Survive

The goal of trying to avoid having game elements being eliminated, killed, or otherwise removed from gameplay.

Many games have effects that capture, destroy, kill, or eliminate game elements depending on the theme of the game. As these events are usually negative for the players who control the game elements, they have the expected goal of trying to make these units Survive.

This pattern is a still a stub.

Examples

Survive goals typically manifest in two different ways in games. One is a hostile environment, primarily through enemies or monsters, threaten to kill players' characters. Example of this can be found in Asteroids, Chess, Go, Space Alert, Space Invaders, and the Left 4 Dead series. Another is that players have to negotiate continuously depleting resources, as for example in Oxygen Not Included. Roguelikes, e.g., Unexplored, and more generally Survival Games typically provide both types of challenges with varying ratios. Examples of Survival Games include Dead of Winter, Minecraft, No Man's Sky, Project Zomboid, Slaves to Armok II: Dwarf Fortress, Terraria, and Valheim.

Using the pattern

The two primary aspects of consider when designing for Survive goals in a game is what is to Survive and what threatens it.

While it may be most natural to consider Survive goals tied to game elements directly tied to players' agency, e.g., Avatars, Characters, and Units, Survive goals do not need to be focus on players' Focus Loci. Guard, Guide and Protect, and Herd can be modulated with the Survive goal by making it possible for the targets of those goals to "die" and thereby failing the goals. Survive goals can also be introduced to the rivals in games with Internal Rivalry to removing elimination of those rivals as a solution to the rivalry.

Can Modulate

Eliminate, FUBAR Enjoyment,

Can Be Instantiated By

Enemies, Lives, Last Man Standing, Maintenance Costs, Rhythm-Based Actions,

Can Be Modulated By

Conceal, Steadily Decreasing Resources, Preventing Goals

Narration Aspects

Survive goals tied to other entities than those controlled by players, i.e., NPCs, offer the possibility of Quests that can readily be tied to a game's narration.

Consequences

Survive is an example of a Continuous Goal in that succeeding with it requires maintaining a state (i.e., being alive) over time.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Continuous Goals, Quests

Can Modulate

Eliminate, Guard, Guide and Protect, FUBAR Enjoyment, Herd, Internal Rivalry

Can Be Instantiated By

Avatars, Characters, Enemies, Lives, Last Man Standing, Maintenance Costs, Rhythm-Based Actions, Units

Can Be Modulated By

Conceal, Steadily Decreasing Resources, Preventing Goals

Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

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History

An updated version of the pattern Survive that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design.

Acknowledgements

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