Survival

Characteristics

Live!

Scavenge for limited resources and survive dangerous situations.

EXPLORATION

πŸ” Find limited resources πŸ›‘οΈ Find safe areas

MANAGE RESOURCES

❀️ Health, hunger, etc. βš’οΈ Craft items & structures

DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT

πŸŒ‡ Day/night cycles β›ˆοΈ Changing weather 🌊 Evolving threats

Keys of Success

  • Challenging - Based on decisions and tactical fights against monster or players

  • Immersive - Revolves around generating tension from the constant search for good resources

  • Play for long - Endless replayability through varied playthroughs with resources

NEED TO HAVE

  • Immersive sound, light, VFX, scenery

  • Hazardous areas to explore and scavenge (weather, enemies, etc)

  • Weapons, health consumables, etc

NICE TO HAVE

  • Branching narrative

  • Risk and reward for optional quests

Game Loops

Below is a general game loop diagram for this genre. Your game's loops may vary.

Learn to Create It

GAME MAKER TEMPLATES

LOGIC TO EXPLORE

  • Random items/events

  • Swim/oxygen, fall damage

  • Equipment options

  • Resource management & health

TEMPLATE NOTES Disaster Survival - Disaster VFX and logic Survival - Resource management and health sustainability logic The Walking Dead - Narrative survival (linear)

Make it More Interesting

Consider ways to add to or change the core structure of this game type to challenge and motivate players differently.

MAIN OBJECTIVE

βŒ› Disaster countdown

☠️ Survive poison, etc

RAMP OF DIFFICULTY

πŸ”§ Adaptive difficulty (easier or harder when player dies)

CORE DECISIONS

🎲 Random dynamic weather impacts options

🌊 Intensity ramps up risk

PRACTICE: Modify the Disaster Survival, Survival, or The Walking Dead templates to increase the fun:

  • Use true/false variables for non-linear play events

  • Add a system for adaptive difficulty

  • Add random environmental influences on play

Useful Logic

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