I started Generation Zero not knowing exactly what to expect, hoping I didn’t come to an untimely death at the hands of evil robots. As I walked around for the first time I saw something that delighted me; A police car. My first thought was to hop in it and drive to safety. It was a little disappointing to discover the car was just a set piece.
In real life, if I was stranded in a deserted country overrun by hostile machines the first thing I would want to do -(after I got done crying in a corner)- would be to get in a car.
It seems to be a controversial subject to add functional cars to the game. I can see several points that make it sound like a bad idea. It might detract from the simple guerrilla warfare aspect of the story, it may make transportation too easy, etc. But in my opinion the positive possibilities of adding functional cars greatly outweigh the negative ones.
Success when using cars would depend on how one used them. A good strategy could score you an easy win, but strategies executed improperly or planned hastily could end up in disaster.
There are a lot of nice features cars could provide. One of the biggest could be an extended and portable storage space. Ever had too much stuff to carry? Needed to pick up that med kit but had so much stuff you know you’ll need later? Just throw some in the trunk and drive to the next mission!
Another could be a luring device. What if you could put a brick on the gas pedal and send the car roaring down a street, causing all the machines around to chase after it? When they got close and shot at it they’d get an explosive surprise.
For bold players a fun strategy to defeat Tanks or Harvesters could be ramming your vehicle into their legs! If you used a small sedan you might take out some armor, but if you rammed a cargo truck into one it might fall down and shut off for a short time.
I have a few ideas on how vehicles could be acquired.
Car keys could be found in some houses and used for a car found in or around the garage.
of course they would need to run on gasoline, which could be found in the gas containers already scattered everywhere. The fuel would run out and you would have to plan according to your current amount.
There could be an Auto Mechanic skill set that when fully unlocked could allow you to gather car parts to customize and repair your vehicle.
An upgrade could include stronger engine mufflers to dampen the noise level.
Of course the vehicle would alert enemies due to the noise and heat, so when hit the car could degrade and lose parts and health/functionality, much like the machines themselves. If surrounded by enemies and shot in the right spot the car would explode, reducing your health by 80% or more.
These are just a few ideas, and like I said, there are many other interesting and fun possibilities for the addition of working cars.
Thanks for reading, I hope to see some ideas and feedback from the community.