Spirit of Don't Starve
Editor: Exodus Tales
There were many points which attracted players to Don't Starve, but it all comes back to the 'Survival' aspect.
According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, needs are divided into five major categories: physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.
The five needs form a pyramid, with the most bottom playing being physiological, and self-actualization on the top.
The lower the need, the easier it is to realise, but also the most important and urgent.
That means if a person lacked food, safety, and esteem, they should feel the strongest for food. In that moment, safety and esteem wouldn't be as important.
This was why under incredible food stress, humans would hunt large beasts (giving up safety) or beg for food (give up esteem).
Maslow's hierarchy of needs can also be applied to different industries, including video games.