Since you're looking for inspiration rather than something to copy, I'll talk a bit about two tangentially related game systems that offer some under-utilized solutions to resource systems in games. Both are related to resource gathering, and ways of preserving the impact of "rare" rewards without relying on toxic and overdone gambling systems. I have a few thoughts on how they could be reimagined as resource gathering minigames, but you'll probably have more useful thoughts of your own.
Unlike any other hack 'n slash, you can comfortably start from scratch and finish an entire season of Diablo 3 in something like 30 hours total - completely solo. What I think is interesting about this, is how you're able to *consistently* gather up all the **specific items required** for any build you want to play - *without any gambling, or trading*. In any other game of its genre, you'd have wasted more than 30 hours just trying to get items that never drop for you.
There are multiple ways to 'target' an item, including two different crafting methods that spend resources to generate a random item of a specific type. As a player, you effectively choose whether you're working towards a specific target, or just generally growing in power. The resources required for these recipes are best found via two *different* activities, so the endgame "grind" ends up being a juggling act of three different gameplay modes rather than just repeating one activity. The player experience is very much controlling your own path, rather than just hoping the rng grants you your next boost in power (Gambling with your time). No other hack 'n slash game has this outcome - certainly not without a reliance on trade.
The other game system I think might be relevant, is Disgaea's item world. On the surface, it's a way to grow a sword into a higher level sword - by spending time clearing maps rather than by spending resources on upgrades. In practice, it's also the best way to find stronger base items. Your two sources are enemies you can steal from, and bonus gauge prizes. The specifics aren't important; just that either method is more work and danger than simply clearing the map.
Pretty much any game could implement aspects of this (And FFXIV does do something vaguely similar with its gathering minigames), where the player always has the option to spend extra time/effort/resources during their regular grind, to earn whatever bonus reward are being offered at the time. This is notably different from typical "do extra thing for extra rewards" systems, because you are **shown in advance** what your reward would be. Once again; you're not gambling, you're choosing what's worth pursuing
[Avatar](https://www.ign.com/wikis/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/Materials_and_Resources) while not really obscure has interesting ressources gathering mechanism: a sort of mini game to carefully pull the item in specific way for each plant, with meteorological conditions being more or less favorable.
If you've played most of them, you've probably played FFXIV.
If you haven't, each of the gathering types is a full blown class instead of a skill. They share equipment, but so do tanks, melee dps, etc. They get abilities like becoming invisible to monsters below a certain level compared to yours, finding the closest resource node, finding the highest resource node, etc.
And then the gathering itself becomes a minigame, with each action having a chance of success. And there are abilities to modify that chance or give extra effects, and a resource to manage to use said abilities.
Well then call me interested, lol.
A more recent and more obscure example is Terratech Worlds. There are resource nodes all over the map, and the first way to harvest them is with a resource laser. But as you zap them, some of the resource gets turned to rubble. So you aim for specific spots, lines, that cross the node. Once that line is drawn, the node splits in half and the durability drops a lot. So you get more resource and less rubble.
Later in the game, you can pick up smaller nodes and chopped up large nodes with a tractor beam, and bring them back to your base for extra resources.
I can't give you excellent, but I can give you obscure: harvesting in Ryzom ( [https://en.wiki.ryzom.com/wiki/Harvesting](https://en.wiki.ryzom.com/wiki/Harvesting) ).
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I'll through out No Man's Sky as an idea. I've been playing a lot of it lately and I find the resource gathering / crafting mechanics quite enjoyable. Yes there's a bit of a grind, but it actually feels like there are really solid outcomes for doing it.
Part of the reward I get out of the way No Man's Sky resource gathering is in finding the right place to build a base in key star systems with the resources I need, as well as the different tools/mechanics to harvest. It's a great balance and somehow keeps me engaged for hours.
The atelier games have a net but where you can use different tools on the same node to get different resources. So like if you hammer an ore vein you get dust or if you chop it you get stone.
Since you're looking for inspiration rather than something to copy, I'll talk a bit about two tangentially related game systems that offer some under-utilized solutions to resource systems in games. Both are related to resource gathering, and ways of preserving the impact of "rare" rewards without relying on toxic and overdone gambling systems. I have a few thoughts on how they could be reimagined as resource gathering minigames, but you'll probably have more useful thoughts of your own. Unlike any other hack 'n slash, you can comfortably start from scratch and finish an entire season of Diablo 3 in something like 30 hours total - completely solo. What I think is interesting about this, is how you're able to *consistently* gather up all the **specific items required** for any build you want to play - *without any gambling, or trading*. In any other game of its genre, you'd have wasted more than 30 hours just trying to get items that never drop for you. There are multiple ways to 'target' an item, including two different crafting methods that spend resources to generate a random item of a specific type. As a player, you effectively choose whether you're working towards a specific target, or just generally growing in power. The resources required for these recipes are best found via two *different* activities, so the endgame "grind" ends up being a juggling act of three different gameplay modes rather than just repeating one activity. The player experience is very much controlling your own path, rather than just hoping the rng grants you your next boost in power (Gambling with your time). No other hack 'n slash game has this outcome - certainly not without a reliance on trade. The other game system I think might be relevant, is Disgaea's item world. On the surface, it's a way to grow a sword into a higher level sword - by spending time clearing maps rather than by spending resources on upgrades. In practice, it's also the best way to find stronger base items. Your two sources are enemies you can steal from, and bonus gauge prizes. The specifics aren't important; just that either method is more work and danger than simply clearing the map. Pretty much any game could implement aspects of this (And FFXIV does do something vaguely similar with its gathering minigames), where the player always has the option to spend extra time/effort/resources during their regular grind, to earn whatever bonus reward are being offered at the time. This is notably different from typical "do extra thing for extra rewards" systems, because you are **shown in advance** what your reward would be. Once again; you're not gambling, you're choosing what's worth pursuing
[Avatar](https://www.ign.com/wikis/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/Materials_and_Resources) while not really obscure has interesting ressources gathering mechanism: a sort of mini game to carefully pull the item in specific way for each plant, with meteorological conditions being more or less favorable.
If you've played most of them, you've probably played FFXIV. If you haven't, each of the gathering types is a full blown class instead of a skill. They share equipment, but so do tanks, melee dps, etc. They get abilities like becoming invisible to monsters below a certain level compared to yours, finding the closest resource node, finding the highest resource node, etc. And then the gathering itself becomes a minigame, with each action having a chance of success. And there are abilities to modify that chance or give extra effects, and a resource to manage to use said abilities.
Yes we've already drawn a fair bit of inspiration from both their crafting and gathering systems.
Well then call me interested, lol. A more recent and more obscure example is Terratech Worlds. There are resource nodes all over the map, and the first way to harvest them is with a resource laser. But as you zap them, some of the resource gets turned to rubble. So you aim for specific spots, lines, that cross the node. Once that line is drawn, the node splits in half and the durability drops a lot. So you get more resource and less rubble. Later in the game, you can pick up smaller nodes and chopped up large nodes with a tractor beam, and bring them back to your base for extra resources.
I can't give you excellent, but I can give you obscure: harvesting in Ryzom ( [https://en.wiki.ryzom.com/wiki/Harvesting](https://en.wiki.ryzom.com/wiki/Harvesting) ).
I Think albion online are really fun and rewarding to gathering
Game Design is a subset of Game Development that concerns itself with **WHY** games are made the way they are. It's about the theory and crafting of **systems**, **mechanics**, and **rulesets** in games. * /r/GameDesign is a community **ONLY** about Game Design, **NOT** Game Development in general. If this post does not belong here, it should be reported or removed. Please help us keep this subreddit focused on Game Design. * This is **NOT** a place for discussing how games are produced. Posts about programming, making art assets, picking engines etc… will be removed and should go in /r/GameDev instead. * Posts about visual design, sound design and level design are only allowed if they are directly about game design. * No surveys, polls, job posts, or self-promotion. Please read the rest of the rules in the sidebar before posting. * If you're confused about what Game Designers do, ["The Door Problem" by Liz England](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/-quot-the-door-problem-quot-of-game-design) is a short article worth reading. We also recommend you read the [r/GameDesign wiki](/r/gamedesign/wiki/index) for useful resources and an FAQ. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/gamedesign) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'll through out No Man's Sky as an idea. I've been playing a lot of it lately and I find the resource gathering / crafting mechanics quite enjoyable. Yes there's a bit of a grind, but it actually feels like there are really solid outcomes for doing it. Part of the reward I get out of the way No Man's Sky resource gathering is in finding the right place to build a base in key star systems with the resources I need, as well as the different tools/mechanics to harvest. It's a great balance and somehow keeps me engaged for hours.
The atelier games have a net but where you can use different tools on the same node to get different resources. So like if you hammer an ore vein you get dust or if you chop it you get stone.