What is valuable?

lesslucid · 2018-03-19 14:49:33

Sorry for the super vague title, just wanted to pose a question or raise an issue that seems interesting to me. Not sure I can articulate my thoughts about it well.

It seems to me there are varying and conflicting ideas about what is valuable in the game. Maybe these ideas are evolving in a clear direction, or maybe not... anyway.

At first, what seems valuable is food, because without food, you just die.

But then, you notice that a well set-up farm is more valuable than just food, because rather than running around hoping to find more berries, it can produce a reliable, consistent source of food.

...but maybe clothes are more valuable, because they relieve a lot of food pressure, and free you to explore or chase other ideas, or move further up the tech tree...

...maybe a well-functioning community is more valuable, because four or five people working together well can produce a good farm, lots of food, and lots of clothes...

...so, maybe the most important job in the game is teaching, rather than farming or crafting? That's how you create communities, that's how you bind people together, that's how you get people to learn how to do all the little jobs that make a village function well...

...or maybe, it's the new, unique, and interesting experiences that players have that are valuable? If something happens, a "moment", something that turns into a memorable story, won't that keep that person coming back and playing the game again and again, looking for more of those experiences? Eventually, so long as they keep playing, they'll learn the crafting recipes they need, they'll learn to communicate clearly with others, they'll begin to teach the people they meet...

...so, I don't know. What do you value in the game? Why do you keep coming back and trying again, even after you've been murdered, or you've watched somebody devastate your carefully planted milkweed farm?

Hope this question makes some kind of sense.

draequine · 2018-03-19 17:00:28

Progression is the commodity of this game. It is a currency of lessons, mistakes, experiences, and wisdom.

ryanb · 2018-03-19 21:15:06

What is valuable depends on the situation. That is what I love about this game. Whenever you are born, you need to observe what is around you to determine what to do next. It requires situational awareness and adapting to the needs of the village.

Gauteamus · 2018-03-19 21:21:01

Is 12 unbroken generations still the record on the main server?

Antarys · 2018-03-20 00:34:19

Gauteamus wrote:

Is 12 unbroken generations still the record on the main server?

25 is now the new record, it was 22 before that for a 2 weeks.

Joriom · 2018-03-20 08:20:14

Gold is valuable. You can make tools out of it. You can plant it. You can grow it. You can eat it. You can make it into rope. You can praise it. You can whoreship it (intentional). It gives you eternal life and prosperity. So lads, go dig me some gold for my crown so we can all starve happily.

Hans Lemurson · 2018-03-20 16:11:49

What is best in life?

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women!

yvanhooe · 2018-03-21 00:52:10

I had played during the playtest so when people started arriving I had much more experience, having had numerous spawns as Eve to try and explore the tech tree. At first I was pissed at the noobs eating all berries and carrots, not knowing how to do anything. I was running around, trying to get a farm plot sustain 3 people. Then I stopped. I just wrote what to do, staying in the middle of the village. "You! get rabbits!" "Stop taking milkweeds without fruits!" "You make a fire, don't put rabbit meat in it, fool!" "You, water the crops!". Productivity and population skyrocketed.

This game really makes you pause and think about your typical expectations for a game. There is no victory condition, nothing you can "get" to win the game. It is not a game about what you get, it is a game about what you leave. Right now, I am trying to contribute on the road network as much as I can, that's the lasting contribution for now.

To see the community evolve and learn is extremely interesting. Now people know milkweed is precious. They know how to do soil, plant carrots. They get dressed. Buildings are made, babies are raised by the fire. All little pieces of knowledge. That's great.

Uncle Gus · 2018-03-21 02:48:24

My latest mission is to get dressed and head east to look for gold, then set up a forge, make a pick and mine the gold. I haven't actually got that far yet. The closest I've got was creating the pickaxe, then heading towards the gold and getting eaten by a wolf hiding behind a tree. I was 57 anyway ^_^

One Hour One Life Forums

#1 2018-03-19 14:49:33

What is valuable?

#2 2018-03-19 17:00:28

Re: What is valuable?

#3 2018-03-19 21:15:06

Re: What is valuable?

#4 2018-03-19 21:21:01

Re: What is valuable?

#5 2018-03-20 00:34:19

Re: What is valuable?

#6 2018-03-20 08:20:14

Re: What is valuable?

#7 2018-03-20 16:11:49

Re: What is valuable?

#8 2018-03-21 00:52:10

Re: What is valuable?

#9 2018-03-21 02:48:24

Re: What is valuable?

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