Basic Needs


MueckE

Recommended Posts

I've just discovered the thread of "bad ideas" and one idea isn't so bad after all, so i post it here.

It would raise immersion and realism a lot if there would be more "real" basic needs added to the game like using the toilet in some way.

I don't care if it's by digging a hole in the snow or using toilets or whatever (first person view? :D). This also could be used to "mark your territory" against wolves :P You could implement this either as random events or better as a constant need added to cold, hunger, thirst, stamina, meaning each time you eat/drink something the bar goes up till you have to ... There also could be excrements to be found of animals (like foot prints) to track them down.

I can also see that you start to talk more often to yourself after a few weeks of loneliness. Maybe even that you start to give objects or animals names and start to talk to them (WILSON!!!!). I mean, it happens already in reality by the players but would add up if the character would do it ingame.

The last essential need would be sexuality, although i don't see any way to implement this (at least in sandbox).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

EJyvEl0.jpg

Maybe these will have purpose.  Mark Watney would say "I'm gonna have to science the shit out of this" and grow mushrooms.

 

13 hours ago, MueckE said:

This also could be used to "mark your territory" against wolves

And attract bears.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm afraid that while we do love a good reference to The Martian, the team views of the merits of excretion as a game mechanic in The Long Dark as somewhat dubious. Usually we prioritize additions to the game based on how much they contribute to the kinds of feelings we would like to invoke in players.

Different methods of tracking animals might be interesting. Are you finding that game is sometimes too challenging or too easy to locate?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Mel Guille

You misunderstood. It's not about placing excrements in the world, it's about immersion. You don't "need" fist person view in the game and it has no gameplay purpose at all but still it was added to make the game more immersive.

Like i said, it doesn't metter how it is in the game, i just want this basic human need in some way be in the game.

Another example: Select a tree - "use", the screen freezes, a bar is filling up, done. After that, the tree looks the same (no excrements on the ground). Imagine you would do this at the gas station and the next day there are no wolves anymore. Again, these are just examples on how you could use that actually as a gameplay mechanic, but my suggestion doesn't has to have an impact on gameplay at all for it's purpose of immersion (just like the first person view). 

I just want the game to acknowledge that the character has specific needs. For the moment, i have no good ideas how to implement it, but i think this would make tld even more "realistic" and immersive. Do you know a survival game that has that?

Also the second suggestion in that regard is the need to talk to other people and not beeing alone. I don't care how you acknowledge it, wether the character just starts to talk more often after a while or whatever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Certainly there is value in enhancing immersion, but again, we are focused on crafting a specific kind of emotional experience, or world-feel. For example, we've tried to maximize a sense of awe and wonder at the world, and evoke some of the psychological struggle a survivor would experience in the face of loss, isolation, and hopelessness. To pursue this mood we've made a lot of careful decisions about to include and not include in The Long Dark.

However I'm not saying that it's impossible for the realities of bodily functions like urination/dedication to have a place in games. In fact I agree a that for the right project and with thoughtful implementation, it could be a powerful tool for establishing setting and tone. Indie games and movies have used some of the less glamorous aspects of being human to great effect in adding authentism and maturity to their experiences. Is that more what you were thinking?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.