I Maed A Gam3 W1th Z0mb1es 1n It!!!1: Difference between revisions

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[[File:I Maed A Gam3 W1th Z0mb1es 1n It!!!1 Gameplay.png|thumb|Gameplay, which is viewed top-down, uses two analog sticks to control the characters’ movement and shooting. Four players (highlighted with blue, red, yellow, and green) fight off the droves of attacking zombies while collecting [[power-up]]s (highlighted red).|alt=A horizontal rectangular video game screenshot that is a digital representation of a grass field. Four characters in black aim guns at zombies that surround them. Each player character has a colored circle around them.]]

[[File:I Maed A Gam3 W1th Z0mb1es 1n It!!!1 Gameplay.png|thumb|Gameplay, which is viewed top-down, uses two analog sticks to control the characters’ movement and shooting. Four players (highlighted with blue, red, yellow, and green) fight off the droves of attacking zombies while collecting [[power-up]]s (highlighted red).|alt=A horizontal rectangular video game screenshot that is a digital representation of a grass field. Four characters in black aim guns at zombies that surround them. Each player character has a colored circle around them.]]

”I Maed A Gam3 W1th Z0mb1es 1n It!!!1” is a multidirectional shooter game for one to four players, who view the gameplay from an overhead perspective. By using the two [[Twin-stick shooter|analog sticks]],<ref name=”:7″>{{Cite web |last=Altano |first=Peter Eykemans and Brian |date=2011-07-13 |title=Awesome Games Made By One Person |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/07/13/awesome-games-made-by-one-person |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=[[IGN]] |language=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240928214540/https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/07/13/awesome-games-made-by-one-person |archive-date=September 28, 2024}}</ref> players shoot droves of attacking zombies while collecting [[power-up]]s, [[Life (video games)|extra lives]] and types of weapons that include [[machine gun]]s, [[shotgun]]s and [[flamethrower]]s. Defeating zombies increases a player’s [[Score (video games)|total score]].<ref name=”:3″ /> Players must survive for the duration of the background song.<ref name=”:4″>{{cite web|last1=Acevedo|first1=Paul|title=Z0MB1ES!!1 (on the phone): Xbox Windows Phone Review|url=https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-phone-xbox-live-review-z0mb1es1-teh-ph0ne|website=Windows Central|date=17 February 2012 |access-date=15 February 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250908022051/https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-phone-xbox-live-review-z0mb1es1-teh-ph0ne|archive-date=September 8, 2025}}</ref> The song, titled “I Maed A S0ng W1th Z0mb1es 1n It!!!1”, is a [[L33t|13 minute and 37 second]] [[Rock music|rock–style song]] sung by Silva.<ref name=”James Silva talks”>{{cite web|title=James Silva talks dishwashing, Zombies and XNA|url=http://xboxfanforce.blogfaction.com/article/110629/james-silva-talks-dishwashing-zombies-and-xna/|access-date=April 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420054748/http://xboxfanforce.blogfaction.com/article/110629/james-silva-talks-dishwashing-zombies-and-xna|archive-date=April 20, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=”:3″ />

”I Maed A Gam3 W1th Z0mb1es 1n It!!!1” is a multidirectional shooter game for one to four players, who view the gameplay from an overhead perspective. By using the two [[Twin-stick shooter|analog sticks]],<ref name=”:7″>{{Cite web |last=Altano |first=Peter Eykemans and Brian |date=2011-07-13 |title=Awesome Games Made By One Person |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/07/13/awesome-games-made-by-one-person |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=[[IGN]] |language=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240928214540/https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/07/13/awesome-games-made-by-one-person |archive-date=September 28, 2024}}</ref> players shoot droves of attacking zombies while collecting [[power-up]]s, [[Life (video games)|extra lives]] and types of weapons that include [[machine gun]]s, [[shotgun]]s and [[flamethrower]]s. Defeating zombies increases a player’s [[Score (video games)|total score]].<ref name=”:3″ /> Players must survive for the duration of the background song.<ref name=”:4″>{{cite web|last1=Acevedo|first1=Paul|title=Z0MB1ES!!1 (on the phone): Xbox Windows Phone Review|url=https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-phone-xbox-live-review-z0mb1es1-teh-ph0ne|website=Windows Central|date=17 February 2012 |access-date=15 February 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250908022051/https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-phone-xbox-live-review-z0mb1es1-teh-ph0ne|archive-date=September 8, 2025}}</ref> The song, is a [[L33t|13 minute and 37 second]] [[Rock music|rock–style song]] sung by Silva.<ref name=”James Silva talks”>{{cite web|title=James Silva talks dishwashing, Zombies and XNA|url=http://xboxfanforce.blogfaction.com/article/110629/james-silva-talks-dishwashing-zombies-and-xna/|access-date=April 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420054748/http://xboxfanforce.blogfaction.com/article/110629/james-silva-talks-dishwashing-zombies-and-xna|archive-date=April 20, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=”:3″ />

== Development and release ==

== Development and release ==

2009 video game

2009 video game

I Made a Game with Zombies in It!
Developer Ska Studios
Publishers Ska Studios (Xbox Live)
Microsoft Studios (Windows Phone)
Designer James Silva
Programmer James Silva
Artist James Silva
Composer James Silva
Platforms Xbox 360, Windows Phone 7, Windows, Linux, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Release Xbox 360
August 16, 2009[1]
Windows Phone 7
November 29, 2011[2]
Windows, Linux
November 11, 2021[3]

Xbox One, Series X/S
October 31, 2022[4]
Genre Multidirectional shooter
Modes Single-player, multiplayer

I Maed A Gam3 W1th Z0mb1es 1n It!!!1 (stylized in all caps, also referred to as I Made a Game With Zombies in It!) is a 2009 zombie–themed multidirectional shooter game developed by Ska Studios and designed by company founder James Silva, previously best known for the Xbox Live Arcade game The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai.[5][6] Gameplay follows the player shooting droves of attacking zombies until the background song ends. It was developed in two weeks using Microsoft XNA. The title makes excessive comic use of features of Internet writing, such as leetspeak, overuse of exclamation marks, and typographical errors. It was released for Xbox 360 through the Xbox Live Indie Games service in August 2009.

I Maed A Gam3 W1th Z0mb1es 1n It!!!1 received positive reviews from video game journalists for its quirky sense of humor and theme song. IGN compared the mechanics to Geometry Wars. Gametripper compared the spaced-out musical moments to Asteroids. It was the most popular Xbox Live Indie Game of 2009. By 2010, it had sold 308,000 copies. It won the Inside Gaming Award for Best Indie Game in 2009. A re-release was released for Steam in November 2021 and the Xbox Store in October 2022.

Gameplay, which is viewed top-down, uses two analog sticks to control the characters’ movement and shooting. Four players (highlighted with blue, red, yellow, and green) fight off the droves of attacking zombies while collecting power-ups (highlighted red).

I Maed A Gam3 W1th Z0mb1es 1n It!!!1 is a multidirectional shooter game for one to four players, who view the gameplay from an overhead perspective. By using the two analog sticks,[7] players shoot droves of attacking zombies while collecting power-ups, extra lives and types of weapons that include machine guns, shotguns and flamethrowers. Defeating zombies increases a player’s total score.[8] Players must survive for the duration of the background song.[9] The theme song, is a 13 minute and 37 second rock–style song sung by Silva.[10][8]

Development and release

[edit]

I Maed A Gam3 W1th Z0mb1es 1n It!!!1 was developed by James Silva using the Microsoft XNA tool.[8] Development lasted two weeks.[10] As a teenager, Silva learned how to make games by taking Visual Basic class in community college. He continued making DirectX games in VB6 until XNA launched. Silva then switched to the C# programming language.[5] When Silva learned of the $1 price point for Xbox Live indie games, it inspired him to make “a $1 experience that delivers.”[5] In an interview with DigitalSpy, Silva stated that he was not anticipating it to be as successful as it was, and that he was “half-expecting it to fail for being too stupid of a game, but I think the exact opposite thing happened.”[5][11]

I Maed A Gam3 W1th Z0mb1es 1n It!!!1 was released on August 16, 2009, for the Xbox 360.[12] The developer made its song available for download on its website soon after.[13][11] A version for the Windows Phone, entitled Z0MB1ES!!1 (on teh ph0ne) [sic] was released in 2012.[9][14][15] In 2014, a spiritual successor titled TIME VIKING!!!!!ANDSPACERAPTOR [sic] was released for the Xbox 360.[15][16] A re-release of the original game was published to Steam in November 2021 and the Xbox Store in October 2022.[17][18]

I Maed A Gam3 W1th Z0mb1es 1n It!!!1 became a favorite with critics and was noted for its quirky sense of humor and theme song.[19] Erik Brudvig of IGN wrote that it was extremely entertaining and “somehow about as insane as its title.” He further stated that the mechanics are “as simple as any twin-stick shooter like Geometry Wars.”[6] IGN staff ranked it the best independent game of 2009.[20] Xbox Live Director Larry Hryb ranked it at the peak of his “Top Indie Game” of 2009 list.[21]

Critics praised the theme song for its sense of humor and self-referentiality.[8][19]

Reviewers praised its music, Matt Gardner of Gametripper called the featured song “one of the greatest songs to feature in a game” with Gardner saying it spaced-out musical moments were a homage to the game Asteroids.[8] Destructoid praised it, calling it quite simply and hilarious.[12] Retroware called it “the best song and one I will never grow tired of.”[11] A version of the song was released through the Rock Band Network about a year after its release.[7][8]

Destructoid‘ Conrad Zimmerman praised its creativity, noting that such imaginative titles are rare and “highly welcome” to the industry. He criticised that in multiplayer “Due to the field of play being so large, as players move away from each other the display zooms out to accomodate [sic] everybody onscreen.” Zimmerman gave a score of 9.5/10.[12] Juno Stump of Retroware said “[Silva] unknowingly created a meme” and that it “perfectly preserved in its time with everything from its overuse of typographical errors to its use of leetspeak.”[11]

By January 2010, the title had become the most popular and top-selling Xbox Live Indie Game.[22] I Maed A Gam3 W1th Z0mb1es 1n It!!!1 went on to sell 308,000 copies by August 2010,[23] making Ska Studios roughly $140,000.[22] It won the 2009 Inside Gaming Award for Best Indie Game.[24]

  1. ^ “I Maed A Game With Zombies!!!1”. Xbox Live Marketplace. Microsoft. August 16, 2009. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  2. ^ “Z0ombies (on teh Phone)”. Microsoft Store. November 29, 2011. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  3. ^ “I Maed a Game With Zombies in It!!!1”. Steam. Valve. November 11, 2021. Archived from the original on August 11, 2025. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  4. ^ “Z0mb1es! Remastered”. Xbox Games Store. Microsoft. October 31, 2022. Archived from the original on July 27, 2025. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Reynolds, Matthew (October 21, 2009). “James Silva (‘Dishwasher’, ‘Z0MB1ES’)”. Digital Spy. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  6. ^ a b Brudvig, Erik (August 28, 2009). “The Best Way to Spend a Dollar”. IGN. Archived from the original on August 31, 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  7. ^ a b Altano, Peter Eykemans and Brian (July 13, 2011). “Awesome Games Made By One Person”. IGN. Archived from the original on September 28, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Gardner, Matt (August 9, 2017). “I Made a Game with Zombies in It (2009, Xbox 360) – GameTripper review”. GameTripper. Archived from the original on September 20, 2025. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Acevedo, Paul (February 17, 2012). “Z0MB1ES!!1 (on the phone): Xbox Windows Phone Review”. Windows Central. Archived from the original on September 8, 2025. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  10. ^ a b “James Silva talks dishwashing, Zombies and XNA”. Archived from the original on April 20, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
  11. ^ a b c d Stump, Juno (November 12, 2021). “I Made a Game with Zombies in It! is Back from the Dead and Free on Steam”. Retroware. Archived from the original on June 20, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  12. ^ a b c Zimmerman, Conrad (September 11, 2009). “Review: I Maed A Game With Zombies in It!!!1”. Destructoid. Archived from the original on July 18, 2025. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  13. ^ Silva, James (August 26, 2009). “Download I Maed A Song With Zombies in It!!!1”. Ska Studios. Archived from the original on July 14, 2025. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  14. ^ Hillier, Brenna (April 12, 2013). “The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile dev defends Microsoft”. VG247. Archived from the original on July 20, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  15. ^ a b “Ska Studios releases TIME VIKING!!!!!ANDSPACERAPTOR”. GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 23, 2025. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  16. ^ “Time Viking is the follow-up to I Maed a Game With Zombies, out now on Xbox 360”. Engadget. January 2, 2014. Archived from the original on June 20, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  17. ^ Xbox, Pure (November 7, 2022). “2009’s ‘Top Xbox Live Indie Game’ Has Just Been Remastered For Free”. Pure Xbox. Archived from the original on January 23, 2025. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  18. ^ “15 Free Shooter Games on Steam If You’re Too Broke”. EarlyGame. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  19. ^ a b Hatfield, Daemon (January 25, 2010). “I Made A #1 Indie Game”. IGN. Archived from the original on January 29, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  20. ^ “Best Indie Game: I Maed a Game With Zombies!!!”. IGN. December 14, 2009. Archived from the original on March 8, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  21. ^ Hryb, Larry (January 10, 2010). “The Top 20 Live Games of 2009”. MajorNelson.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  22. ^ a b Graft, Kris (March 2, 2010). “I Maed a Game With Zombies in It!!!1… And Sold 200K Units”. Game Developer. Archived from the original on April 12, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  23. ^ “Game With Zombies Infects Rock Band Network”. Ska Studios. August 23, 2010. Archived from the original on July 14, 2025. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  24. ^ Glasser, A. J. (December 15, 2009). “Infinity Ward Sweeps First Annual Inside Gaming Awards”. Kotaku. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2025.

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