Dev Blog, November 2023 - Endless replayability
Hello aspiring Tribe Leaders,
In today’s Dev Blog, we want to take a look at the big picture of The Tribe Must Survive. Namely, its big game loops and the RNG elements that make it a roguelike. Our goal is to make each playthrough feel unique, which’ll keep the gameplay fun and challenging even after many runs.
A single playthrough of the Tribe Must Survive is divided into Acts. Each Act has its own characteristics, such as special Act Perks, new Buildings, and a unique Disaster. Naturally, the latter Acts will provide a greater challenge that’ll keep testing your skills and resourcefulness.
Disasters are drastic changes in the environment unique to each Act. They are the final challenge which measures the strength of your Tribe before they can continue to the next Act. If you have only been able to crawl your way up to this point, the Disaster will probably cut the playthrough short. You will have to adapt and switch up your priorities in order to survive through them.
The Disasters also provide visual variety by drastically altering the gameworld. Whether their origins are natural or otherworldly is unclear. The Disasters test not only the Tribe’s physical capabilities, but also their mental fortitude. To reflect this, each Disaster also includes a set of unique story events.
Beyond all other challenges, even the Disasters, there is something more dangerous brewing. Tensions keep rising as the world around the Tribe threatens to crush them. The longer the game goes on, the harder it becomes for them to survive in an increasingly harsher world.
Fear of what awaits in the Dark becomes a bigger danger as time goes on, and you will have to learn to manage its effects on the Tribe. With more people, it will be harder to deal with the problems that emerge, especially as people get more and more desperate.
Even the strongest minds might not survive through such struggles unscathed. Eventually, something breaks. The Tribe must then ask themselves, what will they do if they cannot rely on their sanity anymore?
One of the central motives of The Tribe Must Survive is loops. Like other roguelike games, ours is meant to be played repeatedly. You will learn more about the game with each run, which will improve your mastery of it. The RNG elements also introduce an element of luck, and you will have to form your strategy based on the knowledge you have gained and what the game offers you in this specific run.
Perhaps the most important parts of such loops are the beginning and the end. In the case of The Tribe Must Survive, the end is inevitable, and your success is measured by how long you can stand against it. That end may, however, be followed by a new beginning. Just like the survivors of the Tribe can escape and start anew, you too can use what you have learned to build things bigger and better next time.
This endless pattern of beginning and ends also extends to the history of the world. You will find traces of ancient civilizations who rose to great highs, only to be brought down to ruin. Their knowledge can be a valuable asset in your fight against the Dark.
You can enjoy the thrills of this roguelike experience once the game releases. For this, remember to wishlist The Tribe Must Survive on Steam, and click the Follow button on the store page to receive notifications about our announcements.
Feel free to also share your thoughts with us! You can do it here or on our TTMS Discord server, where we will share more information and you can get directly involved in the discussions.
And remember; whatever it takes... The Tribe Must Survive!
In today’s Dev Blog, we want to take a look at the big picture of The Tribe Must Survive. Namely, its big game loops and the RNG elements that make it a roguelike. Our goal is to make each playthrough feel unique, which’ll keep the gameplay fun and challenging even after many runs.
The Acts
A single playthrough of the Tribe Must Survive is divided into Acts. Each Act has its own characteristics, such as special Act Perks, new Buildings, and a unique Disaster. Naturally, the latter Acts will provide a greater challenge that’ll keep testing your skills and resourcefulness.
Disasters are drastic changes in the environment unique to each Act. They are the final challenge which measures the strength of your Tribe before they can continue to the next Act. If you have only been able to crawl your way up to this point, the Disaster will probably cut the playthrough short. You will have to adapt and switch up your priorities in order to survive through them.
The Disasters also provide visual variety by drastically altering the gameworld. Whether their origins are natural or otherworldly is unclear. The Disasters test not only the Tribe’s physical capabilities, but also their mental fortitude. To reflect this, each Disaster also includes a set of unique story events.
Escalation
Beyond all other challenges, even the Disasters, there is something more dangerous brewing. Tensions keep rising as the world around the Tribe threatens to crush them. The longer the game goes on, the harder it becomes for them to survive in an increasingly harsher world.
Fear of what awaits in the Dark becomes a bigger danger as time goes on, and you will have to learn to manage its effects on the Tribe. With more people, it will be harder to deal with the problems that emerge, especially as people get more and more desperate.
Even the strongest minds might not survive through such struggles unscathed. Eventually, something breaks. The Tribe must then ask themselves, what will they do if they cannot rely on their sanity anymore?
The Loops
One of the central motives of The Tribe Must Survive is loops. Like other roguelike games, ours is meant to be played repeatedly. You will learn more about the game with each run, which will improve your mastery of it. The RNG elements also introduce an element of luck, and you will have to form your strategy based on the knowledge you have gained and what the game offers you in this specific run.
Perhaps the most important parts of such loops are the beginning and the end. In the case of The Tribe Must Survive, the end is inevitable, and your success is measured by how long you can stand against it. That end may, however, be followed by a new beginning. Just like the survivors of the Tribe can escape and start anew, you too can use what you have learned to build things bigger and better next time.
This endless pattern of beginning and ends also extends to the history of the world. You will find traces of ancient civilizations who rose to great highs, only to be brought down to ruin. Their knowledge can be a valuable asset in your fight against the Dark.
You can enjoy the thrills of this roguelike experience once the game releases. For this, remember to wishlist The Tribe Must Survive on Steam, and click the Follow button on the store page to receive notifications about our announcements.
Feel free to also share your thoughts with us! You can do it here or on our TTMS Discord server, where we will share more information and you can get directly involved in the discussions.
And remember; whatever it takes... The Tribe Must Survive!