Chapter 201: "Wilson's 100 Ways to Die"
"Is this game fun?".
As Sarah was preparing to explore the new world, Mike, who had already defeated Yhorm the Giant, brought a stool and sat behind her, asking her curiously.
"It's a lot of fun! The core mechanics are gathering, building, and surviving," Sarah replied.
Although she had only survived eight days and was still enjoying a peaceful life, Sarah had already begun to appreciate the joy of Don't Starve.
"Gathering," "surviving," and "getting stronger" are three essential elements of any game, even those with a linear narrative. In linear narrative games, even if the game itself doesn't involve gathering, surviving, or leveling up, the protagonist's gradual growth and acquisition of items creates a sense of immersion for the player. Don't Starve, on the other hand, uses survival as its driving force, allowing players to experience gathering and strengthening, and thus experiencing the satisfaction and joy of the game.
"What is that sound?" Mike asked curiously.
Since the night was too unsettling, Sarah switched the game's audio source from headphones to speakers. A rumbling, similar to thunder and the howl of a wild animal, came from the speakers.
Meanwhile, Wilson, inside the game, began to mumble to himself: "I think I heard something. Did you hear it? I have a bad feeling about this."
Sarah couldn't help but tense up when she saw Wilson's words on the screen. She was quite familiar with the game's mechanics. When Wilson spoke, it was clear that something was wrong.
"I don't know. It shouldn't be, right?" Sarah replied to Mike, cautiously waiting for a moment. After about a minute, nothing happened. Sarah relaxed, but at the same time, she was a little baffled.
"How strange! Is Wilson's Sanity too low? Is that why he feels a sense of danger and is going crazy?" Sarah wondered, puzzled, as she prepared to look for flowers and green mushrooms to add Sanity to her character.
Just as Sarah was about to look for resources and gather flowers, a sudden bark came from the game. Two fierce dogs appeared from the top of the map and pounced on Wilson, whom she was controlling.
"What's wrong? What kind of monster is this? There were no monsters here before!". Sarah froze when she saw the two dogs charging at her. 'Didn't she just pass through there? When did these monsters appear? Where did these two dogs come from?'.
However, this question, at least in this game, remained unanswered.
The dogs' attacks had already reduced Sarah's Wilson's health to a difficult level, and the hounds were incredibly fast and had great attack power. Although she also tried to counterattack with the axe in her hand, she felt as if she was tickling them. After two rounds, her Wilson fell directly into a pool of blood.
Day8
(Be careful with the Hounds. Please pay attention to Wilson's intuition).
Upon seeing the achievement message that appeared, Sarah was speechless.
'Why tell her now? The hounds bit her to death!'.
"Did he die so soon?" asked Mike, who was behind her, stunned for a moment.
"I should have made armor and weapons first. I wasted too much time wandering around before!". Sarah summarized her eight days of experience in the game and reflected on it. Then she turned her head and looked at Mike next to her: "Stop talking nonsense and log in!".
Hearing Sarah's words, Mike got up quickly.
"Wait, I'll be right there!".
Upon returning to his room, Mike skillfully opened the Nebula games platform and downloaded Don't Starve.
Just like Mike and Sarah, many players jumped into Don't Starve immediately after its launch. However, their first attempts at survival only explored a small part of its content. The complex gameplay, such as building a camp and improving technology, was conspicuously absent.
The only thing they experienced was a variety of ways to die. No matter how well planned, unexpected events always occurred that ended their survival adventure.
In the community forums, many first-time players shared their experiences.
"This game has so much to offer! I've been playing for more than two hours and I feel like I've barely started playing."
"+1, I've been playing all afternoon. Although I've never survived more than two digits days, it's still fun!".
"Haha, this is so real! The first time I died was when I was stealing bird eggs and a tallbird pecked at me."
"LOL, I ran into a group of red-tailed bulls in the meadow and they gored me!".
"Has anyone ever been burned by setting a mountain on fire without paying attention?".
"I'm dying of laughter! Am I the only one who didn't make a campfire at night and died at the hands of a monster in the dark?".
"+1 for dying in the dark without fire! That's how I died too!".
Although it's a small game, it's a lot of fun, especially gathering junk with friends. The hours fly by without you realizing it.
"Yes, yes, it's definitely more fun when you play with friends."
"Haha, playing online with friends... there's a clear division of labor. The first time the dogs came, they did it by counting. A bunch came and killed my friend and me."
"Yes, yes, that dog was very fierce! Please, tell me how to beat them!".
"The first encounter with a dog is not so bad. Build some grass armor and maneuver a little to kill it. Of course, you can build a spear if you're even more confident."
"Everyone, be careful not to let your sanity level drop too low, or you'll see a bunch of dark, ghostly creatures. They're so powerful that they killed me."
"I think the name of this game doesn't do it justice. It's called Don't Starve, but I've never died of hunger!".
Countless players share their experiences with the game, or rather, their experiences of dying in it, in forums.
As expected, hounds, the novice killers, top the list of causes of death. When players haven't fully figured out how to play, when they're still slowly figuring it out, even a couple of common hounds can cause considerable damage.
Although countless players recount their strange deaths in Don't Starve, many also point out that, despite the name, actual deaths from starvation are quite rare, and many more are due to various accidents.
So calling this game "Don't Starve" is a completely false name. The real name of the game should be "Wilson's 100 Ways to Die!".
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