QuoteThe term "Emergent Gameplay" might be one for anyone interested to look up.
I looked it up and it requires as much creativity and desire from the player as it does from the design. One interesting article stated that games that are designed with the following characteristics are a fertile field waiting for player imagination and creativity to bring emergent gameplay:
1) A focus on systems rather than consumable content.
2) Some procedural generation but not complete and overwhelming.
3) An allowance of PvP and PvE gameplay within the same environment.
4) No designer prescribed definition of what it means to win.
5) Progression based on player skill and not simply character stats.
7 Days to Die implements all of these elements well and I can attest from personal recent experience that emergent gameplay is still very much alive and well. The pieces are all there in the game but if the player creativity is deficient or if the player is simply focused on min/maxing the current meta then those players will miss out. I often read someone claiming that TFP "forces" them to play in only a very narrow and prescribed fashion and then I always come to find out further into the conversation that the player is min/maxing and self-limiting themselves on how they play by their own choice whereas other players don't feel those limitations at all.
1) The game is full of systems that can be used in very creative ways-- often surprising ways even to this day. The devs from day one have always focused on systems that they can use for this game but also for future games. They are very systems oriented. In fact, they are often criticized for spending so much time on experimenting with systems instead of adding more content to the game.
2) Procedural generation and modified random chance controls many but not all aspects of the game. The player can often do whatever they want but may have to be creative in how they do it if RNG has created a "make do with what you have" situation. Some people want more and some people want less. The community is definitely divided on how much random generation is good in the game and personal preferences will keep the community fragmented on this but there is no denying that the randomness and procedural generation of the world keeps each new game fresh and allows for some great stories to emerge. Of course, if a player detests setbacks and only wants the most efficient path that always yields positive progressive steps, they aren't going to experience the kinds of emergent stories that occur when chance puts obstacles in your plans.
3) There is no denying that TFP has created a world that can be played cooperative vs the game world elements or played competitively vs each other. The PvP aspect is definitely limited and hasn't been a focus and yet we have quite a few dedicated players continually seeking out ways to enhance and support the PvP gameplay of this game. Obviously there is still something special to the design of this game that makes people who love PvP to keep playing this game in that manner even though there are other games on the market where PvP is the entire focus.
4) There are still zero win conditions for this game even after 11 years. Someday there will be a story with an ending and I suppose when that gets added some unimaginative players will uninstall the game once they kill the Duke/Noah having "finished" the game. But there will still be players who will continue to have emergent stories and creative gameplay regardless of whatever story is added because the game is still and forever will be one where the player can set their own goals and win conditions.
5) It is clear in any discussion in any forum that takes place between new players and veteran players that player skill continues to be a huge part of this game. Players who are keeping up with the character stat progression but are newbies call the game impossible whereas veteran players can survive easily many dozens of days without even spending a single skillpoint. Progression in the game definitely is based on better gear and better stats but player skill and learning how to play the game are also a huge part which is a critical part of allowing for emergent gameplay.
Are there examples of TFP stepping in and stopping exploits and fixing improperly behaving blocks? Absolutely. But even these fixes end up resulting in more emergent gameplay. One of the best examples I can think of is the change to driving vehicles on horde night. That is one of the most cited examples of TFP being mean and hateful to their players. Yet....I have seen several creative players use that system in emergent ways for different results on horde night. Another example that is often cited is allowing zombies to attack blocks in three dimensional space rather than simply 2d horizontal space. This means they can tunnel down and they can attack blocks above them which temporarily disrupted some designs but in the long term allowed for emergent creative designs taking into account the new system. Initially it was assumed that building underground was impossible but that was simply the knee-jerk reaction of players who lacked the creativity for emergent gameplay. Over time more creative individuals found ways to survive the challenge.
Just because there are a bunch of people who had their favorite exploit closed, or who can't figure out how to be creative with the current systems, or whose expectations were that the game was always meant to be a pure sandbox without rules or constraints instead of an actual game with rules but still with a lot of sandbox elements-- that doesn't mean that Rick and TFP don't understand emergent gameplay. It's clear they do. From their side they have put all the important elements into the game. From the player side it still is going to take some ability to be able to experience it.