Rate top gamesOne Hour One Life
About
Hey folks, I'm Jason Rohrer, and I've been working on One Hour One Life for more than three years. I've been doing everything myself---I drew all the graphics on paper with pens and markers, I coded the entire engine from scratch, I composed and performed all of the music, and I even made all of the sound effects. It's a very personal game, and it's really unlike anything else out there. It's also a huge game---over 1100 fully interactive, craftable objects already. And it's only getting bigger, with weekly updates adding new things all the time. The game was initially released on my own website eight months ago, and over the intervening months, I released 29 updates. I've promised to keep releasing weekly update for at least the next two years, with the end goal of making the largest, most comprehensive crafting game in history.
Okay, so what about the game itself?
First of all, you only live for an hour, where each minute marks a passing year. You join the game server as a newborn baby, and some other randomly-chosen player is your mother. You depend on her for your survival. And why will she be willing to waste her valuable time and resources to keep you alive? Because she's going to die in an hour just like everyone else, and the next generation (aka, you) is her only hope, if she wants what she accomplishes in her lifetime to have any meaning. And if you survive into adulthood, you may get the chance to have babies of your own---other players, just joining the server---and those babies will be the next generation that gives your own life accomplishments meaning.
Across this ever-growing family tree of generations, players are collectively conducting an enormous project: they are rebuilding civilization from scratch. The online game world starts out as a near-infinite expanse of wilderness (four billion meters wide from east to west, and four billion meters wide from north to south, with a total surface area of over 18,000,000,000,000,000,000 square meters, or 36,000 times bigger than Earth). The very first player to join the server is Eve, and she starts out in the wilderness as the root of the family tree. Eve and her immediate offspring lay the foundational seeds of the future civilization, perhaps making a few primitive tools, cooking basic foods, and starting a small farm as they scrape out a meager existence before dying. Future generations will build on this primitive foundation, eventually mastering more and more advanced technology, including domesticated animals, metal working, permanent buildings, and transportation networks.
But as real-life history has shown, civilization is fragile. A generation that is born into the lap of luxury---on the backs of their ancestors' hard-won accomplishments---can just as easily squander their inheritance as build upon it. Key resources run out over time, and careful management, planning, and organization are necessary to prevent an inevitable collapse. Thus, the game graduates from the individual challenge of primitive survival in the early stages to a group organizational and leadership challenge in the later stages. How do rules and procedures for group survival propagate across multiple generations? What did our great grandparents have in mind for this village?
The main mode in the game involves being born as a helpless baby to another player as your mother, but you can also play with your friends as twins, triplets, or quadruplets. One baby is hard enough to take care of---any mother that can successfully take care of quadruplets deserves the eternal gratitude of your and your friends.
All of this is happening on centrally-managed, persistent servers, and your purchase includes a lifetime account on these official servers. After you buy the game, you can instantly connect to this world with no configuration or server set-up. It all just works. You also get access to the full source code, including the server code. Technically-minded folks can run their own private servers, or even use the powerful content editor to make their own mods.
I hope you'll join us as this sprawling civilization-building experiment continues to unfold. Many thousands of players have already collectively enjoyed over 400,000 hours in this endlessly-changing world so far. Before the Steam release, the average playtime for each player was 17 hours, with dozens of players logging over 500 hours each, and 94% positive off-Steam player reviews. This is a deep and rich game already, and there are still hundreds of content updates to come.
No two lives are ever the same, and a new story always awaits on the other side of the [GET REBORN] button.
Jason Rohrer
October 2018
Daivs, California
Okay, so what about the game itself?
First of all, you only live for an hour, where each minute marks a passing year. You join the game server as a newborn baby, and some other randomly-chosen player is your mother. You depend on her for your survival. And why will she be willing to waste her valuable time and resources to keep you alive? Because she's going to die in an hour just like everyone else, and the next generation (aka, you) is her only hope, if she wants what she accomplishes in her lifetime to have any meaning. And if you survive into adulthood, you may get the chance to have babies of your own---other players, just joining the server---and those babies will be the next generation that gives your own life accomplishments meaning.
Across this ever-growing family tree of generations, players are collectively conducting an enormous project: they are rebuilding civilization from scratch. The online game world starts out as a near-infinite expanse of wilderness (four billion meters wide from east to west, and four billion meters wide from north to south, with a total surface area of over 18,000,000,000,000,000,000 square meters, or 36,000 times bigger than Earth). The very first player to join the server is Eve, and she starts out in the wilderness as the root of the family tree. Eve and her immediate offspring lay the foundational seeds of the future civilization, perhaps making a few primitive tools, cooking basic foods, and starting a small farm as they scrape out a meager existence before dying. Future generations will build on this primitive foundation, eventually mastering more and more advanced technology, including domesticated animals, metal working, permanent buildings, and transportation networks.
But as real-life history has shown, civilization is fragile. A generation that is born into the lap of luxury---on the backs of their ancestors' hard-won accomplishments---can just as easily squander their inheritance as build upon it. Key resources run out over time, and careful management, planning, and organization are necessary to prevent an inevitable collapse. Thus, the game graduates from the individual challenge of primitive survival in the early stages to a group organizational and leadership challenge in the later stages. How do rules and procedures for group survival propagate across multiple generations? What did our great grandparents have in mind for this village?
The main mode in the game involves being born as a helpless baby to another player as your mother, but you can also play with your friends as twins, triplets, or quadruplets. One baby is hard enough to take care of---any mother that can successfully take care of quadruplets deserves the eternal gratitude of your and your friends.
All of this is happening on centrally-managed, persistent servers, and your purchase includes a lifetime account on these official servers. After you buy the game, you can instantly connect to this world with no configuration or server set-up. It all just works. You also get access to the full source code, including the server code. Technically-minded folks can run their own private servers, or even use the powerful content editor to make their own mods.
I hope you'll join us as this sprawling civilization-building experiment continues to unfold. Many thousands of players have already collectively enjoyed over 400,000 hours in this endlessly-changing world so far. Before the Steam release, the average playtime for each player was 17 hours, with dozens of players logging over 500 hours each, and 94% positive off-Steam player reviews. This is a deep and rich game already, and there are still hundreds of content updates to come.
No two lives are ever the same, and a new story always awaits on the other side of the [GET REBORN] button.
Jason Rohrer
October 2018
Daivs, California
System requirements for PC
Minimum:
- OS: Windows XP or newer
- Processor: Celeron
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel HD 3000
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 250 MB available space
- Sound Card: Any
One Hour One Life reviews and comments
Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
Microsoft from Deutsch
Who is the Game suitable for?
For People who like to work together and are willing to learn (Steep Learning Curve).
For People who like coherent Graphics and still like to leave out their Graphics Card Fans.
For People who like to play complex Games but can only play a maximum of one Hour.
For People who appreciate a high Replay Value and constantly want to discover something new But also want to play the Familiar again at any time. (Be a baker For the hundredth time or just try something New. Hunter? Blacksmith? Or the village troll?)
For People who like regular Content Extensions (Come here Weekly).
For People who also like to play with friends (You can "be born" together with up to three Friends, i.e. Quadruplets) For People who want to watch Ingame sometimes others (I sometimes just look at what drives others like that. Mostly you kind of go along with it ...)
Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
Microsoft from Deutsch
In Part, my Faith in Humanity was restored by One Hour One Life. Such a lot of Cooperation and warming Words in such a short Time you hardly get to hear anywhere else – especially not in the gaming scene, when every Child is each other's Mother ... Well, you know. Sometimes the Game may seem hectic and clear and you are always under Pressure in general. A whole Life in only 60 Minutes, you shouldn't waste any Time! Not only do you always get the Feeling here in an Hour that you have contributed something positive to the respective Game world – I have also caught myself a few Times reflecting on your own Life and thinking about the precious Time. If you already want to kill Time with Games, then the constantly evolving One Hour One Life is definitely a very good Choice for that.
As always, you can find my extensive Review here: https://videospielkombinat.de/one-hour-one-life-ein-leben-mit-dem-tod-im-hinterkopf
Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
Microsoft from Deutsch
Product received for free An incredibly interesting and exciting Concept for a multiplayer game.
One is born totally helpless and in the Beginning relies on the Compassion of another Player, the virtual Mother. Only if she gives you something to eat will you have the Chance to get older-and every Minute of your in the Game a Year.
Once you're old enough, you can become a helpful Member of Society. You can help grow food, Hunt animals, build tools or Houses-depending on what your Ancestors have achieved so far.
There is already the important Point-once you are playing, you will leave behind a World for your Descendants, with which they, i.e. other Players, have to work.
Unless you are killed by wild Animals, another Fellow Player or lack of Food, you die of old age after 60 Minutes at the latest. Then you can be reborn-to a new Server, to a new Family, to new Family relationships and with new Prerequisites.
I like the Art style incredibly well and the Soundscape has been very lovingly designed.
The incredibly many (several Thousand (!)) Craft Recipes can scare you In the Beginning, but if you don't know further after the Tutorial, you can seek Help in the Wiki or ask your Fellow Players. So far, I have only found helpful People who are patiently trying to explain the Basic Principles to you.
In the End, the Only question is: What kind of Legacy would you like to leave?