This weekend of all weekends, it only seems right to ask you about hoarding, although I don’t mean just getting stuff to have it to to the point that you need a second garage to hold it all. I mean saving stuff because you’re afraid to use it in case you need it later, like consumables.
Bethsoft’s Todd Howard (of Elder Scrolls and Fallout fame) is the reason for my question. He recently told Glixel that when designinging games, designers always make sure to give players “some powerful potions or whatever.”
“But they end up hoarding them. It’s kind of a joke in role-playing games. Everyone finishes the game with like, ‘The Potion of Ultimate Might’ that they never drank, because they’re always waiting for something worse to turn around the corner.”
Oh boy do I resemble this remark. Every single World of Warcraft expansion, I go through my bags to upgrade my consumables for all my toons, and I always have stacks and stacks of potions and buff food/drink that I never used in the last expansion. I was always waiting for a really difficult challenge before it was worth it to pop my really good stuff, and I guess it never came, which is such a waste. Does this happen to you? Do you hoard consumables for a rainy day that never arrives? How do you trick yourself to use it before you lose it?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
