombie that counts as a fast zombie.

I believe what is intended here are those zombies who don't just lurch after you, but dash, hoping to take you down like a cheetah landing a gazelle.

I suppose the Trope Codifier would be World War Z, at least the film version, where the zombies don't appear to ever slow to even a mere sprint.

Mark Rosewater[1], in his 3rd podcast[2] about the Innistrad Set said that this trope (at least in its modern form) has it's origins in video games.[3]. He said that zombies are an ideal video game mook[4] because they come in mass and are slow and thus low threats on their own. [5] He said Fast zombies[6] were a progression on that enemy. Either an Elite Mook[7], or a Video Game Boss. I find Rosewater's origin explanation quite compelling. If most tropers that take a side on the origin of the Fast Zombies take the same side, I'm sure someone will add it to the page. <div class="references-small"

">

1. ↑ Head designer of the card game Magic: The Gathering
2. ↑ His podcast is named Drive to Work
3. ↑ Not that innistrad has fast zombies. He was a fan of large masses of Plodding Zombies, and as head designer of Magic R&D, he has quite a say in how things go.
4. ↑ not that he used the word mook
5. ↑ Feel free to look at the Night of the Living Mooks page.
6. ↑ Which he sometimes calls zoombies.
7. ↑ Not that he used this jargon either

How is 'at least as fast as a healthy human jogging'? Higher? Lower? To vague?

Jogging is pretty vague. Maybe highest speed a human can go that is considered jogging.