Air-Limited Harvesting
Every breath is a countdown; one more pickup is one step farther from the surface.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- Design focus
- Risk · Time · Planning
No.054Subnautica01The core loop
Action → feedback → next choice- 01Dive with full air
- 02Gather while watching air
- 03Decide when to turn back
- 04Surface, refill, repeat
↻Feedback changes the situation — the next round starts from there.
Walk through one round
A simplified design example. Situations and numbers illustrate the mechanic, not exact rules from a reference game.
- T1
Turn 1 · The situation
45 seconds of air left, 30 needed to surface, and a rare ore sits 10 m away.
- T2
Turn 2 · The player chooses
Estimating 12 seconds for the detour and mining, the player goes for it.
- T3
Turn 3 · The feedback
With 31 seconds left, alarms beep and the screen edges darken.
- T4
Turn 4 · The next decision
They surface just in time and resolve to upgrade the tank next.
How it plays
Air drains constantly, deeper dives mean longer trips back, and running out costs health or haul. Players trade gathering efficiency against a safety margin; bigger tanks, air pockets and outposts extend their range.
What the player weighs
- Grab one more vs. keep enough air to return
- Explore new water vs. harvest known spots safely
02Start small
Scope is an editorial estimate for the minimum prototype, not the reference game or a production schedule.
03One mechanic, different implementations
Subnautica
Air is the key early constraint; bigger tanks, seabases and vehicles extend your stay and gradually open the deep zones.
DAVE THE DIVER
Oxygen doubles as health, so attacks drain it directly; together with a weight limit, every dive is a decision about what to bring back.
The difference worth noticing
Subnautica uses air as an exploration radius; Dave the Diver merges air and health so combat also burns time.
Case notes are Yoroll editorial summaries; rules may change between versions.
04What could you combine?
Add timed delivery contracts: orders have deadlines while air caps each dive's haul, so players plan how many dives meet the deadline.
Prototype this combo in Yoroll→Follow the next idea
Dig to the Right Depth
The ore you want lives at a certain depth, so you have to get there.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Choose a target resource
- 02Descend to its layer
- 03Mine and face danger
- 04Save a shortcut, return
Quotas and When to Quit
Hit the quota and you can leave; stay longer for more, at more risk.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Take a quota
- 02Gather toward it
- 03Decide to stay or go
- 04Settle rewards and risks
Regrowing Forage Rounds
Resources grow back over time, so smart players plan a timed circuit.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Harvest regrowing nodes
- 02Note regrowth timers
- 03Plan a circuit
- 04Return on schedule