The base-building and survival crafting genres are in a golden age. Sequels to major successes likeSons of the Forestcontinue to impress while new entries and franchises join the field all the time. Evenstoried franchises likeFalloutandDragon Questhave dabbled with base building, and it’s against this backdrop thatFarworld Pioneersenters the scene.
Like many games in the genre,Farworld Pioneerstakes its inspiration from one of theearly leaders in the genre,Minecraft. But the lead developer of the game,Starboundveteran Rho Watson, was as inspired by whatMinecraftleft undone as much as the things he was able to do in the seminal sandbox, he discussed in a recent interview with Game Rant.
RELATED:Minecraft: 30 Things To Do If You’re Bored
In this, Watson is hardly alone. The upcomingNightingalelooks toaddressMinecraft’s shortcomings, albeit different shortcomings in different ways. The existence of games like these shows the evolution and increasing depth of the genre which grows more ambitious and complex with new innovations in building and survival gameplay. For the shortcomingsFarworld Pioneersaddresses, though, Watson explained his frustration withMinecraft’s limitations in an interview with GameRant.
“Like most people do, I was building a sort of base. I’d spend days and days on it. It was this huge facility with underground tunnels and mine shafts and I built this giant pyramid on top of it. There was this huge grandiose project. And once I was done with it, I took a step back–in game, of course–and I was like, ‘Well, what do I do now? I’ve built this huge facility, and I’m the person who’s really using it.’”
Watson wanted more to do in his base than simply build it, show it off, and then forgot about it. It was ultimately an empty structure, so what he wanted was to find a use for his creation beyond its mere existence. He tried pitching the idea toStarboundwhile on its development team, but that didn’t manifest. Watson described theNPCsStarboundprovided its builders as mere “eye candy,” still devoid of the purpose he sought.
“The NPCs inFarworld Pioneerscan actually be ordered around to help you do things. It’s sort of like a hybrid betweenTerrariaand a real-time strategy game, in that the AI NPCs you recruit, they actually serve a purpose and bring value to your colony. Whereas in games like Starbound, they’re interchangeable and don’t really serve any real purpose besides being extended eye candy for your base.
Watson comparesFarworld Pioneers’colonies toRimworld, but highlights a unique feature that allows the player to step into the shoes of one of their colonists to advance the needs of the colony with direct influence. While it is possible to progress in the game without diving into colony management, managing NPCs helps accomplish the game’s goals faster and easier, making the approach of going it alonemore of a challenge run. The emphasis on this mechanic traces directly back to Watson’s pyramid inMinecraft, and the lonesome feeling he had walking its halls over a decade ago.
“I was trying to solve the problem that I spent days building this whole thing with dorms, facilities, and purposes. There was no one to use them or make use of them besides m, and it felt really lonely. Truth be told, I stopped playing Minecraft because I felt like I fulfilled what I wanted to do, and there wasn’t anything else to really do with it. That stayed in the back of my mind for years.”
Finally deciding that if he didn’t make the game, someone else would, Watson embarked on the journey to createFarworld Pioneersin 2018. And now, years later, he can givehis old base the new lifehe wanted so desperately inMinecraft.
Farworld Pioneersis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE:25 Games To Play If You Like Terraria
