Interested in the game but unsure how to engage with it? Fear not! This page will guide you on potential themes you can focus your experience around with in Contagion, as well as playstyles that engage with said themes! Note that these are just suggestions; by no means are they the 'recommended' way to play, and you are free to modify, expand upon or ignore them as you see fit.
The apocalypse is not a kind place. Before technology, before ideology, is the basic, primal need to survive. You are part of the Bastion, the last home of civilisation that has survived against the onslaught of challenges that the apocalypse has wrought, and you have to keep its flame going. Resources are sparse and must be collected from the dangerous outside, and threats both within and without threaten to snuff out the Bastion's fire. Perhaps you're a hardy survivalist, having braved the wilderness before coming to the Bastion. Maybe you go on frequent expeditions to ensure the Bastion is not left wanting. Maybe you're just scared of whatever's out there.
It was the contagion that brought the old world to its knees. It's what has ripped families apart, made monsters of what should be unmoving corpses. It's what keeps you locked within the walls of the Bastion, for fear of what awaits outside. It's what tinges every drink of water, every bite of food, every breath of air with the anxiety that it will finally make its way into you. It's what defines the world as it is today. You could have sworn to make things right, to put an end to this horrible disease. You could have seen your friends turn into monsters before your eyes. In some way, the contagion has its hold on you, mentally… or perhaps even physically.
As the last home of civilisation, the Bastion has attracted all manner of people, with all manner of beliefs and ideas. Before the apocalypse, these wove a tapestry of different ideologies throughout the world, but now, they're all concentrated in one place. While strong beliefs can unite people, opposing beliefs can just as easily tear them apart, and with them, the Bastion. Maybe you're someone who holds such a strong belief: a worldview, a methodology, or even just the belief that things will be okay. You might also be someone championing cooperation and compromise… or a bad actor who seeks further to divide the Bastion.
The world has fallen. In post-apocalyptic anarchy, the strong survive while the weak perish. With no more order, no proper society aside from a few holdouts, it's everyone for themselves, and you know that. When things go south, just like how they did at the start, you know how quickly people can turn on each other. How they'll do anything, betray anyone, just to get out on top. Hell, it was even like that before the apocalypse, just not as explicit. Either way, you're someone who knows what monsters people can become, what they'll do, and you fear it. Perhaps you embrace it, acting only for yourself, making sure you get out on top at anyone's expense. Or maybe, despite everything, you hold out hope that people can work together and trust each other.