Chapter 198: Official Mockery!
"Everything requires materials: flint, wood, grass, spider silk, and gold nuggets...".
While Sarah was chopping down trees on the map, she collected flint, flowers, hay, and berries from the ground. Little by little, her inventory grew.
Looking at the function bar on the left, Sarah saw that she couldn't craft many things at that moment. She had an axe and a hoe, as well as torches, campfires, and battle gear, but she still needed some materials.
There were also many gray, unlocked objects. Sarah checked the requirements for a scientific machine. However, this machine required a gold nugget, four pieces of wood, and four pieces of stone. The wood was quite easy; she had already gathered enough by chopping down several trees. As for the stone, she still hadn't found any, but the description of digging with a hoe suggested that it was not particularly rare.
The only thing she didn't know where to find was the gold nugget.
Unlike the previous version of Don't Starve, Alex had included some useful tips for beginners. For example, when Sarah first encounters a tree, Wilson tells her that she needs an axe. A small arrow points to the nearby toolbar. The same happens with minerals and other objects. This helps players understand the most basic controls of the game, instead of having to figure it out for themselves.
In most low-budget games, the biggest challenge is not the gameplay itself, but the details. This is especially true in the beginner's guide.
Many independent game designers have a unique style and a unique approach to gameplay, similar to independent films, but they often struggle to define the details.
In addition, games and movies are different media: movies are simply watched, while games require players to experience them for themselves.
In larger games, it is crucial that they are fun or have a solid plot, but at least the gaming experience is never overwhelming. For example, hardcore Souls-type games like Dark Souls often overwhelm players with their difficulty. However, the basic controls like attacking, defending, rolling, and lighting a bonfire are clearly explained, allowing them to understand how the game works.
As for the current Don't Starve tutorial, Alex does not offer a sudden and comprehensive approach like mobile games, where he strives to teach players how to play. Instead, he uses a phased approach. For example, if a player discovers mineral, Wilson will ask him to build a silo and say: "Perhaps there is gold in this mineral." This is combined with Wilson's dialogue to give some clues.
Of course, Sarah's current task is to collect garbage. She clicks on gravel, weeds, berries, and young trees: anything she can click on. She saw some butterflies along the way, but she was not sure if they met the requirements or if she couldn't catch them. She also saw some rabbit burrows in the grass, and when she clicked on them, Wilson, in the game, offered a corresponding line, explaining that these rabbits eat carrots.
If she had carrots to build traps, she could catch some.
"It seems interesting, but the map is huge!", Sarah asked curiously.
Although she hadn't been playing for long, her great sense of video games had allowed her to realize that this game was completely different from the previous ones developed by Alex. And what surprised her the most was the size of the map.
After opening the map and moving the mouse, she discovered that the area where her character was was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg. In terms of percentage, she had probably only explored less than 0.1% of the area.
Sarah used the materials she found to craft an axe and a hoe, and then began to traverse the map. She still wasn't sure how to play, so she simply ran around the map, exploring new areas and collecting various materials.
While collecting materials was inherently boring, Sarah enjoyed it. This was mainly because she could clearly see how her inventory increased with each material she collected. The sound effects for collecting materials, such as chopping down trees and collecting berries, were incredibly captivating.
And, most importantly, searching for garbage was incredibly addictive.
At that moment, Sarah completely forgot that she only planned to find gold and build that scientific machine. She simply ran around the map, collecting all kinds of "junk." The game's tools, such as axes and hoes, have durability. Once the durability runs out, the tool breaks. However, the raw materials for these tools are usually easy to get, so there is no need to worry if they break.
"Hey! What is this? A beehive?".
Sarah, who was chopping down trees and collecting garbage by the river, heard a buzzing in her headphones and noticed something that looked like a beehive.
"I wonder if attacking it will give me honey!". Looking at the beehive in front of her, Sarah took a look at the axe she was holding, a little unable to control herself. She approached the beehive, raised the axe, and brandished it directly.
Upon hitting it, Sarah heard a buzzing, and then five or six "killer bees" came out of the beehive in front of her.
"Wait! Not bees, but killer bees!".
Sarah, with the axe in her hand, opened her eyes wide upon seeing the killer bees in front of her. The name gave her a bad feeling.
The next instant, she saw the killer bees charging directly at her. The screen flickered red and the health in the upper right corner dropped drastically. Sarah did not escape at that moment, but stood there and tried to counterattack with the axe. However, what surprised her was that the axe felt completely useless. She cut it two or three times in a row, but no one died.
"It's so weird! How can I fight that?".
Sarah was stunned for a moment, and at that moment she thought of fleeing. However, it was too late. With the last sting of the killer bee, Wilson, inside the game, lay directly on the ground.
[Day 1] (Everyone has their first death, but that said, dying so fast is a bit embarrassing).
Sarah's eyes widened upon seeing the achievement that appeared.
'An official mockery!'.
- - - - - - -
Hello everyone!
Thanks for reading this chapter.
This week, we'll have 2 daily chapters for you to enjoy. This is possible thanks to all your support with Power Stones.
To keep increasing our chapters, I'm asking for your support. For every 150 Power Stones we collect across all novels this week, I'll add an extra daily chapter for next week.
If you want to catch up and read even more, you can find over 150 advanced chapters of my novels on my Patreon.
Your comments and Power Stones are what make this possible. Thanks!
@Patreon/iLikeeMikee