Energy
Each failed roll should bank a little luck, and luck should be spent only as needed
In a story with dice-style checks a run of bad rolls makes players quit, and a luck pool that is emptied on the first win wastes what they saved. Here is how failure builds a cushion, how much of it a win really costs and why a disaster stays a disaster.
The same scare should frighten less every time, while a new one still hits hard
If every jump scare adds the same fear, the fifth door slam is as strong as the first and the bar fills in seconds. Here is how fear can wear off per kind of scare, come back after rest and still reach its ceiling.
A dying flashlight should flicker in a pattern, not blink randomly every frame
Players expect the light to stutter before it dies, but a random blink on every frame looks like a glitch and changes with the computer's speed. Here is how to make the flicker readable, tied to the battery, and costing power only when the light is really on.
When the generator runs low on fuel, lights should go out in a sensible order
A base with one generator and many things plugged in either dies all at once or flickers as random devices switch off. Here is how to decide what stays on, how a nearly empty tank weakens the power, and how long the rest will last.
Hallucinations that switch on and off at the edge of a sanity level, again and again
When sanity hovers around a threshold, whispers and visions flicker in and out with every tiny change, which looks broken and wears out the effect. Here is how to give each stage a different way in and way out, and what happens on a big jump.
A heartbeat that speeds up with fear should not skip or double a beat
When fear rises, the heartbeat sound should quicken smoothly. A simple timer that restarts with each new speed stutters, drops beats or plays two at once. Here is the way to keep it steady and make the speed follow the fear without jumping.
Hints that recharge only while the player is really playing, not while away
A hint that returns on a timer is refilled by leaving the game open overnight, and one that counts only wall time punishes players who think. Here is how to measure real attention, what counts as idle, and why a full store should not bank progress.
Holding your breath while hiding must end in one gasp, not a dozen
Hiding from a monster by holding your breath is tense until the bar hits empty and the game spams gasps or lets you hold again at once. Here is how the breath runs out, how long the player stays winded, and why a longer pause matters.
A pacing director that builds tension, peaks and then really lets the player rest
Constant fear numbs, and a break that ends the moment the numbers dip feels like a trick. Here is how to run the dread in waves, with a calm that lasts at least a minimum time, and when the game is allowed to throw something at the player.
A suspect who answers a few questions, then clams up for a while
Questioning a witness over and over until they crack is too easy, and a witness who simply answers everything is dull. Here is how patience runs down faster on a topic you keep pressing, what happens when it is gone and how the conversation reopens.
Refilling a lantern from half-empty oil flasks without wasting a drop
Players collect flasks with odd amounts and the lantern holds only so much. Naive code either throws the overflow away, takes a whole flask for a sip, or refuses to pour at all. Here is how to pour so that nothing is lost and the pack stays tidy.
Affection split between rivals: one rises, the others fall, and the total stays 100
In a story where a character can only love one person fully, giving to one should take from the others fairly. Rounding quickly breaks it, and the shares add up to 99 or 101. Here is how to shift shares with whole numbers that always sum to 100.