{"id":27826,"date":"2026-04-16T13:41:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/?post_type=story&p=27826"},"modified":"2026-04-16T13:41:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:41:29","slug":"sam-lazuka-29-creates-his-addition-to-the-zombie-apocalypse-subgenre","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/16\/sam-lazuka-29-creates-his-addition-to-the-zombie-apocalypse-subgenre\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Lazuka \u201929 creates his addition to the zombie apocalypse subgenre"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

First-year Becker School of Design & Technology student builds text-based video game<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Six months after his government contract is complete, the main character in \u201cThe Final Door\u201d is on a journey home to his wife. Except the world he left behind isn\u2019t quite the one he navigates now: He faces an apocalyptic setting shrouded in a yellow haze in this text-based game created by Becker School of Design & Technology<\/a> student Sam Lazuka \u201929. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lazuka, the president and creator of Clark Iron Grip, a competitive arm wrestling club, knows a thing or two about \u201ckicking butt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot of “The Final Door”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho doesn\u2019t want to kick butt in a zombie apocalypse?\u201d quips Lazuka, who feels that the gaming industry has not had many new additions to this subgenre following the explosive popularity of titles such as \u201cThe Last of Us.\u201d He wants to change that. In \u201cThe Final Door,\u201d players click through a video game environment without visuals, the details left up to Lazuka\u2019s descriptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve become much better at world creation through this process. I have always enjoyed writing \u2013 I scored well on my English exams in high school and I love writing poetry \u2013 but I never had the opportunity to flesh out my ideas,\u201d says Lazuka, who started \u201cThe Final Door\u201d as a class project and is now working on it in his free time. \u201cThe player has to be able to visualize entire buildings based on the information I give them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to give the user freedom, there are different options the player can select to overcome obstacles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s actually an easter egg for players who are stubborn enough in the first building,\u201d he says. There are two main story endings that players can achieve, though Lazuka notes that the main character can die several times throughout the course of the story, each death with a unique dialogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen the main character dies, I try to emulate the last seven minutes of someone\u2019s consciousness before death \u2013 think of the typical \u2018memories flashing before your eyes\u2019 montage,\u201d he says<\/p>\n\n\n\n