1.Introduction

Since the development of the first survival game, Survival Island, by Starpath in 1982, a new category of video games called survival games emerged. Over time, more and more survival games were developed, including SCUM, Project Zomboid, Raft, Don’t Starve, DayZ, and many other well-known survival games [1]. The new features and gameplay of these games attract many players to try them out, and they also teach players how to deal with emergency situations like surviving on an island, in the ocean, or even in a zombie world. However, players need to spend a lot of time on these games to fully experience the fun, and many players quit during the process. Nowadays, companies that create survival games are working on improving the graphics and features.

One research gap is that current survival games are more focused on gameplay, and there is no game that solely teaches players how to face various types of emergencies. The topic of this research paper is to investigate the game design and art style of survival games. The research question is how to design and create a successful survival game. The investigation of survival games will be done through a review of relevant literature and articles. The significance of this research paper is to provide other researchers who want to study survival games with an article to learn from, and to help them create their own research papers.

2.Game Planning

The game planning for a survival game is no different with other types of video games. The survival games are part of the video game category and the thought process for game planning is the same with other types of video games. Jumping into a game without a plan often leads to deviation from the original idea. Having a plan helps avoid deviation while at the same time helping the designer transmit their ideas to their team better [2].

The first step of game planning is to brainstorm about the survival game that the designer wants to create. They should think about the game design, the story and scenario, gameplay, and marketing. These are all crucial elements that a game designer needs to consider; otherwise, the final product may not meet the expectations of both the game designer and the customer. My tip for the game designers who have little experience in designing a game and have a small team is to start with something simple, add more detail to it, learn the necessary skills, and gain experience creating the game. Once they have the skills and experience, they can then start working on their original idea. This is much better than starting with a huge, ambitious project that they do not yet have the skills to handle.

2.1.Game Types

The types of survival games are divided into two main categories: battle royale games and horror-themed survival games. Battle royale is a kind of video game adventure which asks the player to explore and find useful items and materials, while killing all the other players or non-playable characters until there is only one survivor left [3]. The player will control a character with very limited equipment and have access to a map to see where the player is and to move freely. On the map, there are many different types of items that the player can use, such as weapons, objects to assemble weapons, first aid kits, and transportations. The objective is to be the last standing player by demonstrating great surviving abilities like quick reactions and strategy. The special mode of battle royal games has become a playable mode for many video games. The second type of survival game is horror-themed survival games, which are a combination of horror and survival games. Players need to survive in paranormal or supernatural situations while engaging in combat, shooting, crafting, action, and adventure. The example of the horror-themed survival games is to survive in a zombie world.

2.2.Gameplay and Missions

Gameplay is a term used to define the way players interact with a certain video or computer game. It is further characterized as the way the game is played, including the rules, the plot, the objectives and how to conquer them, as well as a player’s overall experience [4]. Gameplays include the rules, the plot, the objectives and how to conquer them, and the player’s overall experience. Since video games became popular in the 1980s, the term gameplay has become more popular as well. The game's continued popularity has expanded its use to include other types of games as well. The gameplay of a survival game is to survive using the current resources to survive as long as possible, and to loot more resources to survive and to make the character more powerful. Also, to use resources to craft tools, weapons, shelters, and more. The main mission is to survive as long as possible, and there are some additional missions like helping others or beating the villain that caused this situation.

2.3.Game Plot

The game plot of a single-player survival game is when some days the place that the character lives is in a disaster, or war and the character lose all his stuff or only maintains some resources, but the character is alive, and then the character needs to find resources to keep them alive and then defeat the villain or to survive as long as possible. For the multiple player survival game, the player needs to search for resources and survive as long as possible while competing with other players. The example of a multiple player survival game is Scum, the plot of the game Scum is the manager of the prison signs a deal with a TV show company to do a new TV show, the player is a prisoner that was deployed on an island to survive for a TV show about survival. While the players are competing with other player prisoners and surviving, every player will be followed by a drone, and the drone will broadcast the player's survival process live. Prisons and TV companies will benefit from this novel TV program, because the novelty of this program will attract a lot of viewers and profits.

3.Production of Game Scenes

The production of game scenes in a survival game is to craft a world during or after a disaster or a war. The example of production of game scenes in a survival game is This War of Mine, the scene is in a broken city destroyed by war and the war is still going on in the city, most of the facilities are being destroyed and damaged. The houses are broken, damaged vehicles, the sound of explosives and bodies everywhere. The scene is to show this city is under a war.

3.1.The Art Style of the Game Scene

Art styles in video games are important because if a style is not executed properly, it could lead to the game’s overall detriment in some way [5]. The art style of the game scene in the most survival game is showing depression, a little horror, hopelessness, and a dangerous scene. Making the player feel they are really inside the game. An example will be This War of Mine, the game is showing that the civilian is so tiny that lives like a rat in the war and shows hopelessness through the background music, and game scene [6].

3.2.The Design of the Game Scene

Game scene design means that the game scene designer designs the models of the environment, props, machinery, and other objects in the game according to the original painting manuscript given by the original game designer, such as buildings, bridges, roads, flowers and trees in the game. The design of the game scene in a survival game are all broken environments, cars, houses or even natural environments, because the survival game’s design is to design an environment that doesn’t look easy to survive there.

4.Discussion

The situation with survival games currently is that they are not very popular among players. This is because survival games differ from other video games in that they require a longer process to enjoy. In contrast, in games like FPS, players can get entertained by killing other players in as little as 30 minutes. To enjoy a survival game, however, players need to play for a month or even a year. The long process required to enjoy a survival game means that it is less popular nowadays, as people are busier and have less free time to spend playing video games.

Given the current situation with survival games, their future development is most likely to remain unpopular. Even with new features or game types, the long gameplay required may still cause players to quit easily.

5.Conclusion

Survival games have unique features that allow for long-lasting gaming experiences and regularly updated to keep players engaged for longer periods compared to other types of video games. However, some players may quit early due to the demanding nature of survival games, making them unpopular among other video games. Despite this, the regular updating of survival games allows more experienced players and professionals to enjoy the game for extended periods.

To make the article on survival games more informative, we could search for additional information, or wait for new ideas to improve it. A better way to improve the article would be to focus on a more detailed discussion in the future.