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Help Me Understand the Appeal of Survival Sims
I’d like to ask a favor of you. H1Z1 released last week on Steam Early Access, making it the latest of a growing number of attempts to cash in on the gargantuan success seen by “survival sims” like DayZ and Rust. I haven’t played the game, so take what I’m about to say about the genre it belongs to — you know, the one that millions of gamers flock to every year — because I just don’t get it.
More specifically, I don’t get the appeal, and I’m hoping you can help me remedy that.
I’ve dabbled in this genre a few times now, mostly with Rust. The interactions I’ve had with other players tells me roughly 4 out of 5 DayZ players are horrible human beings online, while essentially everyone in Rust is the worst. Granted, that’s based on my experience, but I have it on good authority that I’m not the only one who’s had this problem.
I get the appeal of survival sims, it’s why I’ve spent about 30 hours in Rust before I couldn’t continue to put up with the bandit mentality problem that plagues this genre. It’s reached a point where your chances of survival are basically nonexistent without a platoon of friends covering you, and even that won’t help when — not if, when — you run into one of the myriad hackers who fly around killing players and ruining unprotected bases.
The hacker problem isn’t news, and neither is people being dicks to each other. Abusing the anonymity that comes with playing games online is nothing new, I see it every time I join a match in [INSERT MODERN SHOOTER TITLE HERE] and while it’s certainly annoying, ignoring all those homophobic tweens is super effective and doesn’t require much effort on my part.
Unfortunately, this tactic doesn’t work in lawless worlds like Chernarus, where there’s no easy escape from terrible people who can now have a real impact on your experience. The fact that countless hours of progress can be undone by an asshole with a gun might sound appealing to fans of Dark Souls and roguelikes. It would to me too, if there was something I could learn from it.
Death in roguelikes is a learning experience. Every death teaches me something, making me better at the game. It’s tough, but that makes each victory all the more rewarding. So what do we learn from dying over and over and over again in these games, other than some people are awful?
This genre sounds more like a metaphor for life than a game. That might even be the appeal. Maybe there are millions of people out there who have been waiting for a game to come along that’s as unforgiving as life often is, with far less rules and the reality that no matter how hard you work, it can be undone in an instant. If that’s the answer, I still don’t get it.
That leads me to my question. If you enjoy playing these games, tell me why you do in the comments. It doesn’t need to be a good reason, just your reason.
Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor best known for his role in 1993’s Jurassic Park, has passed away this week at 78 years old. In a statement shared on Neill’s Instagram page this morning, the actor’s family said that his passing was “sudden and unexpected.”
Neill had been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in 2022, but stated the following year that he was in remission. The family notes that he “remained cancer free” at the time of his passing.
The family statement reads, “It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.
“They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care. More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”
In addition to his iconic role as Dr. Alan Grant in the original Jurassic Park and the sequels Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World: Dominion, Sam Neill left an indelible mark on the horror genre with memorable roles in Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, The Omen: The Final Conflict, John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness, and sci-fi horror favorite Event Horizon.
Sam Neill’s vast resume in film and television began in the early 1970s and also includes the films Sleeping Dogs, Enigma, The Good Wife, A Cry in the Dark, Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Hostage, The Jungle Book, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, The Horse Whisperer, Bicentennial Man, Daybreakers, Escape Plan, and Thor: Ragnarok.
Sam Neill is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.
Steven Spielberg said in a statement to Variety, “I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him.”
Spielberg adds, “Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
Sam Neill in ‘Event Horizon’
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