How Subnautica Succeeded Without Weapons | War Stories | Ars Technica

[@arstechnica]

Hi there. Welcome to the latest episode of War Stories. We really appreciate all the feedback we see in the comments, here as well as on arstechnica.com. Please let us know if you have any questions or requests for upcoming episodes. This was a particularly fun shoot for us to do!

[@brokengames9020]

subnautica is approved scam. they already on their next scam. no biggie, you just support Early access scam.

[@brokengames9020]

Just curious how is open world when you have borders and limited mechanics and a lot of backdoor mechanics regulating already limited mechanics? When you release a sequel(to cash grab/exploit people again), your world is not so open or is it?

[@lecutter9382]

@@brokengames9020 Feel free not to pay and/or play in that case, sport. Most people would agree they got every dime's worth of their money out of the game and then some. In fact I got so much I think I may have even made a little bread off of it! They gave me...oh, at least a 'hunert' bucks worth of entertainment.

[@brokengames9020]

@@lecutter9382 thing is... you can feel free not to play but if "next naive wave" grabs it by hands. You have no choice in the future because only "early access" will get released. Even mafiAAA started doing it now with "soft launches"

[@matthewnunya6329]

Excellent. Need time to digest to make more words than excellent. Time to go get the Alpha of Subnautica Below Zero

[@JohnPaul_kun]

the hard part was making an exciting and dangerous experience without allowing the player to fight back killed a leviathan with a kitchen knife

[@danielsantos6437]

Don't lie, you didn't kill it with only a kitchen knife, you also had a stasis rifle to pin it in place for you to be able to stab it 80 times or so...

[@evrint]

Who says it died?

[@hoodini1214]

@@evrint idk maybe the word killed

[@HollyGameShow]

Me too =D!

[@JohnPaul_kun]

@@danielsantos6437 nope just with creative mode and stab it till it dies cause I'm not gonna mess with that fish in survival

[@panthersoul4920]

"Killing a leviathan isn't rewarding" Me: avenging my seamoth

[@jonathandeman9051]

M W A M M W A M the worst thing is when I killed the sea dragon, then I scanned it And it said that the species was almost extinct. And I felt really sad For killing it

[@sqzmheckington4730]

@@jonathandeman9051 I felt overjoyed. I'm going to kill every species that caused me substantial amounts of emotional pain. Reapers, Juvenile Ghosts, Sea Dragons, Bonesharks, and possibly crabsquids and crabsnakes. I can't kill all the stalkers because I need their teeth.

[@stuartstribling2296]

Infernecrosis 57 you were intruding on the ghosts territory, the reaper saw you as food just like you see a peeper as food yet they don’t vow to murder you and your family. The sea dragon is a near extinct species defending what little it has left. But please do murder crabsnakes and crabsquids.

[@thedeadcannotdie]

@@stuartstribling2296 I have only killed one leviathan till now: Little Bob (the one that gaurds the gargantuan skeleton). I know he's just baby who just wants to eat his mircroscopic dinner in peace but I also want to go in and out of Lost River in peace....

[@bumachickenhard2414]

It is. It fills my bloodlust

[@The4xRED]

laughs in prawn mining arm

[@TheGlenn8]

The regular punching arm is better for damaging creatures

[@flyingskillet5808]

TheGlenn8 but do you want to punch something or grind them to bits

[@greatthinker4209]

Laughs in cyclops battering ram

[@HaloMachinimaFilms]

Laughs with my Laser Rifle, Tech Pistol, Laser modules in my Cyclops and Seamoth.

[@bjornar8006]

Laughs in knife

[@MiningwithPudding]

Dev: "Thrills and scares" *flashback* Me: Swimming around, searching for resources and wrecks in a new region PDA Voice: "Multiple Leviathan Class life forms detected in the region. Are you certain, whatever you are doing, is worth it?" Me: "NOPENOPENOPENOPE!" Points Seamoth directly at LifePod and presses the W key so hard the keyboard starts creaking

[@burdistan]

SAME omg

[@robm630]

Accurate AF. Also did this several times.. 5/7

[@robm630]

Also, seamothing around at night with my new sonar mod, bing.. bing.. bing.. *faint outline of 3 reapers at the very end of the ping*.. nonopenononopeotherwaygofaster

[@artvandalay1415]

@@spritsfal5088 I played only with permadeath, the best decision in my gaming life...the only game that plays with my emotions that well, Subnautica and Alien Isolation (Alien without permadeath though)

[@artvandalay1415]

​@@spritsfal5088 It has its price. After 4-5 hours I exited a seamoth at full speed and trampled myself...second playthrough, drowned after 11 hours and paused a few days...finished it third time around, but boy was it a good ride :)

[@nickrowan]

Subnautica is the best example of early access done correctly. Such a good game.

[@lowkeyobsessedngl]

@@TheBookOfAkersGaming technically there where weapons. stasis rifle and a heated knife can kill leviathans with enough patience lol

[@RFC3514]

128 stabs. Yes, I counted them.

[@theironartmanufactur1745]

@@lowkeyobsessedngl Potentially damaging Tools ≠ Weapons

[@liamwalton4183]

It's a testiment to how good the game is how it was meant to be played... I never even tried attacking anything, before I even knew that they didnt drop loot. It was more "Shtshtshtsht it's getting close SWIM AWAYYYYYY" Even to this day I havent used torpedos or anything

[@liamwalton4183]

But yeah so many games are early access and just terrible, and after 3 years in early access havent been updated beyond something minor like a UI change once a year

[@braddywakler8601]

The scariest moment for me wasn’t exactly a creature. It was when you go into part of the map and the PDA voice goes, “detecting many leviathan class creatures, are you sure what you’re doing is worth it?” And the water was completely black and it scared me.

[@nil4309]

Made me question all of my decisions, knowing they were MY decisions and not what the game was choosing for me. I really think I discovered who I truly was playing this game!!

[@sci_pain3409]

Subnautica: We don't want violence in our ga- Me in SubZero: Feeds baby pengling to a carnivore

[@skeletondremmer]

you monster

[@dogvtf]

@EsauEdomiteofEvilYakubWhiteDevil ok guy who brings weird thing into convo without reason.

[@skeletondremmer]

@EsauEdomiteofEvilYakubWhiteDevil what does this have to do with Subnautica and or sacrificing penglings

[@thegondola9877]

@EsauEdomiteofEvilYakubWhiteDevil conspiracy theory brain worms are a dangerous thing, kids

[@liamwalton4183]

We got a clear troll here. Dont feed him

[@paganarh]

Subnautica was a game that made me break my "do-not-buy-early-access-games" rule. Didn't disappoint of course.

[@celtoucan4956]

Space haven is great if you want more early access

[@matlockcrowl3396]

subnautica is the game that made me use that rule lmao

[@Ticcy12]

Lmao remember how fortnite was early access for the entirety of its prime 😂😭 idk your comment reminded me of that

[@Lighthammer18]

IDK I'm happy I played the game at its full release so I could experience the whole game at once.

[@unamed5555]

I remember the first time i floated above a dark cavern and just thought "there is no way im going down there" and once i did, i was literally shaking as the water got darker and darker, and you started hearing distant shrieks of unknown entities. This is why the game was so great. "Frighteningly Beautiful"

[@smasher2265]

hahaha, me entering the sea snakes cave for the first time, looking for the logs of the degasi survivors with just the seaglide and a buch of tubes connected to an air pump and nothing that it wasnt safe to do that and run away hahaha, what an experience mate

[@hakont.4960]

Worth it to get down to all that yummy nickel though. :D

[@joncocks2262]

that was my experience as well. really eerie with the light fading and changing as you swim deeper and deeper.

[@KickyFut]

This game, though I admit is very well designed, is a huge combination of my phobias! The concept is great, but after playing the demo I won't buy this game.🙅😫

[@jacobargyle1517]

Literally when I had to go to the back of the Aurora

[@yeetyateyote5570]

The fools fail to account for human ingenuity and being backed into a corner. I built a 3 story massive aquarium for one purpose- breed crash fish. Docile and pocketable (in the tank) and self restocking, I loaded em into the storage for the PRAWN. Using the propulsion gun arm I loaded and launched them, on contact with hostile fauna they instantly went from inert to proximity explosive, and it was a two-shot to kill bonesharks. It wasn't efficient against leviathans but that wasn't the point: I tweaked what I called the Proto Asssult Cannon MKI was to efficiently and ruthlessly tear through low to mid tier threats, eliminating them from the AO.

[@kegsmagegs1516]

Your insane

[@BobtheDonut]

This is Emergent Gameplay, where players take existing gameplay mechanics and combine them in ways the devs didn't count on, like Deus Ex LAM wallclimbing, Metroidvania Sequence breaking, or other such things. Good on ya!!

[@n3xus593]

Bruh the ingenuity lmao

[@MrMikopi]

They actually did a good job creating an environment for you to be creative and do whatever you want, without forcing you to do anything. Your actions are not against what director is telling, i believe.

[@tomtromby4933]

@@MrMikopi Exactly. The game developers would be thrilled to read this. The fact that somebody had to be creative enough and care about the game to go through all the trouble to make a point is the best compliment.

[@mickles1975]

Whoever is responsible for the little section titles sequences, well done.

[@arstechnica]

That would be our amazing editor, Jeremy Smolik!

[@mickles1975]

@@arstechnica You can tell Jeremy from me that I thought they were very clever.

[@KevinArchibald]

@@arstechnica Also does anybody NOT made their sub yellow? Haha I don't think so...

[@RFC3514]

Mine was white with an orange stripe. It wasn't called Nemo, though.

[@mickles1975]

@@KevinArchibald Mine was yellow. Of course it was.

[@rileymiller7012]

Developer: “I don’t want it to be a horror game.” Subnautica, a game that some regard as a great unintnentional horror game due to the fear of being stranded alone in the middle of the ocean and having massive creatures that make you want to scream: “And I took that personally.”

[@GumaroRVillamil]

Thalassophobia

[@Luke-tt3dt]

Subnautica isn't a horror game. It's a terror game.

[@kaimikalaniYT]

Subnautica instills terror and is more psychological. It’s not meant to be a horror game.

[@ethanstyant9704]

@@Luke-tt3dt terror is a better description

[@dimitrilium3912]

Bottom of the food chain? No, not when I'm in a prawn suit.

[@RFC3514]

You're never at the bottom of the food chain (peepers and other small fish can't eat you, you can eat them), you're just not instantly at the top, as you would be if you had massive military weapons. And you don't even need a prawn suit to survive pretty much anything; stasis rifle + knife = god mode.

[@lukehrovat8699]

"It is normal when first piloting the Prawn suit to feel a sense of limitless power. Prawn operators receive weeks of training to combat this phenomenon. You will have to make due with self discipline "

[@dashdogy]

@@lukehrovat8699 hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.................

[@natalie6811]

dash the dog that quacks For every warning, there is a story behind it

[@Krescentwolf]

And then... you're teleported out of it at the worst possible moment. XD

[@maxallen121]

"we wanted to make a game that was non-violent" Me: Ramming into and killing hundreds of fish with my seamoth

[@celtoucan4956]

I always hated the sound it made. I always thought that some massive creature bumped me when it was just a small peeper, not a reaper

[@rat2646]

Alexander Toucan same so many times when I barely paying attention to what’s going on just to find some items and I’m on my phone and then I hear the sound freak out and throw my phone on the ground just to find out it was a peeper

[@siboullettej1949]

"we wanted to make a game that was non-violent" Me: Ramming the hundreds of penglings i killed to power my base in Bz Don't worry it's not true ! ... for now :}

[@fatjuicytaco]

I’ve manhunted every leviathan on the map because I didn’t want to worry about getting attacked and unfortunately I was unable to give them a fast, painless death. I had to freeze them in place while I slowly gutted them with a glowing, red-hot knife.

[@Armuotas]

To be fair he didn't say anything about the collateral damage. Existing has a cost, you know.

[@madmandotau]

Subnautica is the most fun game I've played in the last few years.

[@danielcaverno3937]

^^

[@lmeza1983]

*decade

[@hakont.4960]

Same here, it's among the very few games that actually evoked strong emotions in me, ranging from fear to joy, to territoriality.

[@expression3639]

Definitely one of the top games of the last decade and one that players will be going back to.

[@tormap999]

i agree....i'd give a lot to be able too play it again for the first time :) i placve Subnautica among the top 5 games i have played in the last 15 years

[@GeeCeeAte]

The pacing on this fame was genius. The way they set everything up so you can’t just immediately go down deeper. Yet they made you figure it out on your own without holding your hand. That’s soooo hard to do with an open world game. That team did a literal perfect job on that aspect

[@ninjaslash52_98]

Hahaha I killed the sea dragon with a prawn suit our battle was legendary

[@rogerramiussergeialexander5541]

I hope you had an audiobook to listen to during that literal hour long grind.

[@lebroncurry5777]

Ha! A worthy opponent!

[@ugorton7345]

You know that the sea dragon leviathans are nearly extinct right lol

[@oogleyboogley302]

@hugo orton that’s the point.

[@davidmacko983]

I killed it with a knife and stasis rifle

[@viaeo]

*"Player cant fight back"* Well yes, but actually no

[@hakont.4960]

You can defend yourself, but at the same time you don't have the means to efficiently kill enemies. If you could it would definitely remove some of the tension in the game, and I'd probably seriously mess up the ecosystem in Subnautica by wiping out species that I consider a threat or annoyance. I'd start by wiping out those exploding fish...

[@rayzuke1232]

@@hakont.4960 good joke

[@cdgonepotatoes4219]

@@hakont.4960 All tension goes out the window as soon as you get a Cyclops, hell, you could make an argument over how even so little as the seamoth does it as long as you keep your eyes open. Their objective of putting combat behind all made it so the AI is very underdeveloped to deal against a player that's not afraid of them, so there's no way to put back in line "whoever dares challenge the majesty of a leviathan".

[@LuciusC]

@@hakont.4960 Stasis rifle: Am I a joke to you?

[@yanhenghuang1017]

@@cdgonepotatoes4219 not really, when you use the Cyclops in deeper waters you still have to be wary of attracting the attention of leviathans

[@diaz2634]

"How subnautica survived without guns (except that one that puts someone is temportal complete paralysis allowing you to literally torture them) but with nuclear and gas torpodeo and 3000 degree knives"

[@NoESanity]

and don't forget the slingshot gun that allowed you to pelt penglings with the corpses of their children.

[@superkeaton9912]

I am so glad they went against Cleveland's aversion to horror in Subnautica. Staring into the dark and knowing I need to go deeper and that Here There Be Monsters is a major thrill and keeps bringing me back.

[@oakles]

Now this comment might remain un-noticed by anyone, but I don't care, as long as I can get out these, *indescribable* emotions that the game gave me. I know that the developer explains how much of a beautiful game he wanted to create, but I hope he realizes that the game is something *more* than beautiful. I speedrun the game now, which kind of saddens me, because I can no longer reach back to the first time I booted up the game, and say the truly indescribable beauty the game showed my eyes. All I do remember is: I almost cried. Cried to the point where I had no tears left, because the game spiked so many emotions with its music, and insane creativity/beauty. I will go back to KZbinrs who played the game for the first time, and I will smile, not because of their hilarious reactions, but because of how much they appreciate the game. It may not be as much as I appreciated it for the first time I played, but it's something. Every time I go down into the Lost River, I can appreciate the fact that I know Charlie *really* cared about the game when he made it. I get to know that every pixel of this game's beauty is thought up by this man, and I thank him for that. Because this is such an amazing game with an indescribable beauty, I know this comment will confuse others, since it's hard to put into words. All I can say is: thank you. Thank you Charlie and your team, from the bottom of my heart, for making this game a part of my life. For making me feel the beauty of something, in which I had not felt before. For introducing me, to the best game I know.

[@deanpsomotragos8359]

it really is indescribable, when I first played this game I couldn't stop talking about it.

[@MrTalithan]

Don't worry Below Zero is giving me all the same feelings as my first time in Subnautica, and even more so because Below Zero is thrice as dangerous as Subnautica. Not even top-side is safe anymore.

[@travistrapani1186]

I can totally relate, I felt a lot of feelings that were unknown to me when I first played it. Now I can just listen to the soundtrack on spotify and get all those feelings back. I make mountains trails and when I am working on them, I listen to the soundtrack and it brings a sense of unknown to my work, so when folks walk my trails, they also get the same sense of unknown and mystery.

[@travistrapani1186]

Have you played it in VR? I highly recommend it. There is no words in the world that can properly describe how it feels in VR. I got lost. When I came back to reality, I was crushed to find myself back in this reality.

[@emeryingebretsen3038]

Well. Said.

[@D4narchy]

The first time i ever played Subnautica I spent the next 3 days waking up to play it then going to bed in the early hours, until i "finished" it. The ambience blew me away, at times it was like playing a horror game, and at others a relaxing game that you could play while falling asleep. I'd spend time in the shallows just relaxing, and then go to depths for the adventure. Then I combined the two by building over chasms. One of my favorite games of the last decade. The difference between being in absolute bliss and chilling to skin tingling scared while exploring was amazing. I love it.

[@mrfamer3752]

7:53 Bruh that gave me subnautica vietnam flashbacks

[@girlgamer6678]

JT GUY omg yeah

[@Lumelore]

Lol, I thought that was supposed to be a jacksepticeye reference due to the colors of the sub

[@Esikvend]

Subnautica got me through the hardest days of 2019 in a psych ward. That game is literally therapy for depression and social anxiety. I am so looking forward to sharing it with more people down the line and looking forward to the full release of Below Zero and then hopefully Subnautica 2 in a few years. It's one thing to shoot something to get rid of negative emotions and aggression, and it is a whole 'nother ballpark creating something beautiful and just enjoying the chill music, the colors and making the best of isolation. Thank you UWE, you made my life and coping with mental illness better and I truly hope you guys go big! I also loved that I got from killing predators with SeaMoths electrical discharge at first to just stunning them and caring enough NOT to kill them if possible. Only reccommendations for the future would be deadlier creatures and less random spawns so we would get more out of distraction torpedoes, still having some broken creature spawns. 9/10 been gaming for 25+ years and this game is in the top 5 Hall of Fame of my favourite games EVER. Up there with Baldur's Gate and Fallout. You guys were on a budget and you made a AAA quality game!! Thank you for creating something that besides being an awesome game also doubles as therapy!

[@apexpredator8395]

Subnautica best game of 2018 for me.An unforgettable adventure and an awesome end...

[@smasher2265]

I got it free at epic games I was like meh this game seems bad, then I started playing and if it was magic i had more than 4 playtroughs and more than 100 hrs and also bought immediately below zero, now testing it and waiting for full release :D

[@1232-s1g]

Adrián González Same, got it for free and bought below zero

[@mcFitzzz]

no, it's me.com

[@BerzerkVideos]

"I've never heard people say 'awe I love the stasis rifle in subnautica, it's so fun and interesting and cool.' " I'll just... Be here. In my little empty corner of loving the Stasis Rifle.

[@NauticalNiblet]

War stories is such a good series, thank you for making it!

[@xdevantx5870]

Non-violent? Unrewarding? *Laughs in survival knife* Seriously though, killing the Ghost Reaper in the Blood Kelp Zone that had been harassing me for hours. That's what a real achievement is XBox.

[@Clabes01]

subnautica was one of, if not the best, game i have ever played. this makes me understand more why that is. Seriously so good, creative, and different.

[@matawrites]

"we didn't want players killing the creatures" well, then you should have made the baby ghost leviathan squatting in the middle of the Lost River a little less annoying!

[@fatjuicytaco]

Yeah I killed the one by the bones just because I was sick of it attacking me when I mined resources and I wanted to build a base there.

[@Tuck-Shop]

I built a base just to watch it. Standing in an observation dome just admiring everything. Watching little Casper swim around. Just sitting on that chair.Note: Was in VR. Completely different experience to monitor based Subnautica.

[@leebard9335]

"Without weapons" in oversized, whacky waving inflatable quotation marks.

[@lamas93866]

NOW WATCH ME BEAT THIS BIG FISH VIOLENTLY WITH MY MECH SUIT

[@ugiustuskeiserus8066]

Also using torpedoes, knives and pro/repulsion cannons.

[@fstorm001]

Don't think I didn't stab a Bit--- fish a few times

[@rogerramiussergeialexander5541]

[Laughs in discworld Carcer.]

[@rdowg]

@The Anthropologist _Forensic well, saying "subnautica doesnt have guns" like the devs pride themselves on comes off as a bit pretentious and pointless, right? I always laugh when I hear about how proud they were to not have guns in subnautica, as if they were making the world a better place because you cant shoot something.

[@KaptainRadishOrSmth]

Okay straight up, that was a superb video. The transitions were clever, the content was full and interesting, and it was a direct look into the process and mind of the developer. Great job

[@dogvtf]

Subnautica Devs: We wanted a game without violence. Prawn: am I a joke to you?

[@hakont.4960]

You can easily kill a person with a cricular saw, but that's not what it was meant to do, while a gun is specifically designed to kill.

[@dogvtf]

@@hakont.4960 missiles.

[@TwisterTLT1]

Håkon T. A gun isn’t designed to just to “kill” it’s a tool. And you can use them for target practice, recreation.. and many other things. It’s the person behind the gun that uses the gun to kill..

[@hakont.4960]

@@TwisterTLT1 Yes but it's intended use is to kill or injure a human or animal. A drills intended use is to drill holes or break a material apart.

[@canehdiansteve3455]

@@TwisterTLT1 Guns are specifically designed to kill things, bud. That's a fact. You can use them for target practice and other non-lethal activities but that's not why they exist and never has been. Guns are tools for killing things in the same way that saws are tools for cutting things. It's their sole intended purpose.

[@ndubb100]

Playing this on the switch right now... such a masterpiece! That first time a reaper messes up your day is unforgettable haha

[@Skund79]

The music instantly kicked me back in a relax but still adventurous mood. The soundtrack is so well crafted

[@elywrlds594]

sadly the sound guy got fired because of his political opinion

[@rustyshackleford1508]

"people don't kill a lot of creatures" >ignores the 80% of players who cause mass extinction events

[@KingHalbatorix]

@Zeger Boeye I killed every non-prey fish I saw. All the crabsquids and every leviathan at least; the sharks, and passive non-edibles like gasopods, got a pass sometimes. Depends on if they were close to a base or area I traveled frequently. Even the Rays were culled if they bumped into my seamoth at any time.

[@KingHalbatorix]

Sucks that the mother sea dragon is invincible though, but the one outside the contaimnent facility and the other outside the power plant were both drill-arm-to-the-face'd to death mercilessly.

[@Anthonnnnn]

@@KingHalbatorix b r u h m o m e n t

[@KingHalbatorix]

I mostly did it because the lead dev is a cuckaduck who literally believes video games cause mass shmootings. He stated on twitter his reason for not including any "weapons" other than the knife was that he thinks games are responsible for the rooty shmooty violence. I don't know about that, I'd say not having funs in my game made me pretty freaking violent (in the game) I had to delete and re-post this comment for it to show up, apparently j yewtube doesn't like the word funs with a g instad of an f, or maybe shmooting minus m. It's BS either way. Seems like the overlords are banning a lot of words all of a sudden.

[@rustyshackleford1508]

@@KingHalbatorix the only thing invincible is the emperor, the mother sea dragon can be killed with a bit of effort

[@howie2000slc]

This is such a great series, love each one of these videos. Requests for War Stories Episodes: Rimworld Goldeneye Portal Dont Starve Terraria Freelancer Crusader Without remorse

[@mysterygamer48]

Chris Howard I would love to see Terraria and portal

[@eurapeon]

Not even commenting about the game... Just this interview is a masterclass in interviewing, depiction, pacing, and editing. Thank you for shining this spotlight and sharing it with strangers

[@trentflix6505]

One of my favorite gaming moments was playing Subnautica and I had determined not to look up any information on the wiki or anything. I came within 15 seconds of dying of dehydration and it was one of the most-tense, thrilling moments I've had. Subnautica also has an actual story that is deftly delivered in an organic manner, it also has an ending which is semi-atypical of an open-world survival-crafting game. I really can't say enough good things about it.

[@RabidArtists]

Same, it's the only game I didn't want to look up any information because the self-discoveries were so rewarding & it was more immersive being on this strange planet with no mini-map. Best thing I did with Skyrim was disabling the map/mini-map, it gets reeaaal

[@quizent8386]

Beating that game with no wiki help was the most satisfying gaming experience I have ever had, I felt actually proud of myself and like I really accomplished something. It gave me flashbacks to when I beat minecraft the first time when the end was first created. Amazing game, amazing memories.

[@irfanmetin5962]

"no boundaries, open space, a hole that opens up in blackness, the thrill of the unknown, having to figure it all out by yourself" It's mindblowing to hear him speak so passionate about these core values, because for some reason all of these have been abandoned in Below Zero. Subnautica is one of my alltime favorites with probably around 600 hours logged, which makes BZ nothing but a disappointment every time I try to give it another chance. Cramped spaces, boundaries, a main character with a voice, forced dialogues with another character, a storyline that tells you exactly what you need to do to progress. with the golden formula in hand, why, why, WHY did they do a full 180 for BZ? mind boggling..

[@mattkuhn6634]

Subnautica is one of my favorite games of all time, and I really loved this glimpse into its development. Great video!

[@arstechnica]

Thank you for the compliment. It was Charlie's idea to take us through a bunch of older builds!

[@mattkuhn6634]

@@arstechnica And it was a great idea, too! I've really been enjoying the whole series of War Stories so far. :)

[@Wadetrtl]

I just finished this game yesterday, and honestly I thought it was incredible. Knowing so little about what's going on was incredibly powerful story-telling tool. It was so interesting noticing that I had so little information about basically everything, but as I progressed and explored, I learned more. Kind of like in real life! And the prompts for what to do and where to go were so few, but so effective. And they were natural and realistic, which really immerse you into the game. Great experience, thank you!

[@luisarceo87]

Thank you for this Ars Technica! Quality content as always

[@0Midas0647]

Subnautica succeeded without weapons by 1: Nothing is really threatening, things just pester you rather than make a deliberate attempt to kill you (compared to, for example, ARK) 2: By actually having weapons. They still give you a knife and your PRAWN's fists/drills. I killed every single leviathan on the map with those. edit: 3: By having the ability to hatch your own creatures which then become hostile to whatever is hostile towards you. While rare, I had to mention this since at least 2 of the Leviathans I rodeo'd across the ocean ended up near my base and getting torn apart by my menagerie of beasties.

[@Ralathar44]

Seriously, I just stun + stabbed hostile fish near wrecks. They had weapons, there was no reason not to put in a single shot harpoon gun. Just a single shot harpoon gun since I can can easily kill anything the game throws at me anyways once I get the stasis rifle. Also all threat went away from non-reapers when I realized 1 knife slash made them run like scaredy little cats. Dodge the bite, slash the fish, fish swims out of aggro range or close. After that only leviathans were ever a threat. Subnautica is an amazing game, but it's not non-violent...especially once you get the prawn.

[@Hana1LuLu]

Oh heck I thought when I grow all these predators, theyll just always try to attack me through the glass! Thats so sick to know!!!!!

[@theemperorofmankind8082]

The knife was intended to kill small fishes that can be food like air sacks, peepers, etc because have ever you tried to catch a peeper? You might say "eh I do it all the time it's easy" why do you think the knife is an early game item? For new players it's almost impossible to catch them so you just blindly slash your knife in hope of hitting them then pick up their corpses, the knife is also intended to be used Like the flame thrower in alien isolation as a way to ward off predators. The same going with the torpedoes they can be put on the sea moth and Cyclops to ward of bigger predators like leviathans level predators, the mining drill is to mine huge chunks of minerals that usually spawn in the lava place and the stasis rifle is supposed to be used to stun them for a while so you could study and scan the creatures, it's a game about surviving and discovery, you're not a military soldier guy you're just some guy that survived a crashing ship Besides we have no nuclear torpedoes, we only have vortex and gas torpedoes both of which isn't deadly

[@0Midas0647]

@@theemperorofmankind8082 And it's still as violent as you want it to be, and otherwise is just non-threatening. To say subnautica 'succeeded without weapons' is a double-lie. You do have weapons, and the game wouldn't have succeeded if the AI behaved like actual predators.

[@theemperorofmankind8082]

@@0Midas0647 you talk like you have experience in making an AI, what triple A games that you have worked on? And with which developers and who's the publisher? To criticize the game because of its AI is stupid especially for them. They are not well known dev team, which barely has support and only get their money from their community. And judging by their limited funds they made an awesome game. It's you're fault of making a game about science and discovery and turn it into a game about killing fishes. You have no taste in what a good game is, you probably never even got out of that chair you're sitting on. It's not a lie when it's the players fault

[@savagecabbage1174]

This is one the best single player games to play, when I first played it I literally couldn’t stop playing it. Good job subnautica team 😄

[@theemperorofmankind8082]

The devs: this game has no violence! Players: hahaha look at them squirm

[@LividRE]

"I wanted to do something that was fundamentally *non violent* " *Flashback* *WHEEZ*

[@gianlucabrambilla8227]

Yes, its not violent... Tell that to my seamoth Kia by a reaper Rest in peace Magikark seamoth, you served well

[@HamburgerTrain13]

Man, you guys have been on an absolute roll recently with content releases and these awesome games! Great stories, your standard of quality and production are fantastic as always.

[@cloudyaperture4910]

Kudos to whoever edited this video. The in-game set pieces describing what was being discussed was a pretty creative technique. Awesome job.

[@Thesilverninja]

Always love the top notch production quality of Ars Technica videos. Great deep dives, great interviews, keep up the outstanding work!

[@temxasred3086]

0:45 "Without allowing the player to fight back" Probably everyone who played Subnautica: *kills leviathan class lifeforms with kitchen knife* haha, knife go swoosh

[@hlauren2001]

You guys make some of the best developer focused game documentaries out there. This was another great story, and so fascinating. Thank you guys!

[@arstechnica]

Thank you for the feedback! It is an honor for us to be able to talk to these people

[@mysticxl3gend999]

Design Dev. : .."it's really unrewarding" Me: WHAT DO YOU MEAN "UN-REWARDING"?? Reapers are terrifying! They destroy vehicles. No reapers, no destroyed vehicles. No destroyed vehicles, more exploring. More exploring, less time scavenging for new materials to re-make a Seamoth!

[@toxicalyss]

Hunting stuff is rewarding. Very rewarding.

[@xJJStaRx]

One of the most thrilling games I've ever played! Thank you for documenting it 👏

[@wesleytownsend8214]

While I may not agree with some of the political biases, such as anti-weapon, behind the conceptual beginnings of this title, I am impressed with the effort that supported those biases. Every one has views and I for one ultimately respect and admire an individual’s opinions that they try to enforce in their own lives and works, without being mean or unfair to others. This piece is a great example of that. Much respect given to these individuals. I wish all the best to the content creator, software creators, and to you and yours!

[@unordinarystudios5846]

Subnautica is a really amazing game! It has so many incredible moments of awe and gives you a feeling of wonder and terror. It is a very immersive and amazing experience. Thank you to all the developers who helped make this game so amazing!

[@mattc4472]

This was fantastic. I just finished this one and it was wonderful to see so many of the most impressive things about my play through show up here under deliberate design. The clip of fixing the ship after disaster only happened to me after beating the story line and getting caught by a ghost leviathan on my way back out of the depths but it went EXACTLY the way he was talking about/showing in the clip and was one of the most thrilling moments I've had in a long time after I'd already "done" everything. Absolutely succeeded in all the ways they'd hoped. Awesome to see how much care went into creating such spontaneous events. Edit: I eagerly await space penguins.

[@HoshiBaka]

My favorite survival game. Every single day I want to play it. But I never open the game because I'm too scared to explore deeper and farther due to fear..

[@AlexLorentzenloganjamesalex]

the safest place in the entire game is like 1000m down

[@HoshiBaka]

Alex Lorentzen-Cheeseman .... fudge that shite. I ain't going down any deeper than 400m lol

[@AlexLorentzenloganjamesalex]

@@HoshiBaka you are really missing out on some beautiful stuff. Once you figure out noise/silent running in the cyclops and have the shield upgrade you can get all the way to 1000m without anything that can even damage you.

[@qwadratix]

Here's a tip: All of the creatures in the game give you a second chance. Every single one will grab you, shake you about a bit then let you go. At that point, take the hint (If you want to live).

[@stiimuli]

Subnautica is truly an exceptional game and, having watched this video, I now understand the (all too rare) principles that achieved that.

[@gordonfreeman1931]

I like how their motivation to make a game without any weapons drove them to make a game that proves why weapons are important.

[@AlexTSilver]

I've never used any weapons in-game. It's fairly easy to dodge all enemies. Your comment instead proved how unimaginative we are.

[@kalaegambol7195]

Honestly I agree with u because fighting off a bone sharks, stalkers and sand sharks with a hot knife is kinda annoying, especially when by the time u swim there ur seamoth is almost destroyed

[@MajorOddball]

Subnautica is one of my favorite games in recent years. I can't wait for Below Zero to be finished!

[@tomislav6923]

yeah , i think it's best to wait for below zero to come out as a full game rather than play it as beta or alpha , so you can experience it better and get good memories

[@eternal_abyss7223]

@@tomislav6923 I agree. There are a good bit of KZbinrs that I can watch to see what Below Zero looks like but I don't wanna make that mistake again like I did with subnautica. Can't wait for it to be fully released.

[@myztklk3v]

I bought Subnautica when it's very first build went for sale. You could barely do anything, but the seamoth was in, and you could break the game, go under the world and get lost trying to dig your way back up, and I loved every minute of it.

[@linnilotus]

I always love seeing behind the scenes stuff of subnautica, the entire process they went through is amazing to see

[@derrickddub]

This was one of the greatest gaming experiences I've had. The fear of the unknown as you explored and the incremental delivery of information about the world and situation was so amazing. Definitely a game I wish I could forget and experience again for the first time.

[@DurzoBlunts]

Cool to know I as an early access adopter I helped even though the company needed and deserved so much more at the time.

[@sleepingninjaquiettime]

Loved subnautica, wish more devs would create unique experiences like this one. I want to go into the deep dark deep dark again!

[@Alex-pc4sz]

I love these videos when theyre about games I played first. Then later watching and realizing why they made the choices they made is satisfying

[@theenation1126]

“Not allowing players to fight back” Prawns suit and knife: am I a joke to you?

[@rogerramiussergeialexander5541]

[Laughs in titanium shank]

[@fatjuicytaco]

[Laughs in dropping a load of gas pods on a reaper I hit with the stasis rifle]

[@yootoob6003]

that intro using the game was quite clever

[@tingkagol]

This gaming experience is so unique and awe-inspiring the devs should receive a lifetime achievement Oscar or something.

[@WolfyLix]

Subnautica is one of those games that i just love, and truly whenever i talk to my friends about it, i always say it's more of an experience than a game, all the hardships and rewards for overcoming them, and the exploration, no ever where you look at there is something to gaze and be amazed at, and after experiencing all that the ENDING is the cherry on top, i always cry when i see the ending of that game, they really did do a good job on engaging all the feels possible in that wonderful world of subnautica.

[@JHooves714]

The part where he talks about Steven King is so true! Designing something and letting it come to life is sounds abstract but I completely understand! Once it develops, it gets to a point where if you try to take the story/game in an unnatural direction it will let you know. It has a flow to it, like pruning a big plant, you can guide its direction, but it has a soul of its own and it will essentially write itself if you're truly in tune with it.

[@markknudtson1248]

Underwater exploration game?? No it's an underwater horror game.

[@jiraffe9600]

Mark Knudtson nah

[@lamas93866]

The horror is you in the prawn suit

[@Magpiebard]

Even more, and why it's so good at what it is trying to do is you supply the horror yourself. It's that creeping 'wow, that's really pretty/neat/unusual... how is it now going to eat my face' that starts to grow. The music is so chill, and yet it can effect a player more viscerally than the jaws theme song anymore! You know a game is good when you suddenly wonder 'why does my back/neck ache so much?' only to realize you have cricked yourself into a weird angle like you actually are scraping under the edge of the water and having to creep in the dark and could just sit up straight.

[@AngryB4ker]

Subnautica is the best shining example of how to do early access correctly. I think a huge advantage that the game has over EA titles is that it's treated as an actual game by the development studio. There was a clear game design document made from the very beginning. There was a plan going forward, and they rarely deviated from that plan in order to produce a streamlined game with a great visual style and a great core gameplay loop. The FPS mechanics work fantastically, the world is easy to navigate and there is a clear challenge without being too easy and without being too hard. This video really only discusses them finding a way to motivate the players to play the game. I'm glad that the game evolved in to what it turned out to be since it's a great experience. More importantly is the progress made over the course of development: a lot of developers are inexperienced and don't understand that withholding information is a GOOD thing. They complete a new model and in their excitement they immediately upload a picture of it on Twitter to show to the world what they just worked on to get a pat on the back. And when it's finally introduced there's no wonder. With Subnautica, giant chunks of the game were released and not just itty-bitty little segments. Imagine if they released the Seamoth and then only later they decided to add upgrades to it and only released one upgrade at a time. It would be infuriating. But instead we got the Seamoth, the modding station, the Seamoth moon-pool and tons of other great addons that not only gave the game new goals and a new coat of paint but also completely redefined how people play the game. Each update was powerful and would drive people back to the game More game devs need to understand that their roadmap and their goals for the game are EVERYTHING. A lot of people are community driven to the point where they let the community decide what should be added. That's the absolute worst way to do things, because while you want to appeal to your community, at the end of the day your customers almost never know what they're talking about. That's just the truth. If Subnautica bent and listened to customer demands we'd have attack submarines with heat-seeking torpedoes, automatic harpoon machineguns and no fear when we travel the depths.

[@Bmay7413123]

I still haven't finished the game. Too scared to go where I need too. Even in creative. :(

[@Giraffinator]

I'm too scared to make it back out. It was terrifying enough the first time.

[@smasher2265]

I've finished it like 5 or 6 times (even on hardcore), and for me it wasnt exactly terrifying, the word I would rather use is majestic, when oy get to the lava biomes everything its so cool and the discovery is awesome :D

[@girlgamer6678]

Brooke May where r u stuck now? Trust me i was terrified of this game at first but i managed to finish so I'm sure u can too

[@Bmay7413123]

@@girlgamer6678 I don't remember. I believe I was in the first stages of the lost river. I got have a base by the juvenile ghost leviathan.

[@lmeza1983]

At first I didn't want to take a dive during the night, then you realize there's no option you must go deeper, even thru the terror zone where these warpy things take you out of your submarine, yeah fun times indeed. It's amazing how a video game can be so scary just by playing with our fundamental emotions about darkness and the unknown.

[@landokhan]

Amazing. One of my favorite videos on KZbin this year!

[@RadiantExemplar]

That intro and those transitions were fantastic!

[@fuzzyface4515]

Subnautica is one of my favorite games that I struggle so much with since I have Thalassophobia This game is something that allows me to slowly push myself outside my comfort zones. It took me nearly 24 hours of gameplay before I was able to craft the moonpool. Despite knowing pretty much everything about the game through reading and KZbin videos I still struggle to push myself further in this game because it triggers my fears so perfectly. I get a true sense of vulnerability when I go further into the depths and the light all but fades away, only a seemingly never ending chasm that could hold any number of horrors. Intellectually I know exactly what's in this game but instincts start to take over, I look around and absolutely nothing is visible and then I hear almost any of the screams of the creatures and I become so terrified that I end up just noping right out of the game. Then when I've had some time to calm down, I think, "Yeah, I'll go back to the game and this time I'll get just a little further," and then the cycle continues.

[@thomasc7610]

I know exactly what he meant when he said the feeling of awe of seeing a reefback. Back then the cyclops was invincible and I accidentally rammed the reefback and it split apart into pieces :(

[@Tuxlion]

I'm a beginning game Dev and this is really impressive and hopeful for me, this went from a complicated submarine sim to a world of life and story even thrills for miles to see, good job

[@brugmomentum1361]

ive been following submarine since it’s first early access release, it was really enjoyable watch the game get fleshed out over time

[@tarnyowl6068]

Submarine?

[@Bifrost14]

I discovered this game a week ago and I’m totally hooked. Thins game is amazing! So many games are basically clones with nothing new, exciting or innovative but Subnautica is unlike any game I’ve ever played before and I love it. Great job! 👍🏻 To call this an underwater Minecraft is a real disservice to what this game actually is. It’s unbelievable how much you got right with Subnautica. My only criticism is with frame rate/lag issues on Xbox one S, other than that the only thing I want is more.

[@ChenAnPin]

I remember Zero Punctuation did a hilarious and almost positive review of this game.

[@Ozraptor4]

He ranked this as his 2nd favourite game of 2018.

[@Jay-ln1co]

"Without Weapons" Say hello to to the PRAWN brothers, the honourable Mr. Punchalot and Dr. Drilldozer the IIIrd esq.

[@kevinstruke1031]

Grapple and drill arm is a great combo for killing leviathans.

[@DaweMove]

I really love this game from beggining and after dozens of hours i still get scared and excited while playing it.This interview made me like then even more. :)

[@otovent4857]

You kidding me? The Stasis Rifle is my favorite tool/weapon in any game, it made me feel even more powerful than what the Prawn suit did! :D

[@scalpingsnake]

I remember when the cyclops was my safe space... Then they updated the game so the cyclops could be attacked... I had no safe space

[@Ralathar44]

The Seamoth is super safe after the shock upgrade and the Prawn is basically unkillable. You just hope out after an attack and repair a tiny amount before hopping back in.

[@ProffyChaos]

Great hearing from the creators. Interesting hearing about the psychology of design. I loved this game and below zero too. Far more enjoyment from this than the supposed AAA games out there.

[@chungusbooper]

The ocean is terrifying and, let's not forget, the original source of evil. Any activity involving an open body of water for a period of more than ten minutes becomes a horror story.

[@chase_h.01]

Only a distopian future government-corporation would be dumb enough to give you every futuristic tool available to survive, except for anything to fight back with. It's so stupidly accurate, and I love it.

[@tomthetoaster8004]

I love Subnautica and got the Early Access for Below zero, but please take those fish out of those jars and treat them properly.

[@misisipimike8020]

Best episode yet. Thanks to the people behind War Stories for this series.

[@ActualGremmlinz]

" Fundamentally Non Violent " *Proceeds to freeze helpless fish with Stasis Rifle and violently butcher it with a knife while all it can do is watch in agony* Gassing things is ok too.

[@marcosdheleno]

dont forget cooking live creatures, or putting them in an acid barrel to disolve them slowly.

[@fatjuicytaco]

Or electrically shocking hordes of fish in the sea moth. And my favorite activity of grappling onto a leviathan and slowly grinding its flesh and bones into clam chowder with the drill arm.

[@youbutrt1707]

What a passionate guy. Really glad he was able to let the game evolve into something that wasn't exactly his vision. That must have been really hard, but it paid off and they made something really great. Plus, it's hard to make a great game following an existing formula. It's a hundred times harder to make a great game that's also unique and totally new. They really started from the ground up and almost made their own genre in a way. Super impressive

[@TheGlenn8]

While I did love subnautica I definitely felt like the game did very little to replace combat with the creatures. If non-combat is the focus than the game should have had more non-voilent interactions with the liveforms on 4546B but besides shooting them with the stasis rifle and hitting them with your knife to fight them off there is barely anything you can do. Yes you can farm the stalker teeth through giving them metal objects, yes you can get minerals of reefbacks and yes you can farm sea threader dung but the game needed at least 2 times the interaction for it to hammer home the non-voilence theme. The game should have had more ways to interact with different kinds of animals, maybe a way to lure out sand sharks by dropping objects, maybe methods of safely farming the Gasopods by setting up a feeder for them, a base module that scares the fish away so that they wont camp outside the door of your base, a way to lure the smaller fish around your seacraft so that they can distract predators, or something else bumbs the amount of animal interactions up significantly. Because for a game that prides it self on non-voilence I am hitting an awful lot animals with my knife. I am shocking an awful lot of leviathans with my seamoth and I am punshing an awful lot of sharks with my prawn suit. Not because I want to but because I have literally no other way of interacting with most creatures on the planet.

[@IVIaskerade]

Isn't one of the fundamental points of subnautica that you can't prevent violence - by taking guns away from the players you just make them resort to stabbing everything in the ocean to death with a knife.

[@Par-Crom]

Ok so I had to replay this intro multiple times. Still amazed !

[@normang3668]

Nice name.

[@Par-Crom]

@@normang3668 OMG you too ? excellent x)

[@kristonio17]

I love that they created an alien ecosystem and very carefully thought about the details of how it would work. The large predators are scary and threatening and over-the-top, but they also have a lived in feeling about them, that they actually inhabit the biomes and are part of the food web. Super cool.