125: Exploring Your Own Landscape with Mars First Logistics
Oct 28, 2023
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This podcast discusses the open world physics simulation game, Mars First Logistics. They talk about the game's visual style, the procedurally generated landscape, the humor of the gameplay, and more.
Mars First Logistics incorporates humor and quirky gameplay to create an enjoyable and entertaining experience for players.
The early access phase allows developers to gather valuable feedback from the community, contributing to the fine-tuning and improvement of the game.
The constraints of early access provide a focused framework for adding new content and surprises, encouraging creativity and preventing excessive tinkering.
Deep dives
Humor and Playfulness in Mars First Logistics
Mars First Logistics surprises players with its humorous and playful elements. The developers intentionally aimed for a game that goes beyond a sterile space simulation, creating a human element through comical interactions and quirky gameplay. This approach is reflected in the design of objects like the watering can, crates of oranges, and even a toaster with sentient toast. The game's mission designs often feature humorous challenges, such as transporting delicate items that easily tumble or needing to keep an i-beam upright during delivery. This humor adds joy and entertainment to the game, making it enjoyable for both players and the developers.
Early Access and Iterative Development
The early access phase of Mars First Logistics has been highly beneficial for its development. The game serves as a large-scale playtest, allowing the developers to gather valuable feedback from the community. This feedback helps fine-tune the game's mechanics and balance, ensuring a fun and engaging experience for players. The team can adjust elements like rocket jet mechanics, taking player suggestions into account while still maintaining the game's core experience. The iterative development process is motivated by the enthusiastic community, who appreciates the game and actively participates in its ongoing improvement.
Creating Within Constraints
The constraints of early access present unique challenges and opportunities for the development of Mars First Logistics. While it prevents major redesigns or overhauls, it also provides a focused framework for adding new content and surprises. The developers strive to strike a balance between meeting player expectations and introducing unexpected elements. They aim to surprise and delight players by adding unexpected features that may not align with conventional player requests. These constraints encourage creativity and prevent excessive tinkering, allowing the developers to build upon the existing foundation of the game.
Managing Complexity and Difficulty
The podcast discusses the decision-making process behind the level of complexity and difficulty in the game Mars First Logistics. The designer explains that while he was tempted to add more complex features like energy or damage to the vehicles, he consciously chose to focus on the core mechanic of building rovers and moving objects. He wanted players to feel successful and not push them beyond frustration. However, he did realize that the rockets were too powerful and is currently working on a fuel system to add more excitement and progression to using them.
Balancing Difficulty and Player Creativity
The podcast explores how the game Mars First Logistics strikes a balance between different player types and their varying levels of skill and creativity. The designer highlights the importance of allowing players to find their own solutions and reach 'aha' moments, even if it means they take a more rudimentary approach. The game embraces different playstyles, with some players choosing to only make minor modifications to blueprints while others aim for optimal builds. The designer also mentions the positive feedback and engagement from the player community and the excitement of continually adding new content and features based on their suggestions.
Ian MacLarty and Kalonica Quigley join us to discuss their open world physics simulation game, Mars First Logistics. We talk about the tech art behind the game's visual style, the procedurally generated landscape, the humor of the gameplay, and more.
