LifeAfter
| LifeAfter | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | NetEase |
| Publisher(s) | NetEase |
| Engine | NeoX |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Survival game, simulation game, third-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Massively multiplayer online game |
LifeAfter is a survival video game developed and published by NetEase for Android, iOS, and Microsoft Windows. The game began open beta for the iOS version on November 1, 2018, and expanded to all platforms on November 6, 2018.[1] LifeAfter emphasizes cooperative survival gameplay in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Players must help each other to overcome the harsh environment through activities like camp construction, map exploration, resource gathering, and combat.[2]
Gameplay
[edit]Set in a post-virus-apocalypse world, players assume the role of survivors trying to endure the dangers of the wasteland. Survivors can collect resources, craft tools and armor, and build manors. They may join private camps for mutual support. While the game primarily uses PVE mechanics, some scenes and activities include PVP elements.[3]
Each survivor selects a profession, offering unique resource-gathering and crafting abilities. The in-game trading system uses gold bars as currency, obtainable by completing tasks.[3]
The game features six major factions: Trade Alliance, Empire, Church, Ark Science, Dawn, and Ark City.[4]
Development
[edit]LifeAfter was developed by NetEase. The game’s producer, Li Zhe, previously worked as a planner for Tian Xia 3 and as the chief planner for League of Immortals. Development for the game began at the end of 2015, after the completion of Fight of the Immortals 2. Compared to the mainstream MMORPGs available on mobile platforms at that time, the development team aimed to explore a niche market by creating a "minority genre" game. Li Zhe, inspired by survival games like Don't Starve, This War of Mine, and The Last of Us, believed after conducting market research that the genre had growth potential.[5]
For the game’s core experience, Li Zhe referenced psychologist Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory: whereas traditional MMORPGs focus on socialization, esteem, and self-actualization—higher-level needs in Maslow's theory—survival games deal with fulfilling basic physiological and safety needs. Li reasoned that when players are pressured by these fundamental needs, the sense of accomplishment is greater when they overcome challenges and reach higher-level needs.[6]
To create an "immersive post-apocalyptic world," Li Zhe required the game's graphics to realistically simulate the world: with features like day-night cycles, varied weather conditions such as rain, snow, and sandstorms, and physically rendered lighting effects for realism. Early in development, in 2016, the art and design teams even traveled to Ukraine, a region facing political unrest, to visit Chernobyl while wearing protective gear to make the world’s depiction more authentic.[7]
After finalizing the environmental design, the development team focused on designing gameplay interactions. To complement the realistic environments, the game introduced various survival attributes that players needed to manage. To avoid repetitive interactions, the team held brainstorming sessions to build a material library—first listing various challenges suitable for a post-apocalyptic world, then devising over ten possible solutions for each challenge, from which the best options were chosen to implement in the game.[8]
Four rounds of closed beta testing were conducted before the game's release. The first round, in August 2017, involved around 5,000 participants in a small-scale technical test to gauge interest in the survival genre. The positive feedback boosted the development team's confidence. The second round, in January 2018, focused on testing camp-based social features and the early-game survival difficulty, with 15,000 participants. However, this test revealed that the survival pressure was too high: new players were often excluded by active camps and could not progress, while the blizzard conditions on the first map caused many players to die and quit. The third round, held in May, addressed these issues by adjusting camp roles to focus on socializing rather than character progression and reducing early survival difficulty. This test, which was the first to include the Android platform, attracted 50,000 participants, and player retention improved. The final round of testing occurred in August, with 120,000 players participating in a paid beta. Feedback from the third round indicated that the survival pressure had become too low, prompting the development team to reevaluate the game's positioning. In the final test, early-game survival difficulty was adjusted to a level between the second and third rounds. Players were divided into hardcore and casual groups for comparison, revealing that increasing difficulty led to a rise in hardcore players and a decrease in casual players. The development team sought to balance these two user groups in all their tests.[9]
Reception
[edit]The editor of 17173.com pointed out that although the performance of this game is slightly inferior to the excellent games on consoles and PCs, it performs well on mobile platforms, and there are few similar high-quality works in this field. However, the editor also mentioned that the existing operating methods have caused problems in the fairness of the game, which may affect the overall experience and satisfaction of players.[10]
In the comments of Youxia.com, the synthesis system of LifeAfter is considered to be a major feature of the game, but it also has some significant shortcomings. Comments pointed out that most equipment and props need to be obtained through synthetic blueprints, and the main way to obtain blueprints is to collect fragments and gold bars or purchase them through the in-game store. However, the scarcity of gold bars and fragments significantly increases the difficulty of synthesis, which may have a negative impact on the player experience. The editor further suggested that if the game can provide more ways to obtain resources, or optimize the synthesis system, it will help improve the balance and attractiveness of the game.[11]
Pocket Gamer's review of LifeAfter focuses on its immersive survival experience and realism. The review believes that the game's apocalyptic setting and rich and diverse scene designs (such as deserts, forests, cities, etc.) are impressive, and the exciting gameplay and attention to realistic details further enhance the sense of immersion. At the same time, the "Hope 101" survivor camp provides players with opportunities to interact and collaborate with others, but in a PVE environment, they need to be wary of potential threats from other players. In addition, the review also affirmed the game's strategic gameplay in resource management, character development, and base construction. The overall evaluation is positive and recommended for players who like survival games.[12]
The editor of TouchArcade said that LifeAfter has not only achieved success in China with its rich content and high-quality visual effects, but has also received good responses in the international market, and attracted attention even before the launch of the English version. The game is rich in content, the exploration elements are very attractive, and it supports players to customize the image quality according to the performance of the device to optimize the gaming experience. The editor especially praised the game's touch screen control system, which is flexible and highly customizable, reminiscent of the control style of another NetEase game, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Whether it is cooperating with others or adventuring alone, LifeAfter provides a fulfilling survival experience and has become a high-quality work worth trying.[13]
Maria Alexander said in her review that LifeAfter is an interesting post-apocalyptic adventure game that combines elements of games such as Ark: Survival Evolved and Minecraft, optimized for mobile devices. Although the game itself is very enjoyable, she believes that if it can be further improved, the game will be more attractive and become a must-play.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ LifeAfter - Official Trailer - IGN. 2022-05-20. Retrieved 2024-12-02 – via www.ign.com.
- ^ "A Fully Immersive Post-apocalyptic Survival Adventure With LifeAfter PC". NetEase. 2020-07-30. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
- ^ a b "Join hands to survive the apocalypse!" [携手末世求生！]. shouyou.gamersky.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-12-03.
亲临真实末世，生存是唯一目的
[In the real end of the world, survival is the only goal] - ^ "Introduction to all factions in the game" [游戏全势力派别介绍]. www.9game.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ "How to make niche themes popular" [小众题材如何大众化成功]. www.gamelook.com.cn. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
持续关注流行趋势，保持创新的心态。小众题材的两个方向，面对精确人群和大众化。创新不易，坚持更难，不忘初心最重要。
[Keep an eye on trends and keep an innovative mindset.There are two directions for niche themes: facing precise groups and popularizing.Innovation is not easy, persistence is even harder, and the most important thing is to keep your original aspiration in mind.] - ^ "After 3 years and 4 iterations, what choices have I made?" [3年4次迭代，我都做了哪些抉择？]. youxiputao.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-12-03.
马斯洛把人的生理需求分成5层，它广泛用在国内各种培训当中。我看到这张图眼前一亮，它和做游戏是相通的。
[Maslow divided human physiological needs into five levels, which is widely used in various trainings in China. When I saw this picture, my eyes lit up, and it is connected with making games.] - ^ "Entering Chernobyl to collect materials and strive to restore the doomsday scene" [《明日之後》製作人談以生命作遊戲 走入車諾比取材力求還原末日場景]. 巴哈姆特電玩資訊站 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-12-03.
制作游戏当时的乌克兰局势不是非常稳定，但为了更好地体会末世，团队所有人穿着防护服，脚下踩着核泄漏最核心的土地、亲历其境，体验废墟及荒芜的环境气氛。这趟旅程带给他们的体验不是书本、影音资料可以替代的。也正如李哲后来自己开的玩笑，制作团队真的是拿生命来做游戏。
[The situation in Ukraine was not very stable when the game was made, but in order to better experience the end of the world, all the team members wore protective clothing, stepped on the land at the core of the nuclear leak, and experienced the ruins and desolate environment. The experience brought to them by this journey cannot be replaced by books or audio-visual materials. As Li Zhe joked later, the production team really risked their lives to make the game.] - ^ "The core gameplay of LifeAfter" [明日之后中的核心玩法]. api.academy.163.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
生存游戏中的大地图玩家在其中有两个较为重要的体验点。一个是探索性，新地图需要对于玩家有新意，各个区域具有自身的特异点供给玩家探索。另一个则是采集节奏，玩家在这张地图中的采集节奏需要是被精心控制的。
[There are two important experience points for players in the large map of survival games. One is exploration. The new map needs to be novel for players, and each area has its own unique points for players to explore. The other is the gathering rhythm. The gathering rhythm of players in this map needs to be carefully controlled.] - ^ LifeAfter - Developer Update Video - IGN. 2021-05-20. Retrieved 2024-12-02 – via www.ign.com.
- ^ "LifeAfter Game Review" [【明日之后】游戏评测-17173新游频道]. newgame.17173.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-10-19.
- ^ ""LifeAfter" Review: Doomsday is coming, only the fittest will survive" [《明日之后》评测：末日来临 适者生存]. m.ali213.net (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-10-19.
- ^ staff, Pocket Gamer (2019-03-01). "Stunning post-apocalyptic survival sim LifeAfter launches globally for iOS and Android". www.pocketgamer.com. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
- ^ "Zombie Apocalypse Survival Game 'LifeAfter' Offers Some Great Cooperative Multiplayer – TouchArcade". 2019-03-12. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
- ^ "LifeAfter Review – A Post Apocalyptic Adventure Worth Living For?". Gamezebo. Retrieved 2024-12-02.