Dustrunner

Years and years ago, before the dark times, I played the demo for a rather unique driving game called Spintires.  It was little more than a technical showcase involving various Russian-made trucks and jeeps in a wilderness setting.  No objectives existed, but players could drive down muddy unpaved roads, ford rivers or even go cross-country through forests and swamps.  There was a day/night cycle, as well as a distinct atmosphere that I can only imagine is what Siberia feels like in the middle of summer.  Eventually, an early access version of Spintires was released, but I never played it due to a somewhat convoluted legal controversy surrounding the game's development.  I wont bother to go into detail...suffice to say, the original team moved on to a new project called Mudrunner.  I did purchase and play this game, which is very similar to Spintires just with an increased emphasis on transporting lumber from the forests where it's harvested to the mills where it is processed.  As far as concepts go, it was interesting in that (unlike other driving games) player have to pay special attention to pathfinding and logistics.  I never played any of the paid DLC, but my understanding is some of it takes place in the USA which turned out to be foreshadowing for what came next.

Snowrunner is, in my opinion, the full realization of what began as that original Spintires demo.  Gameplay takes place across three distinct locations: Michigan, Alaska, and Taymyr.  Objectives are quite varied and consist of hauling everything from supplies and construction materials to massive machines such as oil drilling rigs.  More incentives have been added to scouting and exploration.  There as also numerous recovery missions involving vehicles that have become trapped or disabled due to environmental hazards.  Overall, it feels like a much more fleshed out experience.  I even developed a bond with some of my favorite trucks to the point that I couldn't bring myself to sell a few of them even when superior replacements were readily available.  All that said, I have yet to finish Snowrunner.  I played the game quite a bit when it first launched, but chose to leave the Russian third of the game largely unfinished.  In part, this was due to the game needing a bit more polish, but more so because an extra map for the Taymyr region was in the works.  Well...that piece of content is out along with a bunch of paid DLC.  I haven't touched any of the DLC yet (maybe when it goes on sale..), but I have since began wrapping those loose ends.  As I chip my way through the few remaining tasks, I find myself wondering what comes next.  Will there be a sequel to Snowrunner?

A post-apocalyptic setting might sound cliché these days...even so, I think there is an opportunity for the developers of Mudrunner and Snowrunner to put there own unique spin on it.  Unlike...say... Mad Max, there doesn't need to be bands of raiders.  Instead, this hypothetical follow up could have the danger come from mother nature.  When you think about it, stuff like sandstorms, radiation zones, wreckage and rubble can pose all manner of challenges for players to overcome with the overall goal being to help humanity move onto to a post-post-apocalyptic world.  Vehicle customization could be greatly expanded upon since it wouldn't be necessary to adhere to particular makes and models of trucks.  When you get down to it the developers  have already dabbled in this genre a bit what with flooded-out Michigan and long-neglected Taymyr feeling like they have experienced an apocalypse.  Not to mention the fact that the local residents are looking to player to help them get back onto their proverbial feet.

This sort of setting could also provide the framework for greater mission variety.  There could even be some nods to the classics with players doing things like delivering a water purification system or establishing a local postal service.  Personally, I like the idea of having to disarm old boobytraps the makers of which have long since been lost to history.  Environments are another area that can potentially posses a lot visual variety.  Keeping with the three distinct regions in Snowrunner, there could be the ruins of an overgrown cityscape, a desert with scorching salt flats and sunbaked cliffs, and a frost-covered wasteland pockmarked by craters, dead trees and rusting hulks.  Anyway...I think I have said enough to stimulate the imagination of most people.  Time to get back to it.  These bricks aren't going to deliver themselves.