Bob Smith
In 2013, Bob and 'Til Death Us Do Part were removed from the game, along with NPC survivors, with the release of version RC 2.9, due to NPCs being far too buggy. The Indie Stone did not abandon the story and have stated they still have big plans for NPCs and the story of Bob and Kate.[1][2]
Description
Bob "Baldspot" Smith is the protagonist of Project Zomboid's alpha tech demo main storyline "'Til Death Us Do Part" (which was serving as the in-game tutorial). He is a middle-aged man who was unemployed in the past, he doesn't have any special skills, but he is fairly good at improvising, like everyone else in the zombie world. In the story, Bob is an optimistic man who does all he can to make sure that his wife is safe. Bob is initially seen with a blue sweater and black pants.
Plot
Bob Smith and his wife Kate Smith get stuck in a city placed under quarantine and have been on the run from the zombies ever since the quarantine was put up. It is learned that this quarantined "city" is Knox County. The tutorial storyline begins with Bob and Bob's wife Kate in the "tutorial house". Kate recently broke her leg while running from raiders or zombies, so the couple has to set up a safe house in a nearby house. In the house, Bob places the incapacitated Kate on a bed, and then the gameplay starts.
Immediately after putting Kate on the bed, Bob decides to treat Kate's wounds. After helping Kate, Bob goes to the shed, and he finds a hammer, 10 planks, and 60 nails. Then, Bob decides to board up the house with planks to protect him and his wife from zombies and other adversaries. After Bob boards up the house, he rests until 9:00 AM the next day. After waking up, he goes out to gather food and supplies. While gathering the food supplies, he successfully fights the kitchen zombie and finds some soup. When he returns home, he cooks the soup and eats it. After eating it, he hears a broadcast, and a raider invades his house after the broadcast. It is up to the player whether Bob defeats the raider or the raider defeats Bob. If Bob defeats the raider, he takes the raider's shotgun and a baseball bat and then survives in the zombie world.
Bob can also use a pillow found in one of the bedroom's wardrobes to smother Kate and put her out of her misery. This, in turn, ends the tutorial (the pillow is to be used as a tutorial skip function when activated on top of Kate).
Alternative plots
Bob along with Kate could die in multiple ways in the original tutorial.
- At the beginning of the Til Death Us Do Part tutorial, the player could take a pillow from the wardrobe and make Bob smother Kate to end the tutorial early, in this case, sober music would play for the rest of the game leaving Bob alone to survive by himself.
- If Bob kept the oven for too long while cooking a soup he'd scavenged Kate would first call out the smell of smoke and then the oven would be set on fire in the chaos, the game would spawn around 40 zombies, Bob would attempt to help Kate out of the house but would either burn with the house or die to one of many zombies spawned.
- If Bob doesn't listen to the raider's commands and either doesn't go up the stairs or get close to the raider, the raider would shoot Bob and kill him.
- If Bob confronts the Raider listens to his commands and walks up the stairs to his and Kate's room the Raider would count down and shoot Kate, and if Bob gets too close the Raider would shoot Bob.
- If Bob was able to escape the Raider, the Raider would then hunt Bob down and kill him if he ever found Bob.
Trivia
- Bob can be used as an outfit or spawned as a zombie in the debug mode and can presumably be found in the game. Outfit color is randomized and body/hair/beard are not set.
- Bob is the man who can be seen on the main menu tending to Kate until lighting flashes showing a zombified Bob eating Kate.
- In the original 'Til Death Us Do Part scenario, if Kate dies in any way and Bob survives, the player would get the Picture of Kate to remind Bob about his loss.
Gallery
Screenshot of Bob & Kate from the old game builds, before being removed in RC 2.9.1
Bob & Kate in the menu
Bob's face on the 3D model of Picture of Bob
