Hunger dependent Stamina System

Hunger based stamina is a system in which the player stamina pool and stamina drain is dictated by the hunger and thirst of the player character. The components of this system are as follows:

Maximum Stamina is the maximum level of stamina the player can have at any point in the game.

Available Stamina is the amount the player's stamina can recover to. This value is affected by hunger and eating food.

Current Stamina is the live value of stamina the player character has. The value can range anywhere from 'zero' to Available Stamina. This value is affected by physically intensive work, such as combat. This value is affected by thirst and water (or other beverages).

Lost Stamina is the amount of the Available Stamina lost due to hunger. This can be regained by eating.

Hunger

Hunger is a constant factor affecting the players stamina. Think of it like how Radiation affects the player in a Fallout game, eating away at the health and reducing the max recoverable health until it is cured. Hunger will constantly drain the players stamina at a steady pace. It is unavoidable. Hunger has a very low rate of drain when the player is idle or is perform light tasks and increases when the player performs more stamina intensive tasks, for example, sprinting. The amount of stamina lost due to hunger will remain locked to the player until the player eats food. Eating food may partially or fully restore the Available Stamina.

Thirst

Thirst, like Hunger, is also a constant factor affecting the player stamina. However, Thirst affects the Current Stamina drain and regeneration instead of Available stamina. As time goes on, rate of thirst will increase. Rate of Thirst dictates how fast the Current Stamina will deplete when the player is performing physically intensive tasks.

Thirst regeneration is inversely proportional to the Available Stamina such that the time to regain stamina from 'zero' to Available Stamina (no matter the value of AS) will remain the same. For example, if Available Stamina is at 50 and it takes 10 seconds for the stamina to regenerate from 0 to 50, then it would still take 10 seconds if the Available Stamina was instead at 100. Such a regeneration system is seen in Arma 3, a military simulator, in which maximum stamina is dictated by the weight of the equipment the player is carrying but the time to regenerate to full always remains the same. Drinking water (or, depending on the game, coffee, energy drinks, other beverages, etc.) may reset the player thirst partially or fully and will also temporarily increase the stamina regeneration rate.

Purpose

This system combines the three statistics, Stamina, Hunger, and Thirst into one meter. Though Hunger and Thirst are invisible variables, their effects are clearly perceptible through their effect on the player's stamina. The purpose of this Stamina system would be more realistic in the way it behaves and to put an emphasis on player wellbeing. By having the player wellbeing directly affect their ability to perform tasks, the player may become more critical of their actions and begin to consider which of their actions are necessary and which they can do without. For example, the player may choose between sprinting and reaching a destination faster but consume more food along the way, or walk and take a longer time to reach their destination but save on food and water. I hope that with system, the player will be encourage to put more thought into their actions and add another layer to their plans and strategies.

Applications

Such a system may be suitable for survival and survival-sandbox genres, where the player has to manage their health and wellbeing along with resources necessary for survival. In games belonging to this genre, resources are few and far apart and the player will naturally want their resources to last as long as possible. This system will encourage them to do so and will also indirectly increase the perceived value of perishable resources like food and water. This system may also work for some simulators and military sandboxes, like Arma 3. A single mission in Arma 3 may take up to several hours to complete and such a stamina system in which the player is required to manage their rations during their missions may be an interesting addiction to their experience.

And that's all (I think)! Thank you for reading this post. I hope I have more like in the future.

:D