this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2025
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[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 week ago (6 children)

I'm working on a Metroidvania game where consumables work on a system where when you use one it'll respawn at its original location. You can only carry one copy of any given consumable at a time but if you're willing to do a bit of backtracking you can always replenish your stock.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Sounds like Nioh to me, except for the takeout part.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I've never played Nioh, but I wanted a mechanic where the player is encouraged to save their consumables for when they really need them but not to the point where they start to just hoard them for the entire game. My main inspiration was actually the sub tanks in the Mega Man X games with how they can be re-filled as many times as you want, but I wanted a system that ties in more closely with the exploration aspects of the game.

[–] WeirdGoesPro 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

You seem to misunderstand the players motivation. Every resource hoarder I’ve known is doing so out of subconscious anxiety rather than any sense of strategic planning. They could be in a room made of potions fighting a potion monster, and they would still die with an untouched inventory.

Make a game that starts with a therapy driven tutorial, and maybe you’ll get somewhere.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It's an anxiety from the fact that we have been burned from using an item and then find out there are only like 3 in the universe and we did it as a top off measure we didn't even need.

[–] WeirdGoesPro 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Perhaps for you, but the people I have witnessed that behavior in seem to do it with everything—maxed out inventory slots of 99+ for no reason. I’m sure there are a thousand motivations that make someone hoard, but my personal observation is that it has more to do with neurotic personality traits than poor game design.

Furthermore, if it really is fear of not getting the item again, then why do I see people still not use their resources on final boss battles? There won’t be a next time, so it is seemingly worth it to finally dip into the stash.

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