Almighty Game Designer

For Famine, there are many things that appeal to players, but ultimately, its original driver is "survival."

In the Maslow hierarchy of needs theory, needs are divided into five broad categories: physiological needs, safety needs, love and sense of belonging, respect, and self-fulfilment.

These five requirements form a pyramidal structure, with physiological needs at the bottom and self-fulfilment needs at the top.

The easier it is to achieve primary needs, the more urgent and urgent they are.

That is, if a person lacks food, safety and respect at the same time, then, in general, his need for food should be strongest. In contrast, neither security nor respect is so important.

That's why people go dangerously hungry, fight big beasts (give up security), or bow down to power (give up dignity).

The Maslow hierarchy of needs theory is widely applied in all fields, as is the field of gaming.

Many game designers use this theory to build a complete Maslow hierarchy of requirements in the game that drives players to chase those fantastic data in the game and become obsessed with it.

To give a simple example, some games with "selling power” as their core selling point highlight both security 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 that drives him to spend more money or time in the game to become stronger to keep himself safe.

And when the more powerful players have the attribute of security, they turn to respect and self-fulfilment, like competing for kings, forming a grand guild, leading their little ones to the war of nations, throwing thousands of dollars for these virtual honors.

Generally, very few games can use the level of "physiological need” because it is relatively cumbersome to play, especially as many games are not supported by their mechanisms.

In fact, human physiological needs are simple: food, water, health, reproduction, etc. But in general games, characters are generally not allowed to run for food, water, or the concept of hunger, because the game is limited and there is much more to be experienced by the player.

Famine captured this blind spot very well, showcasing the theme of “survival”.

Moreover, Famine is not just a simple game, but if you dig deeper into its spiritual connotations, it actually has a depth that doesn't have any great work to do.

Unlike many of the protagonists with great missions, Wilson's very existence means being, he doesn't need to save the world, he doesn't need to save others, his only goal is to live well, and everything he does in the Famine world is for one of the most basic goals: to live better.

Famine is a highly stylized game with a very mature mind core.

The world of Famine is not any known historical context, and even this world is filled with settings that are completely out of reality. Its whole painting and music is full of black humor, but when faced with death, it's extremely real.

This sense of absurdity coexisting with reality has been greatly enhanced throughout the game of Famine, including the setting of technology and magic coexisting in the game.

The mechanics of the movement, the crowded pigs, the tombstones in the woods, the remains of the predecessors, the monsters of terror… all kinds of deliberate terror, seemingly unaffected by each other, are inextricably linked.

The entire world context is highly homogeneous and constitutes a unique magical realist world.

And Famine's playability stems from its rich setup, which seems like a simple 2D game, but it's actually much more playable than some of the big ones.

The variety of monsters is very complex, and each creature can provide unique food, resources, and the protagonists can make fires, grills, pots, traps, and more using a rich construction system.

Moreover, the protagonists also have a wealth of interactive actions, such as karate collection, felling, excavation, ignition, planting, etc. All items, including the surface itself, can interact, and those precious items can be used directly as fuel at critical moments.

There are also different ways to get resources. If the player wants to get pig skin, he can go to the frontal stiffness with the pig man, look for abandoned pig huts, altar scratching materials, or plant spider eggs next to the pig man village, waiting for the spider and pig man to tear them apart, and sit down to make a profit.

Players will also discover adventure patterns and open up new challenges when players have already made achievements, lost interest in survival patterns, and the need for survival is no longer sufficient to stimulate players to continue playing.

Moreover, it is an extremely ruthless game in which any negligence may have irreparable consequences in the face of survival.

But that's why survival itself becomes more precious. Find a pig village full of carrots and berries when you're hungry, and you'll feel wonderful at this moment.

After playing Famine, many players realize how happy it is to be able to eat.

It is for these reasons that Famine is able to attract new players interested in survival games as well as retain those hardcore players for long periods of time, and even many people insist on playing the game for years without feeling bored at all.

Because every trip to Famine will be different.

And like many sandbox games, mod is the enduring charm of Famine.

Aside from the officially developed DLC, players' self-created mods also bring a lot of fun to the game.

Like the character mod, there are pirate king characters such as Solon (bring your own knife, you can chop trees, roadworm, all maps are always completely black), Ace (bring your own fireball, spiritual values back to the fire heap); the auxiliary mod, there are display values, architectural geometry; the functional mod, there are permanent tents, expansion backpacks...

In addition, there are extra-large mods, such as Dark Heroes, that can be used by many players for just over six months, and this extra-large mod is almost like a new game.

Of course, Chen Jiao just picked a few mods that are more commonly used and do not affect balance, so the other mods should be left to the players to develop themselves.

This is how sandbox games really develop their potential only if players are fully involved.