basebuilding

Basebuilding is a design and gameplay mechanic in video games focused on constructing and maintaining a fixed settlement, outpost, or factory. The player gathers resources, places structures, and organizes systems to support survival, production, defense, and expansion. The base often serves as a hub for resource processing, storage, housing, and services, with requirements for power, water, climate control, and safety shaping layout choices.

Core elements include layout and planning, resource chains, infrastructure such as power and climate control, production and automation networks, defense and security, maintenance and upkeep, and progression that unlocks new construction options.

Variants and roles: In survival and exploration titles, basebuilding supports long-term shelter, resource management, and exploration progression. In factory or management games, bases function as production hubs optimized through logistics and efficiency. In open-world and sandbox titles, basebuilding is a creative tool for personal expression and gameplay customization.

Examples: RimWorld emphasizes colony management, modular rooms, and defensive design; Factorio focuses on automated production lines and logistics; Subnautica and The Forest integrate bases with exploration and defense; Minecraft enables expansive, player-designed bases; No Man's Sky supports planet-based base construction.

Design considerations include performance and pathing for large bases, balancing aesthetics with efficiency, modular and scalable design, and how multiplayer features affect collaboration and sharing. Basebuilding remains a versatile element across genres, shaping how players structure space, manage resources, and respond to threats.