For the game "Famine", there are many points that attract players, but in the final analysis, its most original driving force is "survival".
In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, needs are divided into five categories: physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.
These five needs constitute a pyramid structure, with physiological needs at the bottom and self-actualization needs at the top.
The more primary needs are easier to realize, but they are also the most important and urgent.
In other words, if a person lacks food, safety and respect at the same time, then generally speaking, his need for food should be the strongest. In comparison, safety and respect are not so important.
That's why people take risks when they are extremely hungry, to fight big beasts (abandoning safety), or to bow their knees to power (abandoning dignity).
Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory is widely used in various fields, and the game field is no exception.
Many game designers use this theory to construct a complete Maslow's hierarchy of needs in the game, which is used to drive players to chase those illusory data in the game and become addicted to it.
To give a simple example, some games with "selling combat power" as the core selling point highlight the two needs of safety and respect.
For a weaker player, he is always at risk of being killed by a stronger player in this game, so he feels a strong sense of insecurity, which drives him to spend more money Or time in the game, get stronger to keep yourself safe.
After those stronger players have the attribute of security, they will turn to pursue respect and self-realization, such as fighting for the king, setting up a large guild, and leading younger brothers to participate in national wars. For these virtual sense of honor And spend a lot of money.
Generally speaking, very few games can use the level of "physiological needs", because this gameplay is relatively troublesome to do, especially the mechanics of many games do not support it.
In fact, people's physiological needs are very simple, nothing more than food, water, health, reproduction and so on. But in general games, characters are generally not allowed to run around for food and water, and there is no concept of hunger points, because the game content is limited, and there are many more content worthy of players to experience.
"Famine" captures this blind spot very well, and presents the theme of "survival".
Moreover, "Famine" is not just a simple game. If you dig deep into its spiritual connotation, you will find that it actually has a depth that some masterpieces do not have.
Unlike many protagonists who shoulder great missions, the meaning of Wilson's existence is existence itself. He does not need to save the world or others. His only goal is to live well. All in the world of "Famine" Everything I do is for the most basic goal: to live better.
"Famine" is a highly stylized game with a very mature ideological core.
The world of "Don't Starve" is not any known historical background, and even the world is full of some settings that are completely unrealistic. Its entire painting style and music are full of black humor, but when facing death, it is extremely real.
This feeling of coexistence of absurdity and reality runs through the whole game of "Famine", including the setting of the coexistence of technology and magic in the game, which also greatly strengthens this feeling.
Moving machines, pigs living together, tombstones in the forest, remains of predecessors, terrifying monsters... All kinds of thoughtful and terrifying settings seem to have no influence on each other at first glance, but they are inextricably linked behind them.
The entire world background is highly unified, forming a unique magical realism world.
The playability of "Famine" stems from its rich settings. It looks like a simple 2D game, but its actual playability is far richer than some masterpieces.
The types of monsters are very complex, and each monster can provide unique food and resources. The protagonist can use the rich construction system to create fires, barbecue grills, pots, traps, etc.
Moreover, the protagonist also has a wealth of interactive actions, such as bare-handed collection, felling, digging, lighting, planting, etc. All props, including the surface itself, can interact, and those precious props can also be directly used as fuel at critical moments.
There are also different ways to obtain resources. If players want to obtain pig skins, they can confront pigs head-on, find abandoned pig huts and altars for materials, or plant spider eggs next to pig villages. Waiting for the spiders and the pigs to fight each other, and reaping the benefits for themselves.
When the player has achieved something, lost interest in the survival mode, and the need for survival is no longer enough to stimulate the player to continue the game, the player will also find the adventure mode and start a new challenge.
Moreover, this is also an extremely ruthless game. In the face of survival, any negligence may cause irreparable consequences.
But because of this, the meaning of existence itself becomes more and more precious. Finding a pig village full of carrots and berries when you're hungry can feel good for a moment.
After playing "Famine", many players will understand how happy it is to "be able to eat enough".
It is precisely because of these reasons that "Famine" can not only attract novice players who are interested in survival games, but also retain those hardcore players for a long time. Even many people insist on playing this game for several years without feeling boring .
Because every "Famine" journey will be different.
And, like many sandbox games, mods are the eternal charm of the game "Famine".
Apart from the officially developed dlc, the mods created by the players also bring a lot of fun to the game.
In terms of character mods, there are One Piece characters such as Sauron (self-contained knives, can cut down trees, road idiots, all maps are always black), Ace (self-contained fireball, and the spiritual value next to the fire); in terms of auxiliary mods, there are Display values, architectural geometry; functional mods, with permanent tents, expansion backpacks...
In addition, there are super-large mods, such as Dark Heroes. Just one mod is enough for many players to play for half a year. This kind of super-large mod is almost equivalent to a new game.
Of course, Chen Mo just picked a few mods that are more commonly used and do not affect the balance. As for the other mods, the players can develop them by themselves.
Sandbox games are like this. Only when players fully participate can the potential of this game be truly developed.