作者：Despain

让我们来谈谈资源。

我并不是在指开发者的资源，也不是指你为自己的项目所创造的图像，计算机能力，或任何其它材料。我所说的是游戏内部的资源，即你的玩家在游戏过程中需要使用的资源，你作为游戏设计师必须重视的游戏玩法元素。

字典关于资源的定义是：“一支股票或货币供应，物资，员工，以及其它能被一个人或一个组织所利用资产等等。”

而将这一定义带到电子游戏中，我们可以说资源是玩家能够利用的某些内容。当然了，这一定义引出了两个明显的问题。一个是：什么是某些内容？还有一个是：为什么玩家要利用这些资源？

这便是本文的要点。

为什么要谈论资源？

为什么我们要在第一部分中谈论资源？是什么让这一对象如此重要？

首先，几乎每一款游戏都基于某种方式在利用资源。即使玩家并未积极管理自己的道具或属性点，游戏的某些部分也是关于将某些类型的资源转变成一种优势。其次，似乎执行并平衡游戏内部资源是许多设计师/开发者并未赋予太多关注的对象。当提到平衡以及当很难去明确某些内容到底是什么时，游戏中的某些内容很容易让人忽视，而这通常都是归咎于游戏资源系统的问题。

比起其它游戏，有些游戏更多地利用资源。注意这并不只是局限于RPG，而是包括所有类型的游戏。在一款游戏中，玩家也许不会花任何时间去思考自己该如何使用可行的资源。而在另外一款游戏中，资源可能对于游戏玩法来说至关重要。像《马里奥银河》这样的平台游戏也许只会利用可收集的内容去打开新领域，而像《星际争霸》或《万智牌》等游戏则是完全关于如何扩大你的资源。

不管你采取怎样的方法，你都必须投入一些注意力去思考你的游戏该如何处理这些资源。如果你的游戏是一款策略游戏或RPG，那么你便需要花大量时间致力于为玩家平衡所有可能的资源转换。

这是一个重要的理念：转换。资源的价值是直接关系到玩家如何将其转换成对自己有用的内容。在极大程度上，资源将通过转换而帮助玩家前进：就像收集足够的星星能够打开一扇门，或赚够足够的技能点数能够让角色升级。在许多情况下，特别是在基于策略的游戏中，玩家也许能够转换一种纸资源类型到另一种类型中。之后我将更详细地分析资源转换的理念。

首先我想先说说你可能整合到游戏中的两大不同的资源类型。

“实体”资源

我想说的第一种资源类型便是“实体”资源—-也就是那些游戏明显呈现在玩家面前的资源。我之所以将其称为“实体”是因为这些资源是清清楚楚地呈现于游戏中。玩家能够看到它们并管理它们：它们的存在很清楚，是玩家可以触碰得到的对象。

一些常见的实体资源包括：

货币（金币）

道具/升级工具

技能/魔法值

可收集的物品

库存插槽

生命值

这些资源都是玩家可以通过游戏而获得的—-玩家将利用它们去克服游戏所设置的挑战。通常情况下，如果玩家拥有更多资源，他便在游戏中具有更大的优势。

限制也是一种资源。即考虑到库存阀值或装备插槽。在RPG中，你能够装备一个很酷的发射技能到一个角色身上。但如果你这么做，该插槽便满了，你将不能再为其添加冰技能。这将提供给玩家一种创造性的管理感，如果处理妥当便能够为游戏添加更多深度和乐趣。

有些实体资源是属于“水塘”资源。即并非玩家在游戏中努力收集到的，而是玩家通过消耗而使用的内容。最典型的例子便是RPG游戏中角色的MP。在许多其它游戏中，玩家的生命值也属于这类型资源。最大的水塘规模将随着游戏过程而发生改变，但其基本功能却是不变的：比起收集并创建资源，玩家所拥有的水塘资源值是默认的。

以下是一个有趣的实验：想想你的游戏中的不同类型资源，如果资源属于水塘资源或者不是，那么游戏玩法会发生什么改变。例如在一款RPG游戏中，角色并不具有MP，相反地它们只能通过玩家所获得的道具而使用技能。或者在另外一款游戏中，比起收集货币，玩家是伴随着一定货币开始每一天的游戏，在当天只能使用这一数量的货币，不过隔天用掉的货币将再次被填满—-就跟预算一样。这能够有效地检查你是如何在游戏中执行实体资源，并将引导你去发现能够创造出更独特的游戏玩法的新机制。

“无形”资源

与实体资源不同的是，玩家并不能清楚地看到“无形”资源。玩家需要收集X个金币去购买一个武器（实体资源）才能看到无形资源。对于游戏中的无形资源，大多数玩家甚至不能意识到它就是一种资源。

最常见的无形资源便是时间。

让我们以一款回合制RPG为例。尽管新手玩家可能不会注意到，但实际上每个回合本身就是一个有价值的资源—-也许是你在战斗中所面对的最有价值的资源。是否听过这么一句话“进攻便是最好的防御手段？”这也是一个原因—-如果你的敌人死了，他们便不能再攻击你了。基于某些原因，单一的回合便具有许多价值：最大化每个回合的玩家将能在游戏中取得更大的成功。这也是我为何会鼓励设计师去创造状态效果，以及缓冲/攻击真的很重要的原因。如果一个特定效果的整体利益少于一次简单的攻击，这便不值得我们基于该效果去耗尽一个回合。那些擅于利用每个回合的玩家便是在最大化无形的时间资源。

以下是另一个例子。在《万智牌》中，最小的桥牌规格是60或40（游戏邦：注：基于不同格式）。根据玩家的需求，一个桥牌可以放许多纸牌。然而，优秀的玩家将坚持于最小的规格。面对更多纸牌是一种劣势：你最终将会用一些额外的纸牌稀释掉你的桥牌，而不是只使用最厉害的纸牌最大限度地利用桥牌。这是一种交易：如果你想要有更多选择，你便能够超过最小值，但整理的能量水平和桥牌的一致性将被减弱。换句话说，你并不是在最大化你的卡槽资源。

在《万智牌》中，纸牌本身是实体资源。但是在桥牌结构中，你将面对桥牌规格这一无形资源，而如何使用该资源完全是取决于你自己。

实体资源和无形资源间的最大区别便在于新手或休闲玩家可能不回意识到无形资源的价值。所以在《万智牌》游戏的一开始，玩家总是会选择比最小值拥有更多纸牌的桥牌，因为他们看到了更多的实体资源。但资深玩家却能理解卡槽本身所具有的更大价值。

如果你能够有效地平衡游戏中的实体资源与无形资源，你的游戏玩法将具有更大的深度。最出色的游戏总是能够同时为不同技能和不同水平的玩家提供游戏玩法和挑战。

而在第二部分中我们将谈谈如何执行并平衡这些资源。

转换

游戏中的资源全部是关于转换。将一种资源转变成能量，或者推动玩家在游戏中继续前进。就像收集钥匙去打开们一样。或者将一种资源便成另一种资源，如卖掉道具换取金币，并使用金币去购买不同的道具。

关于游戏中的资源转换存在两个问题。第一个问题较为简单：这通常都很无聊。转换事物常出现于中学的科学或数学课上。而为了让这种转换变得更有趣，游戏就需要让玩家能够从中获益。让这种转换变得有趣实质上便是源于资源设计或围绕着它们的游戏玩法。

关于转换的另一个问题便是成本的平衡。对于整个过程，游戏必须让玩家愿意进行交易。玩家想要获得一个公平的价格。让我们通过各种资源类型来分析这一点。

实体资源

关于实体资源，让我们使用来自RPG的一个简单例子：金币。在游戏过程中，玩家将找到许多金币。这不只是战斗奖励，同时也有可能是出售其它道具所获得的。通常情况下玩家总是会收集比自己需要的更多的道具。我想说的是这是件好事：玩家将充满成就感—-觉得自己很富有，钱不再是自己担忧的问题。在游戏的这一阶段，金钱是无用的奖励；如果玩家在最后的地牢中发现一个装了100个金币的大金库，他便会觉得不真实。

对于大多数游戏来说，给予玩家太多金币并不是件好事。如果他拥有足够的钱能够随时购买升级装甲，并储存无限的药水，那么钱就变得不再有意义了。这在游戏最后能够带给玩家成就感，但是如果存在于在游戏一开始或中间阶段，则只会减少挑战。金币作为一种资源的真正价值在于玩家需要去管理它们。如果玩家拥有足够的金币能够购买任何自己想要的东西，这便是无用的资源。那么之后玩家所做的一切便都是在浪费时间。然而，如果玩家只拥有能够购买1，2件装备的金币，他便需要思考如何为下一部分游戏做规划。他可能会不断通过刷任务获得更多金币，而在这种情况下所获得的金币也是具有实际价值的—-因为玩家是在用时间交换金币。如果玩家愿意进行这样的交易，他便值得为自己的团队购买最棒的装备。游戏应该提供给玩家选择，因为这才能让他们有机会通过资源去获得自己想要的东西。

开发者正是需要在此去平衡游戏中的道具成本以及玩家能够访问的货币数量。如果设置了过多金币，并且道具还很便宜，那么游戏便会丧失挑战性。而如果设置了太少的金币，并且道具又很昂贵，玩家则会觉得自己什么都做不好。开发者需要投入更多时间去测试游戏，明确当你到达不同区域时该设置多少金币。创造多个游戏过程—-有时候可以略过有些玩家可能未发现的金库，有时候则做些额外的刷任务。努力找到一个平衡点。

作为一种资源，如果成本与收益间不能达成平衡，金币对于玩家来说便是完全无用的。在这种情况下，成本便不是指金币本身，这是关于玩家为了获得金币而做了什么。收益是玩家消费金币所得到的东西。玩家将能够“自然地”找到特定数量的金币。而为了回报这一数量，他将在到达下一个城镇时获得“预期的”装备和道具。如果玩家拥有更多金币，他便可以选择基于某种方式进行消费，从而为自己谋得继续前进的优势。

金币是一个简单的例子，并且可能是你曾经想过的对象。是否还有其它较不明显的资源？

水塘资源

与那些你能够获取并销售/转换的资源不同，这是你所拥有并且可能用尽的资源。关于水塘资源的最简单的例子便是RPG中的MP（或者SP/FP等等）。为了抛射咒语，每个角色都能使用一些魔法。这与金币或道具的使用有些不同，但在保持平衡上却是一样的：成本vs收益。

让我们着眼于《骇客入侵：人类革命》中的库存系统。这便是一个水塘资源，因为你拥有特定库存插槽。当你携带更多道具时，你的插槽空间便会越小。在这时候，你将需要丢掉一些道具。

这非常有趣，因为当你的角色级别上升时，你便有机会去扩展库存的大小。在游戏一开始，你只拥有较小的库存规格，它将快速被填满。当我在玩游戏时，扩展库存便是我在升级时的第一目标。但这却是可选择的：玩家可以在升级时选择升级某些内容：他们可能想要增加生命值，或者获得从高出掉下而不受伤的能力，亦或者他们想要隐身能力等等。

如果你决定使用级别去使用具有更多库存的插槽，你便可以携带更多道具。当你前进得更远时，你便能够碰到更多道具，并且道具也会越来越沉重（将占据更多空间）。再一次地，这也是一种交易。越强大的道具将要求更多的库存空间，就像手枪或药剂。如果你想要持有所有的这些枪支，你便需要投入更多级别于库存扩展中。

但即使如此你也不能携带所有的内容。尽管我并不喜欢游戏中的库存限制，但这在《骇客任务》中却是有目的的，并能够让游戏玩法更加深入。因为你的武器和弹药将占据库存空间。你不能在游戏中携带每个重型武器—-你没有那么多空间。你必须做出选择：你是否真的想要等离子枪，如果为此你必须抛弃石弓的话。或者如果你真的两个都想要，你便可以丢掉可可靠的火箭筒和一些药剂。当你需要火力时怎么可能还需要这些东西呢，对吧？

因为游戏的一大卖点便是它允许，甚至鼓励各种不同的游戏风格，这一决策制定风格加强了游戏玩法。这是通过推动玩家思考如何使用可行的资源而做到的。

如果《骇客任务》具有同样的库存管理系统，但却未在屏幕上包括武器和弹药—-强迫玩家花时间去管理自己的药剂，升级道具和手榴弹，那么该系统将非常无聊并且有可能破坏游戏玩法。相反地，它是通过进一步推动游戏的选择主题而加强了游戏玩法。

无形资源

就像我之前所说的，无形资源的最佳例子是时间，在RPG中，时间通常就是指回合。

让它变得更有趣

在前面我便提到过资源转换所具有的最大问题之一便是难以创造出乐趣。

但本文已经没有过多空间去容纳这些内容了，也许我们可以在之后进行深入分析。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Managing Resources Part One

By Despain

Yo. Let’s talk about resources.

And I’m not talking about resources on the developer’s end. We’re not talking about the graphics you’re creating for your project, or your computer power, or any of that stuff. Oh no—we’re talking about in-game resources. The resources that your player has to work with while playing your game. Elements of gameplay that you, as the game designer, have to put some serious thought into.

Dictionary definition: “A stock or supply of money, materials, staff, and other assets that can be drawn on by a person or organization…”

Taking that definition over into video games, I’d say that a resource is a stock or supply of something that can be drawn on by the player. Of course, that definition leads to two obvious questions. One: what is the something? Two: why would the player draw on these resources?

Well, that’s what this article’s about.

Why Resources?

Why are we talking about resources in the first place? What makes the subject worthy of an article?

First off, pretty much every game makes use of resources in some way or another. Even if the player isn’t actively managing his items or stat points, it’s likely that some aspect of the game is about converting some sort of resource into an advantage. Secondly, it seems like the implementation and balance of in-game resources is something that a lot of designers/developers don’t pay enough attention to. It’s easy for a game to feel like something is fundamentally off when it comes to balancing—and when it’s hard to figure out what exactly that something is, it usually comes down to a problem with the game’s resource systems.

Some games make more use of resources than others. And note that it’s not limited to RPGs, but games of all sorts of genres. In one game, the player might not spend any time at all thinking about how he uses the resources available to him. In another, resources are crucial to the gameplay. A platformer like Mario Galaxy might only make use of collectibles in order to open up new areas, where games like Starcraft or Magic: The Gathering are all about maximizing your resources.

Whichever approach you take, it’s important to put at least some thought into how your game handles these resources. If your game is a strategy game, or an RPG, then you’ll need to spend a lot of time working out just how to balance all the possible resource conversions available to the player.

That’s a key idea: conversion. A resource’s worth is directly related to how the player converts it into something else useful to him. For the most part, the resource will be converted into some way that helps the player proceed: like collecting enough stars to open a door, or earning enough skill points to allocate upgrades to a character’s stats. In plenty of cases, particularly in games that are more based around strategy, the player might be converting one type of resource into another. Later on, I’ll go a little more in-depth in the idea of resource conversion.

First, I want to talk about two major different types of resources that you might incorporate into your game.

“Physical” Resources

The first type of resource that I want to talk about are the “physical” resources—aka things that the game makes obvious to players are resources. I call them “physical” because these are the kinds of resources that are specifically represented in the game. The player sees them and manages them: their presence is clear and obvious, tangible for the player.

Some common types of physical resources include:

Currency (Gold)

Items/Powerups

Skill/Magic Points

Collectibles

Inventory Slots

Lives (1-Ups)

These are resources that the player earns throughout the game—and the player will need to utilize them in order to overcome the challenges that the game presents. Typically, the more of a certain resource the player has, the bigger advantage he has in the game.

Limits are also resources. Consider inventory thresholds, or equipment slots. In an RPG, you might be able to equip a cool fire skill onto one character. But if you do that, then that slot is filled and you can’t also give him that cool ice skill—it has to go to someone else. This gives the player a sense of creative management that, when handled correctly, can add a lot of depth and fun to a game.

Some of these physical resources will be “pool” type resources. Rather than something that the player collects in the game, it’s something that the player uses through depletion. The best example: in typical RPGs, a character’s MP is also a type of pool resource. In pretty much any game, the player’s life points (life bar, HP, etc) is also pool resource. The maximum size of that pool might change over the course of the game, but the functionality is the same: instead of collecting and building that resource, the player has a default amount and draws from it.

Here’s an interesting experiment: think about different kinds of resources in your game, and how would the gameplay be altered if that resource were to be a pool resource or not. For example, imagine an RPG where the characters don’t have MP, but instead can only use skills by using items the player has acquired. Or the other way: a game where instead of collecting money, the player starts each in-game day with a certain amount of money, has access to that amount for that day, but it refills the next day—like a budget. It’s an interesting exercise to examine how you implement physical resources into your game, and might lead you to discovering a cool new mechanic that makes your gameplay really unique.

“Invisible” Resources

Unlike the physical resources, “invisible” resources aren’t immediately evident to the player. When the player sees that he needs to collect X gold in order to buy a weapon, that’s an obvious physical resource. But the invisible resources are typically build into the gameplay in a way where the average player won’t even realize that it’s a resource.

The best, and most common, example of an invisible resource is time.

Consider a turn-based RPG. While a novice player might not recognize it, each turn itself is a valuable resource—maybe the most valuable resource you have in a battle. Ever hear that saying, “the best defense is a good offense”? There’s a reason for that—if your enemy is dead, then they can’t hurt you. A single turn has a lot of value for that very reason: the player who maximizes each turn will have better success at the game. That’s why I encourage designers to make status effects and buffs/debuffs really matter. If the amount of overall benefit from a special effect ends up being less than simply attacking, then it’s not worth using up a turn on that effect. The player who makes the most out of every turn is maximizing the invisible resource of time.

Here’s another example. In Magic: The Gathering, the typical minimum deck size is 60 or 40 (depending on format). They important word there is minimum: really, a deck can have as many cards as the player wants. Good players, however, stick to that minimum. Playing a deck with more cards than the minimum is disadvantageous: you end up diluting your deck with extra cards, rather than getting the most out of it by only using the best cards available for your strategy. It’s a trade-off: if you want to have more options, you can go over the minimum, but the overall power level and consistency of the deck will be diminished. In other words, you’re not maximizing the resource of your card slots.

Within a game of Magic, the cards themselves become physical resources. But in deck construction, you have the invisible resource of the size of your deck, and how you use that resource is up to you.

One of the biggest difference between physical and invisible resources is that the beginner, or casual, player will likely not recognize the value of the invisible resource. It’s common for the beginning Magic player to play decks that have more cards than the minimum, because they see it as giving them more physical resources (cards) in the game. But the advanced player understands that the card slots themselves might be a more valuable resource in the big picture.

If you are able to craft an interesting balance between physical and invisible resources in your game, your gameplay will have more depth. The best games provide gameplay and challenges for players of different levels and skillsets.

Whoops

This article’s a lot longer than I’d planned (this seems to happen quite a lot). Looks like this is gonna be another two-parter. In the next article, I’m going to dive deeper into the topic of resources: we’re going to talk about implementing them into your game, and how to ensure that everything is balanced. And most importantly, how to ensure that the player has fun while managing resources.

Managing Resources Part Two

This is part two. If you haven’t read part one, check it out now. So let’s continue our discussion about resources and resource management.

In the first part, I talked about different types of resources—primarily physical vs invisible resources—and how to recognize them, and how different types of players will recognize them and value them differently. Today we’re going to expand on that knowledge and go deeper into the implementation and balancing of those resources.

Conversion

Resources in games is all about conversion. The transformation of one resource into power, or in order to advance through the game. Like collecting keys to open up doorways. Or one type of resource into another, like selling off items for gold, which you can use to buy different items.

There are two problems with the idea of resource conversion in games. The first problem is simple: it’s usually boring. Converting things is something that happens in science or math class in middle school. In order for it to be fun, the player needs to get something out of it. Making it fun comes down to the design of the resources and the gameplay around them. More on this later.

The other problem with conversion is in the balance of the costs. For the entire process to work, the player has to be willing to make the trade. The player needs to be getting a fair price—maybe even more than fair. Let’s look at this in terms of each of the types of resources discussed in the last article.

Physical Resources

In terms of physical resources—let’s use a simple example from RPGs: gold. Over the course of the game, the player typically finds a lot of gold. Not only as battle rewards, but in chests, or from selling excess items. It’s not atypical for a player to accumulate more gold than he needs. Now, by the end of the game, I would say that this a good thing: the player feels accomplished—he feels infinitely wealthy, and that money is no object. At this stage in the game, money is a useless reward; if a player goes out of his way in the final dungeon for a chest that has a hundred gold in it, he feels cheated.

But the main point I want to make comes much earlier in the game. For the majority of the game, it’s not a good idea to give the player too much gold. If he has enough money to buy the best armor upgrades whenever he wants, and stock up on limitless potions, then money is meaningless. It’s a good feeling for the player to have in the endgame, but in the early and middle parts of the game, all it does is lessen the challenge. The real value of gold as a resource is that the player needs to manage it. If he has enough gold to buy everything he wants and more, then it’s a useless resource. All it does is waste his time when he goes to shops. However, if he has just enough to buy one or two pieces of equipment, but not enough for his entire party—he needs to think about how he’s going to plan for the next section of the game. He might always be able to grind for more gold, and in that case gold has a real value—he’s going to have to trade his time to get more of it. If he’s willing to make that trade, then he deserves to be able to buy the best equipment for his whole team. Giving the player that option is always a good idea, because it gives him the chance to get as much as he wants—or as little—out of the resource.

This is where it falls on the developer to carefully balance the cost of items in the game, and the amount of currency that the player has access to. Too much gold, with items that are inexpensive, and the game loses a significant amount of challenge. Too little gold, with items that require a lot of it, and the player will feel like he’s doing something wrong. Take the time, when playtesting your game, to note how much gold you have when you reach different areas. Make multiple playthroughs—sometimes intentionally skipping a chest of gold that some players might not find, and sometimes doing some extra grinding. Find an average.

Gold, as a resource, is completely useless to the player if there isn’t a good balance between cost and benefit. In this case, the cost isn’t the gold itself—it is what the player does to acquire the gold. The benefit is whatever the player spends the gold on. A player should be able to find a certain amount of gold “naturally”. In return for this amount, he gets the “expected” equipment and items when he reaches the next town. If the player has more gold, however, then he has the option of spending it in a way that gives him advantages going forward.

Gold’s an easy example, and probably one that you’ve thought about before. What about less obvious resources?

Pool Resources

I briefly mentioned “pool” resources when talking about physical resources. Unlike the kind of resource that you acquire and sell/convert, it’s a resource that you have which you use up. The easy example of a pool resource is MP (SP/FP/whatever) in RPGs. Each character has a pool of magic that they use in order to cast their spells. It works a little differently than gold or items, but keeping it balanced has the same idea: cost vs benefit.

Let’s look at the inventory system in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It’s a pool resource because you have a specific amount of inventory slots that you use. The more items you are carrying, the less open slots you have available. At some point in the game, you’re going to need to throw away some items.

It’s particularly interesting because, as your character levels up, you have the opportunity to expand the size of the inventory. At the beginning of the game, you have few inventory spaces, and it fills up quickly. When I play the game, expanding my inventory is my first priority when I level up. But that is optional: the player can instead upgrade something else when he levels up: maybe he wants increased health, or the ability to fall from heights without taking damage, or maybe he wants a cool cloaking ability (sure, in DXHR, levels are plentiful enough to unlock all of these things before the end of the game).

If you decide to spend your levels to access more inventory slots, you can carry more items (duh). It works well because, as you progress further into the game, you come across more items, and items that are heavier (they take up more space). Again, it’s a trade-off. The more powerful, cooler items require more inventory space than the smaller stuff, like handguns or medicine. If you want to hold all those sweet guns, you’re going to need to invest some levels into inventory expansion.

But even then, you can’t carry everything. And while I normally hate inventory limitations in games, it really serves a purpose in DXHR and actually makes the gameplay deeper. The reason for this is because your weapons and ammunition take up inventory space. You can’t carry every heavy weapon in the game—you simply don’t have enough room. You have to make a choice: do you really need that badass plasma rifle, if you have to leave behind the crossbow that you rely on for stealthy kills? Or, if you really want both, maybe you can drop the trusty sidearm and some medicine. Who needs that stuff when you have firepower, am I right?

Because one of the main selling points of the game is the way it allows—and even encourages—a variety of play styles, this type of decision-making enhances the gameplay. It’s done by forcing the player to really think about how he uses the resources he has available to him.

If DXHR had the same inventory management system, but didn’t include weapons and ammunition on the screen—forcing the player to spend time managing his medicine, powerups, and grenades, the system would have been horribly tedious and would have detracted from the gameplay. Instead, it compliments and enhances the gameplay by furthering the game’s themes of choice.

Invisible Resources

Like I said in the last article, the best example of an invisible resource is time, and in RPGs, that time usually amounts to turns.

I’ve talked about this in multiple articles before. Call me lazy if you want, but I like to think that I’m managing my own resource of time.

Here is the article where I go in-depth on the subject of the value of a turn: Read the section on status effects.

Making it Fun

At the beginning of this article, I said that one of the biggest problems with resource conversion is that it’s difficult to make it fun.

But this is a bigger subject than this article has space for. Looks like this one’s going to end up being a three-parter, after all.

See you next time, when we bring it all together and make resource management fun for the player.(source:finalbossblues)