References and Due Credit
You may have noticed some of the many references I've made in the story. Some are noticeable, and others are subtle. But just in case you may have missed a few, here's ALL of them (hopefully):
Left For Dead - My biggest inspiration for this journal is Valve's zombie survival horror: "two weeks"; med pack; The Hospital; the elevator; pain pills; Molotov; Witch; "flashlights off"; The Church; safe house; Luis (Louis); The Gas Station; The Lake; pipe bomb, mini-guns, radio, auto-shotgun, assault rifle, SMG, sniper rifle; Smoker; Rescue Boat; Francis; "lawn mower mess"; zombie picture; gun flashlights; propane tank; "better safe than sorry"; The Farmland; The Swamp, mudmen; Tank; Rescue Helicopter; "The Sacrifice" Molotov throw; "Run like 'heck'!"; LED lantern, sleeping bags; sacrifice; Boomer; Hunter; I also used William "Bill" Overbeck as a format for my character, Fox
My Name Is America books - The format of this journal is highly inspired by some of these books, mainly The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty; nicknames "Boot", "Mighty Mouse", canned ham and Lima beans
friends' help - My brother Benjamin, along with my friends Allen and Andy, created their own profiles; also our code names were inspired by: Fox/Star Fox, Snake/Metal Gear, Dusk/time of day, Shadow [Storm]/stealthiness; Seth is another one of my friends
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare's fifteenth century play: "the fatal loins"
The Zombie Survival Guide - Max Brooks' note (the last sentence is mine)
Forrest Gump - I obtained inspiration for a character from Tom Hanks' character
Portal - Another of Valve's games: lying cake, bizarre dream, cake
Call of Duty: Black Ops - Treyarch's first-person shooter includes a zombie's mode, which gave me some ideas: Tank Dempsey's "flesh addicts!"; Crawler Zombie; Sergei; "prepare yourselves, men"; Dmitri "Reznov"; hounds
The Last of Us - Naughty Dog's survival game: although it was not released at the time of writing (not typing) this, it helped me with the idea for the suppressing fortification camp and hostile soldiers
Uncharted (series) - Another of Naughty Dog's games: the stealth neck snap
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins' novel and Lionsgate's film: the "Reaping"
The Last Stand - Con Artist's The Last Stand game title
Borderlands 2 - Gearbox's looter-shooter game: Marcus Munitions "gun at your side"
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - A first-person shooter developed by Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games: Yuri ex-Spetsnaz
The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien's EPIC fantasy books and Peter Jackson's film: "make haste"; "Destroy it!"; "SHALL NOT PASS!"
The Grey - A thriller (with Liam Neeson) that inspired me; head toss; Alpha Hound; glass knuckles; end fight scene; Into the Fray poem
Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones - A Lucasfilm: Anakin's "takin' 'em NOW!"
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Hasbro's animated cartoon series on The Hub channel... in a book about zombies? Yes, it's true. Why did I do it? Several reasons, but that would probably take up another five pages: "Sleepless in Ponyville"scene with Princess Luna
Credits
Author: Daniel L.
Co-Author: Benjamin L.
Illustrator: Benjamin L.
Co-Illustrator: Daniel L.
Editor: Benjamin L.
Co-Editor: Allen S.
Cast:
Fox: Daniel L.
Snake: Benjamin L.
Dusk: Allen S.
Shadow: Andy H.
Seth: himself
Francis: himself
Tom: himself
Dmitri: Reznov (died in Vorkuta)
Sergei: himself
Yuri: himself
Computerized Mechanical Female Voice: GLaDOS
Commanding Officer: Lieutenant [CLASSIFIED]
Princess of the Night: Princess Luna
Over 9,000 zombies were harmed in the making of this journal.
Also, if you would like to view all of the pictures, as well as play the interactive game, use this as the end of your link: ?usp=docs_home&authuser=0#folders/0B9r0cEIQet7HSVBYOFdSRjZfMDg
Contact for Questions, Comments, Concerns, or Whatever, just comment on my story.
Thanks for reading! I sincerely hope this story touched you heart (not your brainz). Writing this journal took me from the date of the first journal entry (February 28, 2011) until today (when I'm typing this) on July 8, 2014; that's 1,227 days (or 3 years, 4 months, and 11 days, including today, but mostly I only wrote a paragraph or two every month)! This journal is dedicated to all of the people who inspired my references, and to all of my friends and family who supported me during this story, especially my twin brother, Benjamin, and my friends Allen and Andy.