Late game idea: mental health, projects to gain hope

[vimrich]

I think it would be great for the late game to have things to do and aspire to do.To facilitate this, you could add an "mental health" medical condition like "despair" that sets in every 30 days or so. It could only be cured by doing certain "projects" that give you hope to go on. If not, you sort of go crazy and become less focused unless you cure it. Projects to cure it might be:

1. Distress Signal - this might be planed for story mode, but after you get of raw survival mode, you'd want to make a big sign in the snow somewhere. Three lines of wood or SOS on the ground visible from the sky, perhaps a special built signal fire that could be lit in hopes of attracting someone? Some long term project.

2. Hot Bath - may sound dumb, but after a while, a character would want to do something for fun every now and then. Stockpile up enough wood, heat up a ton of water (perhaps only non-potable is ok), add to bathtub and then enjoy. Character after bath would have extra energy for a day or so, like drinking coffee. (Remember the bath+shave scene in The Road?)

3. Memento - collect pictures, cloth, etc. and craft something that would cheer you up. No not, "Wilson," but something appropriate to TLD.

4. Feast or "celebration meal" - you might have to "craft it" by combining key food items e.g. a meat, a non-meat side dish, a sweet item (candy bar) and a non-water drink. You then you get a new "feast" meal item, but when eaten, takes at least a hour to perform (perhaps this is an Action on the feast item). You get the calories back, but more importantly get that mental uplift.

I find myself doing the last one now just for fun. I save back the candy bars and stuff, then only after a close call or every so many days, I reward myself with a special meal. I can't imagine how sick of venison and bear meat and water I'd get day after day! A good feast is meat, peaches, candy bar and soda.

Other late game ideas?

[Patrick Carlson]

Interesting suggestions for gameplay systems and mental health. I find the psychological dimension of the game plays out in my own head--risk taking, decision making, ect.

Character after bath would have extra energy for a day or so, like drinking coffee. (Remember the bath+shave scene in The Road?)

That's a great reference and a key scene in that story. I'll have to revisit that book again...