Self-Sufficiency Computer Game - Ideas?

[chuck_n_grace]

Hi,
I'm curious if there are any computer games about self-sufficiency. Something where the objective is to move from living on the grid to becoming self-sufficient after a certain amount of time and living off the grid.

I like to make computer games and this concept has crossed my mind a few times. Do you creative types have any ideas?

Just a silly notion.

Regards,
Chuck

[boboff]

Yeah, you could base it on spending hours on a forum and not pricking out........ Oh no thats just my life!

[clanpowell]

We've got one on our computer called plan it green. It's a national geographic release. You have to turn areas of a city more green, adding things like solar panels to homes or building biomass boilers to generate electricity. We downloaded it for free. If you google it you'll soon find it.

[MKG]

There are a few things around based on the Civilisation kind of idea (like Plan it Green, in fact) but, as usual, the algorithms used for success/failure are simplistic and unreal. I think you have a good idea in the making, Chuck, but I would envisage such a game as being based more on a personal success level (your own plot of land rather than a village/town/nation) than on what boils down to conquest. If those algorithms could be made more realistic (weather, plant and livestock diseases, real economics etc.) then I think you may be on to a winner.

Tell us more ... What software do you use to make your games? Are you a scripter or a full-blown programmer? 2D or 3D (or even no-D at all)? A million other questions.

Oh - I'd kill the time limitations if I were you. There's no great reason for it and it's a thing which puts hosts of people off games of this kind.

I think I'm saying that this looks interesting.

Mike

[scrap]

Something along the lines of Sims could be fun.
Cold? Grab a coat and an axe.
Hungry? Pick some veg (If you remembered to water them...) or chase a chicken around the yard.
Barter for tools or food with your neighbors,survive blackouts with your scavenged wind turbine etc.

Maybe bonuses are awarded for reducing energy consumption,succesfully growing the more challenging vegetables,reducing your carbon footprint etc.

The true value of such a game would be in the replayability,or in other words,how long can it hold one's interest.

[chuck_n_grace]

Hi,
I'm glad to see there is some interest in this.

Based on the folks at self-sufficientish, I prefer focus on an individual (or family) instead of a large city. It also seems to me, that a measure of common sense and patience is required in becoming self-sufficient...as opposed to quitting your job, and hoping for the best. I sort of see it as a transition from 'normal' to 'self sufficient' over several years.

@boboff

not pricking out

I have absolutely no idea what that means.

@clanpowell,
I'll do some googling on the NatGeo game. Thanks.

@MKG,
You can visit my game links over at http://www.chuckbolin.com. The more recent games seem better in my opinion. They were all done for competition.

I've written by own 2D game engine (C++) and use DirectX. I chose 2D because it takes forever to create 3D models and its a lot of work to animate 3D. With 2D I can focus more on game play.

@scrap,
It would be neat if such a game might in fact educate or convince someone to actually become more self sufficient. Anyhow, there is a tremendous amount of work in making a game realistic....randomized events, real setbacks...along with random good things.

Regards,
Chuck

[wulf]

I think a starting point would be deciding what the aim of the game is? Is it just a fun diversion, a serious gaming challenge or a tool to educate and encourage people to live more sustainably. Sometimes those could work together but not always - for example, accumulating power to defeat more enormous challenges is not really the name of the game.

Perhaps you could have something with relatively mundane chores (including nurturing things - Farmville suggests that is a winner) and choices of how to carry them out. However, if you choose to spend your budget on chemicals and machines to get the job done, you will discover that the game ends early as world resources are consumed.

Wulf

[chuck_n_grace]

Wulf,
I agree it would be necessary to narrow the scope or the game play design could easily get out of hand. I would love to putter away for an hour on a game if there was a challenge...and a few lessons to learn that could be applied outside.

These are some examples of game decisions and consequences. Too serious? Too boring?

Here are a few examples:
1. You invest in a pump and use a public lake to water your garden. A week or so later you notice something terrible happening to vegetables. You learn that a neighbor was using high amounts of chemical fertilizers that drained into the lake that has now worked itself into your garden. The lesson here is to do regular testing of what that comes from a questionable source.

2. You add a greenhouse and decide to manually regulate temperature in order to save on start-up costs. The game would randomly add a day where you overslept...temps hit over 100°and some plants die.

3. You buy some livestock and skip some veterinarian visits to save cash...only to result in significant health problems for the animals and low production.

Regards,
Chuck

[bonniethomas06]

Sounds great! I got seriously addicted to the Sims, and also Beasts and Bumpkins once, which is along similar lines.

[MKG]

I think those are exactly the kinds of thing you need, Chuck - it's those realistic success/failure algorithms I was talking about. And the random factor means that a player can have several iterations of the game going at once, all using different approaches. Of course, that lake itself would need randomising, otherwise once you'd discovered your neighbour's chemical approach to life it would become redundant.

Another thought occurs to me - how easy would it be to set up different start-points? So the player could select at the outset the type of soil, the climatic belt etc? Having met with some success in certain "easier" scenarios, it could be interesting to apply your skills to, say, a semi-desert environment.

Mike

[chuck_n_grace]

MKG,
Interesting ideas! It would be nice to pick some aspect of backyard farming, then play a simulation game that forces you to learn some knowledge and skills to actually win. I'm thinking of properly fertilizing garden soil, fighting bugs, raising fish and livestock, growing various plants at different times of the year.

If you're experienced and you want to grow some water garden or some desert plants, then the game would be an inexpensive way to learn before investing all that money.

Regards,
Chuck

[ajs88]

I really enjoyed farmville via facebook but wished it was about providing what you and your family need rather then making money and buying fancy buildings.

You could start with a small dwelling and plot of land, first you need to tame it, then need harvest enough grain and veg to feed yourself and then enough to sell to buy a chicken and untill you have a small holding. You could have the options to sell your produce at market and maufacture products, turn milk to chesse for example, you could also save up and buy tools that enable you to take up a craft and sell these, you could even open a shop but thats proberbly another game in itself.

If you build anything you need to find/buy materials and tools, you can have a skip turn up every so often or the option to go skipping once a day and see what you find. You also need to pay some bills, rent for your land each month, or you could have mortgage that you can pay of early and surprise bills such as vets bills and other challenges such as a leaking roof that you need to find the tools and materials to fix

You can have a family and for every new addition you need to grow more food and make or find items like a set of goals before the little one arrives. They could even grow old and the small holding goes from genration to generation

[chuck_n_grace]

ajs88,
That's a very thorough game idea. So, would the game goal be to become 100% self-sufficient? You don't need to become a vet, simply raise enough produce, to sell for cash, to pay?

Thanks for the ideas.

Chuck