GAME EXAMPLES
Viva Pinata
Viva Pinata is a life-sim game developed by Xbox Game Studios and Rare. The game sees the player tending to a neglected garden where they're able to attract and breed different variation of animal-like pinatas, whilst defending against intrusive disruptions.
When starting the game, the player is given a shovel from an NPC named Leafos. Using this, the player is able to turn hard dirt into soft soil. After this, a scene introducing the first pinata will play, featuring a Whirim. All pinatas have set conditions for them to appear (where they hang outside the players garden), visit (where they wander inside occasionally), and become a resident (where they stay permanently). Once this initial goal has been completed, Leafos will give the player a seed packet which will allow them to grow grass.
Another NPC, Willy Builder, is able to build houses for the residents of the players garden. Houses only require the player to whack them with their shovel, and each house can shelter an infinite number of the same species, so only one house for each species is required.
In order to breed more pinatas, the player must romance them. Any pinatas eligible for romancing are indicated by a pink heart. Each pinata requires different conditions for romancing, such as a Sparrowmint needing to eat a Whirim. Once the conditions have been met, a minigame commences which sees the player guiding the two pinata to each other through a maze. The maze edges are created from Loathers, red creatures which explode on contact. Each pinata has varying levels of control, such as their speed and ability to turn corners. After completing the maze, a romance dance will begin, and the conditions for romancing will reset. Then, an NPC called Storkos will deliver an egg, from which a baby pinata will hatch.
As the player is tending to a garden, it's only obvious that there will be some form of gardening mechanic. This mainly revolves around planting seeds and flowers, and watering them with the appropriate amount, not too much, not too little, so that they grow healthily. Fruit trees are also available, which have fruit trees which correlate to how much fruit they can produce, and this can be increased through the use of fertiliser.
The currency for the game, Chocolate Coins, allows you to buy more materials, such as seeds, or fences for your garden. These can be earned in a variety of ways, such as through the maze romancing minigame, or by selling your pinatas. Later in the game, the mine can also be accessed.
Review:
As my game idea right now sees the player tending to terrariums, I'll make sure to research into terrarium care and upkeep, and how to properly prepare them, like how Viva Pinata gets the player to prepare their garden for the pinatas arrival. Viva Pinata has a very hands-on and interactive approach to the breeding process for the game. I could potentially go the same route, however I'm thinking of keeping the process automatic to work on other aspects of the game. As is the case with life-sims, pinatas have happiness levels that must be maintained, as do flowers and trees. I will incorporate the same kind of system for my game. Another aspect I hadn't considered previously is currency. In the case of Viva Pinata, the player can earn chocolate coins, which allows them to buy more materials. If a player doesn't manage to maintain all their terrariums, they will have to start over, buying more basic flora and fauna. To do this, I will have to include some form of currency in my game too, something to think about in the coming weeks.
Equilinox
Equilinox, developed by ThinMatrix, is a nature-themed sandbox game where you transform a barren landscape into a rich and diverse ecosystem. Nurture your plants and animals, and watch them evolve to unlock more diverse flora and fauna.
Start by placing down a preset amount of creatures, making the land more fertile, earning the player Diversity Points (DP). These can then be used in the shop to buy rarer creatures and plants. Each plant and creature has its own requirements to stay happy. Happy and healthy creatures earn the player more DP, and so the player must keep their ecosystem in balance for maximum DP production and breeding. Unhealthy animals are able to fall sick from illnesses and die. By meeting requirements and unlocking more creatures, the player is able to work their way through an evolution tree, unlocking even rarer creatures. Genetic modification is also possible, unlocking more colour schemes and sizing variations, or even increasing a fruit trees production.
Due to the nature of Equilinox being a sandbox game, goals and progression are largely up to the player to decide. However, there are goals in place that the player can achieve, which can help point them in a certain direction if they're not sure what to do.
Review:
In the same case, Equilinox uses DP as its form of currency to unlock new and more unusual creatures and plants. There is a happiness meter for all the different forms of life, and creatures with max happiness earn more DP, something which I could consider to give the player more incentive to perform better, by rewarding their performance. Equilinox is a lot more life-like, with death and disease systems, however, I don't think this is the approach I will be taking, only having these creatures die if their happiness falls below a certain level. Objectives will be largely left up to the player, with rewarding, intrinsic goals set by themselves, with small external goals set by the game to push the player in certain directions. However, there won't be any kind of penalty for not following these.
Slime Rancher
Slime Rancher, developed by Monomi Park, sees the player as Beatrix LeBeau, a young rancher who sets out for life on a far away planet called the Far, Far Range, where she tries to make a living as slime rancher, hence the name. Using her trusty Vacpack, she is able to raise slimes, amass riches and protect the ranch from threats.
The main characters in Slime Rancher are the slimes themselves. Slimes are gelatinous creatures which can have wildly different looks. They are raised to supply Plorts, which are used to make money and gadget and unlock other regions in the game. Most slimes, except for a select few, have a unique food that they love which doubles the amount of plorts they produce. Slimes are subject to hunger, and subsequently agitation, and can even experience fear under certain circumstances. Categories of slimes include:
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Docile
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Harmful
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Special
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Hostile
Feeding slimes is important to maintain their happiness. Food has different categories, Fruit (found in trees), Veggies (which grow in soil), and Meat (which consists of chickens). When a slime eats a food it will produce a plort, and its hunger and agitation levels will go down. Most slimes have a diet of just a single food category. Fruit and veggies will rot if left on the ground for too long or they come into contact with Tarr.
The Tarr are specific slimes which are formed from eating a plort which they do produce, causing them to become ravenous, carnivorous slimes which replicate in doing so. They are weak to water, during the day in which they can be taken down with single splash of water, but they grow stronger during the night, requiring two splashes of water. They are capable of inflicting Fear on the players slimes, and they can jump large distances to reach their targets, and grab them using an appendage to limit their movements.
The Ranch is the main base of operations for the player, where they will farm plorts in order to earn Newbucks, the games currency. Newbucks can then be used for a variety of purposes, such as upgrading the vacpack, unlocking new buildings, and more. There are different locations that can be purchased, such as the Lab, where slime science can be conducted. The player can buy Corrals to keep their slimes safe, and also Gardens in order to grow food for their slimes.
Slime Science allows the player to create various different gadgets which can help with varying tasks in the game. These can include Utilities, which I'll focus on, Decorations, which serve to decorate the ranch, as the name suggests, and Curios, which have no real function, and are just objects of interest. Utilities help the player to manage their ranch, as well as help with exploring. Drones can be sent out to help with maintenance, and Med Stations can be built to help with recovery, as well as Turrets which are used to defend the ranch.
Review:
The biggest thing I've taken from my research on Slime Rancher is the variety of quirky different slimes that the player can collect. My game's charm will revolve around having a wide cast of quirky, individual characters that the player is able to take care of, with hopefully one character that appeals to each player. I'm not sure if I will include food to increase each creatures happiness, rather opting for the happiness being dependent on what other creatures and flora are in the area. The players base of operation will be where they keep all their terrariums, but perhaps I could include different facilities to offer different services for the player.