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u/wassup_son

r/SurvivalGaming r/IndieGaming r/indiegames r/roguelites r/DestroyMyGame r/CoOpGaming r/gamedev
I tried to get rid of the stuff I hate in the survival genre, but realized why they exist in the first place (I think)
▲ 70 r/SurvivalGaming

I tried to get rid of the stuff I hate in the survival genre, but realized why they exist in the first place (I think)

I'm making a survival game and I wanted it to be fresh, free of the annoying "chores". But paradoxically, I realized these things aren't as useless as I thought.

  • I got rid of slow early progression: you start the game already with a gun because gun combat is the core of the game.
    • The result: Players never get to feel the power spike of earning the first ranged weapon
  • I removed ammo limits and durability: farming bullets always annoyed me so I always played as a mage or smth and don't get me started on durability.
    • The result: There is no endless material sink so scavenging loses meaning over time
  • I removed the hunger meter: I hate it when games slap the hunger bar as an afterthought. I though in my case it would only distract you from the actual gameplay.
    • The result: Players lose an obvious motivation to explore.
  • No searching for the place for you base: my game is about a moving base so you never settle for one place.
    • The result: well I'm not sure tbh but I think that it removes the beauty and emotional attachment of finding your place

So I wanted to make a frictionless experience, a fresh look on the genre, but paradoxically this friction slowed down the steep learning curve. Doing familiar stuff like in all other games (cutting trees to build a crafting table) gave you time to understand the game while doing something you already knew.

All in all I don't regret it, I still want to make it feel fresh and will find other stuff to fill these holes eventually, but do you agree? Or am I dramatizing too much? Do you also hate these tedious mechanics? Or do you love your second job?

u/wassup_son — 3 days ago
▲ 1 r/gamedev

Is grid/tetris style inventory management overused and just a hurdle for players? Weapon module slotting design question

Hi,
I'm currently working on a survival game which is focused on bullet hell battles using custom modded weapons and I'm thinking about spicing up my weapon modding mechanic.

OPTION A (one slot per mod): How it currently works. You just have a number of slots and every mod takes up exactly one slot.

OPTION B (the grid): My first thought was to use a spatial grid where you place differently shaped mods (backpack hero style). It sounds like a fun system to design, but I'm worried it might become just a hurdle for the players. Does having to fit shapes together create too much friction when you just want to quickly experiment with different builds? Or is the satisfaction of perfectly filling a grid worth it?

OPTION C (variable slots): My alternative idea is to simplify it to a variable slot based system. Weapons would have a set maximum capacity and modules would just take up a variable amount of slots (a powerful mod takes 3 slots, a minor one takes 1). It isn't that exciting but this lets me keep the balancing aspect and players only have to worry about their total capacity rather than shapes.

For context, weapon modding is a pretty major part of the game. Since it's a survival game, you're usually tweaking it while chilling at your base so I think it's not that important for it to be that quick to change mods. Do you think players are fed up with this grid management? Which option do you think is best?

reddit.com
u/wassup_son — 15 days ago
▲ 14 r/SurvivalGaming

What do you think about relentless permadeath survivals like Don't Starve or The Long Dark?

I feel like the survival genre is heavily dominated by survival-craft titles like Valheim, Subnautica, Palworld etc. These are more laid-back experiences where dying is just a minor setback, which isn't a bad thing at all!

But I'm curious about how you all feel about more hardcore, permadeath survivals and why they aren't more prevalent?

After playing some survival-crafts, I sometimes get the feeling that they demand your time much more than your actual skill. Losing all your stuff really sucks but I enjoy the challenge that for example Don't Starve brings.

reddit.com
u/wassup_son — 1 month ago
▲ 21 r/SurvivalGaming+1 crossposts

Destroy my co-op survival game and its announcement trailer. Do you even get a glimpse of what you're supposed to do in the game?

u/wassup_son — 1 month ago
▲ 79 r/gamedev

Did you ever follow a game's development only to see it flop on launch? (YT shorts trap?)

I followed the development of a beautiful game No Name Village, marketing was based on yt shorts and some of them reached more than a million views. No long form videos just shorts. It launched last year and reached just 50 reviews and 0 players playing rn. Also it looks like the dev sold his channel or smth cause someone else posts now. It makes me sad, why do you think it flopped so hard? Does short form content just not convert to actual sales or even wishlists?

reddit.com
u/wassup_son — 1 month ago