We have a lot of "Post Apocalyptic" games but they all seem to revolve around deserts and rubble. Why don't we have something that has you surviving against the seasons? Could be as a early man eking in a hostile world or as a survivor of an event that wiped out most of the rest of humanity, a la "Life After People". I'd like to see more on such a premise. What about you? And do you know of any games along that theme?
Games about man vs. the elements
- Thread starter Gyrefalcon
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Let's not forget those PS2 games about surviving natural disasters. I think one was called Disaster Report. The other is Raw Danger.
Lukeje said:
I hadn't seen these ones, nor Lost in Blue. I'm excited to learn there is something along these lines out there. But, Cryostasis has this theme as well?? Wow.Samurai Goomba said:
Yes, actually, that would count too. Survival skills, resource management, and a little bit of danger all rolled up into one game that pit you against the clock for survival.Frankydee said:
If you're willing to get into indie PC games, I can suggest a pair of games that follow this idea exactly. The entire premise of one is that you start out stranded in the wilderness and are left to fend for yourself; hunt food, build shelter, find resources, and just generally see how long you can last.Gyrefalcon said:
Neither of the two are particularly user friendly and both are ugly as sin, but if you want extremely deep 'survivor' experience they're what you're looking for as they take every last detail into account and, once you're past the terrible visuals, are both amazing games.
Although it looks like it might be a good game, it looks like another "man vs. man" theme not really "man vs. nature". The graphics look pretty good though.ExcusableHat said:
What I'm looking for is not a game about how good you are at finding the last bag of chips in a ruined city before someone else, nor about making bombs or shooting enemies. I'm looking for more of the actual skills you'd need to survive in a world without electricity, packaged food, or other people. More of a "see how well you'd do/how long you'd last" with emphasis on learning survival skills.
Thanks for the link though.
The Madman said:Go ahead and name them. As much as I'd like good graphics, story is #1, and if it works it works.Gyrefalcon said:
No story here but the story you make for yourself.
One is called UnReal World. It's a roguelike... ever heard of those? They were the first type of rpg that took place in randomly generated worlds. Anyway, it's a roguelike where rather than taking place in some fantasy setting where you're an elf wielding a sword +1 fighting goblins, you're just some poor sap out in the wilds and forced to survive. You create a character and choose from stats which will affect your survival such as whether you know how to hunt with a bow and arrow or if you know first-aid and such, and then play that character in the inhospitable wilderness trying to survive.
It's possible to even find towns, trade for supplies, buy or build your own house and even eventually settle down and start a family... of course none of my characters have ever made it that far. Typically they end up bleeding to death or starving or suffering some other horrible death thanks to my unskilled hands. And ya know what? THAT'S GREAT! You know how fun it is to tell stories between me and my buddies about how my latest poor sap met his end? It's fun, and you're learning the entire time too. Some day... maybe... I'll actually survive to build a family in the game.
There's a score chart to show off how well you've done too, so survival, while possible, isn't always the most fun goal.
Link: http://www.jmp.fi/~smaarane/urw.html
The other, and by far one of my all-time favorite games, no lie, is called Dwarf Fortress. It's somewhat similar to the above except that it's got an amazing strategy twist; You're not just playing one character, you don't control anyone at all. Instead you're started off in charge of seven dwarves (Get it? Hur hur) and left with the responsibility of establishing a colony. Seven Dwarves and a cartload of whatever supplies you choose to bring, that's all ya got.
If you've ever played Dungeon Keeper, or Evil Genius, or any other game like that then you'll instantly be familiar with the setup. You need to dig deep, build halls for housing, set up craft-shops for building furniture and supplies. You need food and water and safety; There are enemies aplenty in the game and if you're caught unprepared it's possible a goblin raid will slaughter your fledgling fortress, or wolves will butcher your hunters, or any other of millions of possible situations. Cave-ins, plague, disease and famine. This is another game where failure is at first inevitable. But it's fun and as you keep playing you'll eventually figure out how to set up traps and death-pits, proper food chains and shops, till you're controlling a fortress with hundreds of dwarves and perhaps even become the new Dwarven Capital as the King moves into your fortress (I've yet to have had that happen, but it *is* possible)
What makes it all worth-while is that every dwarf plays like a tiny Sim, with their own likes and dislikes, their own personalities and goals. They'll get married, have children, throw fits and get in fights. It's amazing to watch em all interact with each other and grow.
This one's also free: http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/
Enjoy! Be warned however, once you get into em, both these games are major time-sinks. I dare not try and count how many hours I've spent trying to build the perfect Dwarf Fortress...
And good luck. Neither is exactly newbie friendly, but once you figure em out you wont turn back. Took me forever to learn Dwarf Fortress, but there are guides available so if you decide to give em a try msg me and I'll send you a link or two.
One is called UnReal World. It's a roguelike... ever heard of those? They were the first type of rpg that took place in randomly generated worlds. Anyway, it's a roguelike where rather than taking place in some fantasy setting where you're an elf wielding a sword +1 fighting goblins, you're just some poor sap out in the wilds and forced to survive. You create a character and choose from stats which will affect your survival such as whether you know how to hunt with a bow and arrow or if you know first-aid and such, and then play that character in the inhospitable wilderness trying to survive.
It's possible to even find towns, trade for supplies, buy or build your own house and even eventually settle down and start a family... of course none of my characters have ever made it that far. Typically they end up bleeding to death or starving or suffering some other horrible death thanks to my unskilled hands. And ya know what? THAT'S GREAT! You know how fun it is to tell stories between me and my buddies about how my latest poor sap met his end? It's fun, and you're learning the entire time too. Some day... maybe... I'll actually survive to build a family in the game.
There's a score chart to show off how well you've done too, so survival, while possible, isn't always the most fun goal.
Link: http://www.jmp.fi/~smaarane/urw.html
The other, and by far one of my all-time favorite games, no lie, is called Dwarf Fortress. It's somewhat similar to the above except that it's got an amazing strategy twist; You're not just playing one character, you don't control anyone at all. Instead you're started off in charge of seven dwarves (Get it? Hur hur) and left with the responsibility of establishing a colony. Seven Dwarves and a cartload of whatever supplies you choose to bring, that's all ya got.
If you've ever played Dungeon Keeper, or Evil Genius, or any other game like that then you'll instantly be familiar with the setup. You need to dig deep, build halls for housing, set up craft-shops for building furniture and supplies. You need food and water and safety; There are enemies aplenty in the game and if you're caught unprepared it's possible a goblin raid will slaughter your fledgling fortress, or wolves will butcher your hunters, or any other of millions of possible situations. Cave-ins, plague, disease and famine. This is another game where failure is at first inevitable. But it's fun and as you keep playing you'll eventually figure out how to set up traps and death-pits, proper food chains and shops, till you're controlling a fortress with hundreds of dwarves and perhaps even become the new Dwarven Capital as the King moves into your fortress (I've yet to have had that happen, but it *is* possible)
What makes it all worth-while is that every dwarf plays like a tiny Sim, with their own likes and dislikes, their own personalities and goals. They'll get married, have children, throw fits and get in fights. It's amazing to watch em all interact with each other and grow.
This one's also free: http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/
Enjoy! Be warned however, once you get into em, both these games are major time-sinks. I dare not try and count how many hours I've spent trying to build the perfect Dwarf Fortress...
And good luck. Neither is exactly newbie friendly, but once you figure em out you wont turn back. Took me forever to learn Dwarf Fortress, but there are guides available so if you decide to give em a try msg me and I'll send you a link or two.
The flash game Last Winter is actually pretty similar to that and it is a fing hard game you get a cut and it bleeds and might get infected, sleep without a fire or shelter one night and you can get hypothermia. The hardest part is that every update the game gets harder with improved AI such as the wolves who hunt in packs or the moose that now charge you if cornered.Frankydee said:
If you play Warcraft III: http://tinyurl.com/yl9wm8bGyrefalcon said:
I like the premise of survival games and I think the element of dis-empowerment is too uncommon in games.
Probably because the most common causes of death in nature: Starvation, Dehydration, Poisoning, Hypothermia, Paralyzing Injuries that lead to one of those etc. ARE REALLY GODDAMN BORING!