Survival

Characteristics

Live!

Scavenge for limited resources and survive dangerous situations.

EXPLORATION

🔍 Find limited resources 🛡️ Find safe areas

MANAGE RESOURCES

❤️ Health, hunger, etc. ⚒️ Craft items & structures

DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT

🌇 Day/night cycles ⛈️ 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

⌛ Disaster countdown

☠️ Survive poison, etc

RAMP OF DIFFICULTY

🔧 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

• Weather Switcher
• Visual FX
• Post Process Camera Effects and Camera perspective settings
• Play Sound
• Ambient music
• Resource Management genre logic