Educational value of video games

I have recently been playing a zombie survival game called State of Decay.  It's an older game from a few years ago but was recently redone and released as State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition (YOSE).  It's not the typical zombie survival game.  Yes you kill zombies, but there is a lot more to it.

One of the things that made me think it might be a useful tool was that you need to manage a good number of things in the game.  You have a survivors group and a camp.  The initial camp is at a church in a small neighborhood.  You have people and you need resources.  There are ways to have the radio operator help find specific resources.  Have some of your survivors help you scavenge, or perform upgrades to the base.

Surviving any sort of long term emergency situation is a matter of resource management.  People, water, food, ammunition.  We manage most of our lives with our computers and smart phones now, but if those things aren't going to be available what will you use?  The game imagines this is a journal, a little notebook where you keep track of the people in your group, your resources, and important events. 

Part of the resource management is telling you how much or a certain resource you have, the maximum amount you can keep on hand easily, and how much you're consuming per day.  The game breaks it down into just a few things.  Food, Ammo, Medical Supplies, Building Supplies, and Fuel.  So it's fairly simplified, but it works for the game.

I started thinking about how this sort of resource management might work in a real life situation.  Obviously it might be hard to know how much of something you have, but there are some things that you will be able to tally easily.  Water, you generally know how much a person needs per day.  Food might be a little trickier, but you can certainly get a general idea.  Is it enough to know how much of something you have, I think so in some cases.  Take fuel and ammo.  You probably don't know your daily consumption of fuel, except perhaps for a generator.  Ammo might just be a matter of keeping an accurate count of usage.  Granted, in the heat of a conflict counting bullets might not be on your priority list, but certainly afterward you will be able to take a count and know your consumption if you knew your load out.

Another thing about the game is that things are spaced far enough apart and your carrying capacity is small enough that you will need to use the many cars that are in the game world.  They can be a formidable weapon against zombies, but doing this (or driving badly like I did early on) damages the vehicles.  There are ways you can make repairs, or just leave that flaming truck on the side of the road and take the next car.  But in a real life situation, how will you take the next car.  In the game they're mostly unlocked and apparently have the keys in the ignition.  Obviously not how it is in the real world....usually.

So there it is.  State of Decay has given me a few more things to think about with regard to a long term emergency situation.  If you like video games, and even if you don't, it might be worth checking out.  Remember, surviving the zombie apocalypse isn't just about killing zombies.

What ways have you thought of for keeping track and managing your resources?  Let me know in the comments.

Tent or poncho shelter?

Shelter thinking.
Your environment will largely dictate the sort of shelter you need.  If you live in the tropics you might be able to get away with a rain fly or a tarp as a shelter year round.  If you live in the arctic circle.....move.

Seriously though, what you will need for shelter in conjunction with your Jump Bag will depend heavily on your environment but there will be other factors at play as well.

Solo or Family.
If it's just you and the weather is favorable you can probably do fine under a poncho with a light blanket or sleeping bag.  Something to keep the rain off and stay warm and you should be fine.  You might even have a tent if you want to carry one. 

If you're part of a larger family unit that is executing a bug out, this might not work.  Small children may not fare well in the open or with limited protection from the elements.  You need to think about this when you develop your shelter plan for your Jump Bag

Some of the things I've read suggest that a bug out from an urban setting requires less consideration for shelter since the environment already has plenty of places to shelter.  And I suppose this will be true to some extent.  Abandoned buildings, underpasses, parks, all of these locations might provide you shelter from the elements, but shelter is more than that.

Shelter is both protection from the elements and also protection from detection in a bug out situation.  As I've mentioned before a disaster tends to bring out the two basic kinds of people.  The best, and the worst.  You might feel safe in your tent in the city park, but if someone with less than noble intent decides that you might have something they want, your tent will not provide any real protection.

Consider camouflage when thinking about shelter.  It doesn't matter if you're using a poncho as a hasty shelter, or a tent, give some thought to cover and concealment.  This obviously doesn't apply to a situation where you might be looking for rescue.  Then you want to be seen, by rescuers at least.

Options.
There are all manner of ways to shelter yourself from the elements.  Assuming you've given thought to camouflage then let's focus on the actual shelter stuff.

I intend to use a hammock if possible with a rain fly.  If this isn't practical I can always find a bush, burrow into it's branches and wrap up in my poncho liner and rain fly. This should give me cover and concealment as well as some shelter from wind and rain.  When I was in the Army I slept in worse conditions, and in case of emergency I would like to think I can do so again if the need arises.

I have a tent in my truck.  My Jump Bag is in my truck most of the time, and lately I've put the two man tent in there with it.  I can decide when the situation warrants if I want to carry the tent or not.  If I'm with the truck, and I need to camp, and the situation seems safe enough, I can put the tent up. 

If you don't have a hammock, or a tent, then you need to think about something.  You can get a tarp, one of those blue tarps you see everywhere.  That shouldn't set you back too much.  There are a number of YouTube videos that can show you how to create a lean to or rain fly using these tarps.  As for something to sleep in, a blanket is better than nothing.  A wool blanket, maybe one from the surplus store, is a good inexpensive solution.  Wool if a great fabric for use in the out of doors. 

Shelter is one of the big three.  Food, water, shelter.  The thing is that most people don't think it's as important as the other two.  Depending on your environment it might be the most important.  You can survive days without water and perhaps weeks without food.  In adverse climate, you can be dead in minutes.

What's your shelter plan for your Jump Bag?  Let me know in the comments.  I'd love to know what you're going to do and why you've decided to do that.