Design Effective Consumables

Issue with consumables

Consumables can be an effective currency sink when used by players to tackle difficult challenges. However, their nature as boost items may result in players saving them for emergency situations, like the final boss, leading to infrequent use.

This problem becomes worse if the game relies on microtransactions for revenue, as it leads to a loss of return on investment (ROI) for the feature.

Improve consumable item usage

There are many ways to solve this. One way to do this is to use psychology of lost instead of gain.

• This means that instead of using consumable items for a boost, players have to use them to prevent a loss of stats or abilities.
• This aligns with human psychology, as people are more motivated to fix things that are broken, especially things they use frequently.
• For example, a damaged sword may do 20% less damage. By repairing it, the player can remove the penalty.

Another method is to make consumable items solve challenges immediately instead of potential challenges

• By offering consumables that solve immediate problems, players are more likely to feel that their investment has been fully utilized and that the item has added value to their gaming experience.
• On the other hand, items that only offer a potential boost can be less desirable as there’s no guarantee that the player will actually need the boost or will be able to use it effectively.
• Example: A player loses the stage and uses a consumable for a second chance (immediately solves the problem), versus a boost item that can help the player beat the stage (uncertain if the player will actually need the boost).

Lastly it is also important to have strong motivation to complete the level/stage

• When players have a strong motivation to complete a level or stage, they are much more willing to spend resources on it.
• This can be due to many reasons, such as:
  • A huge reward (the resources spent are worth it)
  • A huge loss of resources if they fail (e.g. their character dies permanently)
  • Social pressure (e.g. wanting to overtake friends or be the best on the leaderboard)
  • Time limitations (e.g. the stage only has one try or must be beaten within an hour)

Be mindful of player experience

Like all game features, it is important to always consider the player experience when increasing consumable item usage. While some pressure or challenges can make the game more enjoyable, having too much can become frustrating for players.

Some signs of frustration would include:

• Players feeling starved of resources (e.g. not having enough to repair equipment)
• Players feeling like they’ve hit a paywall (e.g. unable to beat a stage without using a consumable item)
• Players feeling that the game is unfair (especially in PVP games).

If your game is already live and you want to implement these improvements, be sure to have clear communication with the players. Players are already used to existing features, and making changes can anger the community if they feel that they are losing out.

This actually happened to Ghost Recon Phantom, a project I worked on, when we removed armor consumables and introduced armor repair. Players felt that we had added a penalty (armor repair), while not providing any benefits to them. In reality, the broken armor (without repair) had the same stats as the armor without any consumables in the previous version. We should have communicated this better and caused less stress for our community managers. Regardless, it was a huge success, as armor repair was the best currency sink in the game, compared to armor consumables, which were hardly ever used by any players.

Summary

• The main challenge with consumable items is a lack of usage
• Solutions
  • Turn it into a service model.
  • Make sure it solves challenges immediately instead of potential challenges.
  • Have a strong motivation to beat or complete the stage or level with the help of consumable items.
• Always consider the player’s experience when implementing these solutions.