Hi my name is Bree, and I like to cook in video games and not in real life. The most recent Crowfall dev blog is right up my alley, then, as it focuses on food – and specifically, how hunger works in the game and how it’s being updated. Not The Hunger. That’s different. This is just normal ol’ hunger.
Every character essentially gets a UI tracker – ArtCraft calls it the chicken ticker – that charts how much food you’ve eaten and how much room you’ve still got for stuffing your face. It’s literally chicken legs. It’s pretty typical for survival games and even some MMOs. Up until now, one of the player’s many tasks was to make sure that drumstick bar never drops too low so that you’re starving or famished, but the devs apparently found that not particularly fun, so it’s getting a do-over.
“The goal of this system is to employ some survival elements and make the act of finding, creating and eating food meaningful – the closer you get to winter the harder it is to find food. Characters need to eat regularly and thus take a break from whatever activity they are currently doing, effectively breaking up gameplay to keep it engaging. We still like the survival element, but we want the challenge level to be fun rather than arduous. Although players should need to deal with hunger time-to-time, it doesn’t need to be something that is a constant drag on the play experience. […] So, say goodbye to the Famished and Starving states. Now, we just have one state, Hungry, and the chicken ticker is also more forgiving overall. You won’t feel the pangs of hunger until â…” of your chicken ticker is consumed, allowing you to stay out and fight or craft even longer without needing to stop to chow down. Food will still play a key role in your character’s ability to survive and thrive, and the inclusion of buffs in cooking recipes will remain an important resource.”
Anybody suddenly hungry for some tendies?
