By DJ Barilea
Have you guys ever heard of Rimworld?
I doubt most people would’ve heard about it, much less know about it… But I’d like to tell you all about it if you’re interested.
So what is Rimworld and what is it all about?
In the simplest terms, it’s a Colony simulator where you try to keep your pawns within the Colony alive whilst trying to achieve your colony’s goal, but doing so isn’t very easy.
You have to worry about food management, the sleep that they’re getting, their general mood, the relationships that they have with the other pawns around them…
And that’s not to mention there are other pawns within the same planet that you have newly inhabited that may or may not enjoy your colony’s presence within the world that they’ve lived in for more than a millennium.
If you’re lucky, they’re there to visit and trade with your colony. But if not… you better hope that your colony is ready, because Rimworld can be cruel to those that are not prepared for the worst.
Now, you might ask, ‘What part of any of that sounds like fun?’
‘Video games are supposed to be fun! They’re supposed to help me relax after a long day of work or at least keep my mind occupied from the terrifying realities of life. All this was doing was making me more depressed about how miserable my colony is.’
Well, that’s because the Storytellers make it fun!
Let me paint you a picture.
You have 3 pawns, A Child Soldier turned Builder & Sculptor named Dave that has forgotten his past as a killer and has dedicated his life to creating instead of destroying. His wife, a Veterinarian that loved nature and hated violence and refused to do anything akin to it named Ava. And finally, a scientist & an engineer that held crucial knowledge about all sorts of inventions named William.
Dave, Ava and William were asleep in a spaceship when all of a sudden, alarms rang out the ship as the ship’s engines began to fail.
All 3 of them quickly made their way to the escape pod, just barely making it in as the ship that they had boarded had begun to rip and tear itself apart.
Some time later, all 3 of them land on some remote planet that they’re not quite familiar with, but it was clear that the planet was filled with life. From tall trees that stretch up to the sky to wild animals that roam that land…
They didn’t know what else to do but to survive.
They made a temporary shelter, hunted and foraged for food, & gathered supplies that fell from the sky with them.
And as they slept on the floor together within the same shelter, Ava and Dave were worried about how they’re supposed to leave this planet and that there is no one going to look for them… But fortunately, William spoke and reassured them that… surely, there is a way and that they just have to find it.
But first, they have to live on this planet like others have inhabited this place.
And so they did.
Dave made proper homes for them to live in, created a place to properly store their things, and even created tables and chairs for them to dine on and talk on.
Ava foraged berries and harvested Wild Herbs in the wild, whilst also sowing a field filled with potatoes.
And William that bestowed his knowledge of electronics, helping in the creation of a Wind turbine and a Cooler for their colony, while also studying ways that could further aid in his understanding of other types of contraptions that may help their colony… and maybe even learn of a way to leave the planet.
There even came about a group of friendly pig people that visited their colony and offered them a gift! Welcoming them into their planet and wishing them well.
Their life was peaceful and good. It wasn’t as comfortable as the life they once had, but they survived and their colony slowly thrived… With William creating a Communication Console that allowed them to communicate with others.
Until one day, Dave was stricken with food poisoning and was forced to rest until he had recovered. It wasn’t too much of an issue, but… As the day ended, They’ve realized that Ava hadn’t returned.
When Dave was better, he immediately went out to look for her and discovered from the last traces of her that she had been attacked and taken…
When Dave returns in a panic to inform William, William tells Dave that… Ava had called them to tell them of her location and to quickly come to her, because she heard that they’re going to sell her off to the Empire the next chance they get… And they’re going to leave in 3 days.
Determined, Dave packs for the journey but is warned by William that they won’t survive the journey there. Yet Dave refuses to listen to him, ignoring the possible dangers that may come to save his wife, so he ventures out alone through an unknown world… Traversing through the land and trying to survive attacks from the wild, and from the pawns that live within it.
And this… Is one of the many stories that can be crafted within Rimworld with the storytellers given to you… And with the right amount of imagination, you may craft even more sophisticated or tense scenarios that your pawns will endure and try to survive from to create a story worth telling.
And Rimworld isn’t the only game where you can craft your own stories… There’s plenty more games that exist that also provide such gameplay. You merely have to find it.