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Amazon's new cloud engine has a zombie apocalypse clause

Let's hope no one every gets to invoke it though...
Written by Steve Ranger, Global News Director
zombie-businessman.jpg

When the dead come back to life, what you really need is a cloud-based gaming engine...

Image: iStock

Earlier this week Amazon Web Services unveiled Lumberyard, a free, open-source 3D engine for building cloud-powered games. And hidden away in the terms and conditions is an unusual get-out clause related to the rise of the living dead.

Under section 57.10 of the AWS service terms, it notes that Lumberyard is not intended for use with life-critical or safety-critical systems, "such as use in operation of medical equipment, automated transportation systems, autonomous vehicles, aircraft or air traffic control, nuclear facilities, manned spacecraft, or military use in connection with live combat".

But if a zombie outbreak outbreak occurs, then all of that changes -- perhaps because when the dead come back to life, what you really need is a cloud-based gaming engine to lead the fightback.

As the service terms continue, somewhat tongue in cheek: "However, this restriction will not apply in the event of the occurrence (certified by the United States Centers for Disease Control or successor body) of a widespread viral infection transmitted via bites or contact with bodily fluids that causes human corpses to reanimate and seek to consume living human flesh, blood, brain or nerve tissue and is likely to result in the fall of organized civilization".

The Lumberyard engine is built on AWS Cloud and connects directly to social video platform Twitch which Amazon said means games developers can spend less time "on the undifferentiated heavy lifting of building game engine components and managing server infrastructure" and more of their time building their games -- and keeping an eye out for the walking dead, too.

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