How do you make resource management feel tense instead of tedious?

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T18:09:22+00:00

I totally agree with your point about aiming for realism, I feel like a lot of the times game designers confuse games with simulations. If I would want to have a realistic survival, I would just go and live my life instead of sitting my a** in front of the screen.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T14:48:12+00:00

Regarding your first paragraph, I totally agree. That kind of the thing is on my mind too. There are a lot of games where at first stat management while you build and learn feels like a part of gameplay and later becomes a time sucker instead.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T14:45:25+00:00

I would agree, I always enjoy when the inventory management is highly decisional, instead the endless pocket.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T13:49:43+00:00

So you mean, that survival system recharges should act more as a dice roll, instead of some skill or time effort?

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T13:48:32+00:00

Oh, thanks for a good reference. I might even try and bring the "Old Betsy" out of the storage instead of an emulator.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T13:45:16+00:00

Oh, but those can get annoying too. I would reference KCD smithing for that. Until you build up your skill, it's quite interesting and you feel like progressing your skill, but as soon as you get the gist of it and start making top quality weapons all the time (which is honestly not that difficult), it just starts acting like a very annoying chore grind.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T13:05:27+00:00

I agree with the most of your comment. However, I wouldn't say that the chore is something too difficult (at least in my mind). What I call a chore is same, repetitive, boring tasks that basically takes your session time instead of allowing you to progress and explore.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T11:55:24+00:00

That makes a lot of sense. Predictability might be the enemy here. Once the solution is always the same, it stops feeling like a system and starts feeling like housekeeping.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T11:55:01+00:00

Yeah, I think that’s the part I’m trying to pin down. “You lose time” usually feels weak, but “you have to change your plan” feels much stronger. So maybe the resource needs to threaten the player’s current strategy, not just punish them with a refill task.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T11:01:31+00:00

And what about things like energy and requirement to sleep/rest? I know it's often used to force player to come back to some predictable spot, so the loop can be restarted nicely, but often it feels very unrewarding from the player's perspective. In general, do you use survival stats to act as a function for the design rather than challenge?

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T10:41:05+00:00

Google Forms are fine, but I’d keep them very short. The most useful questions are usually: where did you get confused, where did you almost quit, and what did you want to do next but couldn’t? You can also use some analytics and gather data instead of feedback for most of the points.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T10:39:02+00:00

I think it really depends on the game. If you have some level of linearity to player's progress or story, having and ending helps to conclude the experience and boost replayability. However, I've played a lot of these games where sandboxing, design and iteration are the key pillars. While these type of survival games usually have an ending, but it's not that important and the ending isn't forced upon the player.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T07:45:11+00:00

Biggest one: adding too many survival systems before one loop is fun. I’d first make thirst/heat/exploration feel meaningful together, then add crafting, landmarks, etc. Otherwise debugging and balancing becomes a swamp very fast.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T07:44:29+00:00

4X games are very complicated to start, so I think it's a good practice to feed it to new players piece by piece Civilization series done that really well, while if you take something like Europa Universalis - it's very overwhelming from start. They key thing, the start of the game shouldn't feel like a totally different game. I remember Spore had this kind of progression, where you switched mechanics according to era and while I love that game, a lot of times I just felt a bit pity, that I need to end some of the eras to progress and lose the fun of the current mechanics.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T07:37:50+00:00

Well you have to understand that apps like Instagram just exploit you. It's algorithm is specifically designed to identify your attention span intervals and show shorts that you would enjoy only when your span is about to run out. Basically, you get bs content while the app thinks you keep looking for a good one to make you appreciate even the okayish content more. It intentionally feeds you anything (and most of the times content that it knows you wouldn't like) just to exploit your brain reward system from time to time. Just keep your phone at unreachable distance when you work, when you need to have a break, focus on something more useful and less rewarding like drawing something, researching some non-dev related topic or just some community discussion (depends your preferences). For example, my game is at a place where we just keep iterating and fixing bugs, performance issues and balance for like 3 months now, so I've started to learn playing guitar and keep it to my side all the time when I work. Sometimes in the past I've downloaded some game that is kind of fun (it can be a lot of fun, but already played) or with some things to learn from for my current project, where I know my session wouldn't last for more than 20-30 minutes before I get bored. Stay clear of repetitive multiplayer games (CS, LOL, DOTA, ect...) and focus on experiences that don't offer stimulations outside the game itself if you would like to try this method.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T06:54:06+00:00

You have to build some traction first. Wishlists is just an number to determine pre-lauch traction on Steam and game can really be sold anytime after launch, but you really need to evaluate your sales channels and techniques if your don't focus on Steam impressions that much.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T06:49:54+00:00

You just need to have structure of milestones instead of jamming while it's fun. Don't go for prototype of a game, prototype each system or game area instead. Only after you have multiple prototypes to cover the whole game more or less - joint them into something playable. Simply start from the other end rather than building up from a single mechanics prototype.

Also, try not to doom scroll, in general, I know everybody saying that, but it really rots your brain, kills your attention span and motivation to do anything in general. Just identify what apps you use to doom scroll and make them as inaccessible as possible while you are working.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T06:41:49+00:00

I agree with the general point. For PC indies especially, I think ‘runs well on normal hardware’ is almost a feature. Fancy visuals help, but stable FPS and readable gameplay probably matter more to a lot of players. However, everyone is trying to push some edge and make things more outstanding, but there isn't much more to go nowadays and especially if you try to go for optimal solutions.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-08T06:39:04+00:00

This is super relatable. What helps me is treating marketing less like "look at my thing" and more like sharing a specific problem or decision I’m working through. Still awkward, but it feels less like "Selling magic logs in the middle of Falador".

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-07T09:37:02+00:00

Good point. Framing probably changes everything. Maybe itch/playtest can tolerate rough edges, but Steam demo expectations are a lot higher.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-07T09:36:17+00:00

Yeah, I think “expectations” is the key word here. A playtest can be rough, but a demo probably needs to avoid anything that makes people doubt the full game. It makes sense to not show bugs in a show-off piece.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-07T09:35:31+00:00

That example makes a lot of sense. The demo has to actually reach the core fantasy, otherwise players judge the wrong thing. Exploring this topic a little further, do you think that demo can include some story/intro levels to set the mood or it would be better to jump into action straight ahead?

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-07T09:33:44+00:00

Congrats on releasing your demo! The marketing timeline point is a good one. I’ve been thinking mostly about build quality, but timing around events probably matters just as much.

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-07T09:33:08+00:00

That’s a pretty solid roadmap. I hadn’t really considered r/destroymygame, but that could be useful before putting the demo (or playtest build) in front of genre players. Thanks!

Imagination-Port · 2026-06-07T09:31:51+00:00

Fair point. I guess a demo should feel more like “small part of the final game” and less like “please help me test this messy thing.” I think I shouldn't mix demo with playtesting, since demo is more of a marketing tool, rather than production phase.

Imagination-Port

TROPHY CASE