Starsand Island has a lot to offer its players, from the elaborate building and decorating system to the secrets lurking at the heart of the island itself. One of the indie farming and life simulator's greatest strengths is its relationship system, in which players can get to know, befriend, and even romance a variety of NPCs living on the island with them. Starsand Island's development team worked to make the NPCs feel layered and real by drawing on both the human brain and existing life simulator titles like The Sims for inspiration.
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Like The Sims, Starsand Island's NPCs Are Reactive And Experience Growth
"As longtime enthusiasts of The Sims, we regard it as the benchmark in life simulation games," Starsand Island producer Golton Gao told The Best War Games. "Its NPCs stand out for their vivid characterization and emergent behaviors." The team made sure to implement these elements when designing Starsand Island's NPCs. The island's residents do not just react when the player interacts with them, but are influenced by environmental factors, their relationships with one another, and more.
Gao described the system as "multi-region decision-making inspired by the human brain." Romanceable NPCs respond when players address them, but they aren't just passively standing by when players are not engaging with them. "Each NPC continuously processes parallel analyses and decisions - perceiving the external world, performing routine behaviors, fulfilling internal needs, and pursuing long-term goals," Gao explained.
In addition to the multi-region decision-making, two other key elements went into Starsand Island's Sims-inspired NPC interactions and relationship-building system. According to Gao, they are:
"Everything is Interactable: All actions are abstracted into interactions, providing a unified execution framework for NPC decision-making.
Dynamic Interaction Adaptability: Every interaction dynamically adjusts based on relationship depth, environmental context, time, and other variables. These principles laid a robust foundation for our NPC relationship system, ensuring realism and emergent complexity."
Player And NPC Relationships Grow In A Natural Way
When the player first moves to Starsand Island, their initial relationships with the various NPCs will be more distant and polite. However, as players interact with them regularly, the NPCs will open up, with interactions ranging from "address[ing] the player with increasingly familiar and affectionate terms" to "boating on the lake, riding motorcycles together, or visiting NPCs' private spaces." NPCs who become close to the player may also assist them with tasks such as harvesting crops and caring for the capybaras and other adorable creatures inhabiting the island.
Gao revealed that, should players take the time and effort to get to know an NPC better, their relationship can deepen even further. He described what might happen should a player develop a special bond with their favorite NPC:
"As relationships progress, NPCs may initiate certain actions, such as writing love letters, giving gifts, or inviting players to share special moments like watching fireworks or admiring the moon."
Starsand Island does not have a formal marriage system, but it does allow players to invite NPCs with whom they have developed a romantic relationship or particularly close friendship to live in their home, Gao revealed. Like all events such as festivals on Starsand Island, this relationship deepening will be celebrated by the entire town. "They can invite other players to decorate the [NPC's] room and set of fireworks," said Gao.
Drawing on The Sims for inspiration has allowed Starsand Island's team to create deeply reactive NPCs, whose relationships with the player—and each other—truly grow as the game progresses. This allows the Starsand Island team to make the island feel like a truly welcoming environment where the player can relax, heal their heart, and feel at home, resulting in a laid-back, heartwarming, cozy game where players genuinely feel like they are part of the community.