Misc items, mini-games/ item interactions, stress/boredom, happiness, sanity, cleanliness...

[Astralite]

Maybe this could be a mod if it doesn't make it into the base game, but I think it'd be REALLY cool to have certain objects contain mini-games that you could use to help with boredom.

Modding is done with Lua, the same language used to make World of Warcraft addons, so I figure it can't be that hard to create new UIs and program these in. Some examples

The Rubik's Cube
> "shuffle sides" - this alone could relieve a little boredom but wear out and have a chance of not working. Maybe you don't know how to solve the cube and just having a small cube full of colored squares is enough to keep you busy.
> "attempt to solve" - this could open up an interface with a cube to solve...just like a puzzle cube app on your phone. This would be in real-time, and would simulate a person spending hours trying to figure this thing out. In lieu of an actual mini-game interface (as that would simply put the advantage for the player that knows how to solve a cube. I can do it in less than 2 minutes now). Perhaps this is something that your character would just become better at. Using "attempt to solve" the first time would last a bit (like reading a book), and maybe like books have pages, you'd have a scale of how solved the cube was, like a "solved" bar. Which would go up or down depending on how much time the character has worked on it.

In other words. You find the cube. It has a random amount of solved bar. Someone has either worked on it before, or it's already solved, in which case you'd shuffle first. You get bored. You click > "attempt to solve". The cube would have a bar go across, then it's solved state would be randomized. The higher you get the number, the higher your random happy boost would be. Solve it and you'd get a buff that states you're proud of yourself and you'd have a happy bonus for a while. Waiting for food to cook would be a good time to play with the cube.

Playing Cards
Solitaire, should be easy enough to put in-game. What more can I say? It would pass the time. You'd need to be by a table or a desk, you'd play, leave the cards there for later to continue the game. Once placed (I guess tabletops would have to become sort of a container, like the floor), the Solitaire item would have a number like pages in a book. It would start at 0 and go up to 52 (cards placed in the piles at top). Wouldn't need an interface to play, like the Rubik's cube it go either way. Actual real-time play in a UI or just progress for the Solitaire. As you get closer to the end, you'd have a random chance to screw it up (run out of cards to play) and lose half the bonus to -boredom and you might become frustrated. So, it'd be a gamble, but fun. If you were reaching the end, and decided to scrap the game, or you had to pick up the cards to relocate you'd maybe get -10 happiness from having to start over. Eat some chocolate, you'll be fine. (Then brush your teeth, read below)

Dice
Pretty obvious, "Roll" creates random numbers in chat/on screen. Would clear a little bit of boredom (You might need to roll a lot of times). Maybe you keep rolling until you get doubles. Maybe this would eventually get boring to do and wouldn't work for a while (like the "nutrition" bar would go up and down. It would go stale like food and then regenerate).

I'm not saying the game should be full of mini-games, but it's just something minor that you *might* find an item you could use to help with boredom. It would remain a completely optional thing.


BlockToys
First, these need to made into a trap item. You lay them on the ground in front of a door (no one ever sees the Legos) and anyone walking into the doorway can't walk right for a while (even if they're wearing shoes), and will shout (like the Q key, only "#$@&%*!" on screen) and they attract zombies to them (that they'll have a hard time running away from now)...stupid kids and their Legos...err, block toys.

I also think should be able to use these on a table and attempt to build the set to help with boredom and relieve stress. This would be most useful in a place you've made a home in. Just as you finish reading a book, this would have maybe a number of pieces put together and you could finish the set over multiple attempts. You'd also have the option to disassemble the pieces again and take it with you when you leave.

The different BlockToys you find could be of random sets. Just some variety to the minor items that will help save your sanity in the post-human era. You might find "BlockToys - House", or "BlockToys - Police Station", "BlockToys - Spaceship". And these would be the model of the items that are being formed on your table as you make them. So once you finish, you'd have a cool little spaceship on your table, you'd get your "Proud" buff and be happy you finished something. Part of your play could be trying to collect sets. This could be fun for multiplayer servers where you could trade with other players to collect sets of things.

Dolls/Stuffed Animals (Spiffo!), Action Figures.
Yeah, we're adults, but an adult left on their own would still need to entertain themselves. Collecting multiple action figures could help with boredom if you had certain types (collect a good guy figure and a bad guy figure) and let you "play" out little scenarios. I think of it like an adult in Sims sitting on the floor "playing" with the doll house. The bigger the variety of scenarios (and the bigger your collection), the happier you can be. A player mini-game could be having an action figure collection. Maybe you're happier when you're near it. Maybe if you put them on shelves, they can be on display and you'll be happier just being in that room. Like the Sims game where characters are happier in a room with art on the wall and plants. In multiplayer, an option could be to play with toys with others. Yeah, again, we're adults, but there is no one around to judge. One player has a good guy action figure, another player has a bad guy. You now have the option of clicking on your action figure when you're close enough to that other player and giving them the option to play back. You both fix boredom, fight stress, share some happiness. Let's say the more action figures each person has the better. They can make trades. It's silly when you think about it. But it's something, right? Society has crumbled, everything's free. You can now go collect action and toys from houses and it's just something else to do along with trying to survive. There could also be board games, puzzles, maybe found in dressers in children's rooms (ya know, the ones with bunk beds and stuff) or on the floor. Toy Collector could actually be a trait or hobby, with these activities being bonus uses for such items.
Dolls and stuffed animals could help a person sleep if equipped in the primary, secondary or double bonus for both. Again, yes we're adults, but studies have shown that "cuddling" before bedtime releases a chemical in your brain that helps you relax. This is why you give a child a stuffed animal at naptime. It works. And being this is the post-apocalpse (or at least the first 2 weeks before it), social acceptance is certain habits are out the window. Adults will do what they want and need to do to get by (I'm an insomniac and I've found that having a soft, stuffed animal, gripped in my hand, or against my face actually helps a LOT in getting to sleep). Maybe having a stuffed animal (or 2) equipped when sleeping could negate half the debuff for someone with the insomniac trait. You should be able to hug the Spiffo plush for a happiness (eventually having to wash him).
Maybe if a person survives long enough on their own (after a week or so?) becoming panicked/bored/stressed would give them them the option to "talk" to their stuffed animal or doll. This would relieve stress but remove sanity (you'd get stressed more often and panic more) and eventually, with too many uses, the doll would start talking back (like whispers of the Old Gods.."You will die", "Your friends are all gone", "When do we eat?")....which would increase stress at random times and eventually you'd start yelling at your doll to shut up at random times and it would become harder to stay quiet and not attract zombies. At some point in your insanity you'd be incapable of parting with the doll (could not drop it, but putting it inside a bag might lower the volume of it talking to you.) In this line of logic, you could also use Glue + Socks + Buttons to make a sock puppet you could talk to. Or Glue + Socks + Buttons + Lipstick to...umm...make a girlfriend? We're talking crazy here, but it could be fun. Maybe "she" would talk to you and make you find her stuff. "I need new shoes", "You don't have feet!" "HELLO, I'm a sock" "Oh right...."...sure, she's a PITA, but she's someone to talk to...once the TV is gone...Maybe putting the girlfriend sock on your hand makes you better at making sandwiches? jk, but only sort of.
("I know HE's crazy, but dangit, SHE makes good sandwiches")

[Astralite]

I play a burglar and I found a necklace, locket and 2 wedding rings. I think someone with that profession (or maybe there'd be a trait for someone likes expensive things) should be happy to find something like that. And perhaps have a slower happiness drain for having said items in their inventory (or better yet, worn). A burglar finding a wallet on a zombie, even though money doesn't mean anything anymore (unless that's somehow added for MP server economy), it's very early in the apocalypse and money is still on our minds. Getting it still feels good (even if it's taken off a dead man).

My burglar was also illiterate (you need some disadvantages just to afford to be a burglar with their skillset), and I thought that I should at least be able to look at pictures in magazines to get half the bonus against boredom. So, basically an illiterate survivor would be on the lookout to collect a stack of magazines to "look at pictures" later. Perhaps there'd be another type of book that has pictures they could use, again to a lesser extent. An illiterate person would still find it worth their time to search the shelves of the library in the school to find picture books and magazines. And maybe there is eventually some way they could learn to read. I know it's not expected that players last too long so it would be very hard to do on your own (but still a good challenge, right?), but with other players on the server maybe someone with an Educator profession or trait could teach a person to read (it might be a very good way for 2 people to interact together...), or simply help them use skill books. It would take twice as long to read with their help, but they could eventually get through them (better if the person has Fast Learner). Just another thing to pass the time. "What should we do?" "Work on my reading?" "Okay, get out your picture book". Few hours every night, couple weeks later (if they live that long), Bill Johnson knows how to read enough to get through Beginner skill books, and has a 80% chance of being able to read a normal book or a newspaper. He gets full benefit from magazines. Things a reader takes for granted, but for someone playing an initially-illiterate character, this could be a big achievement. When multiplayer servers get bigger and we have 50+ random people on there, it could be like a mission to find a player or NPC to teach them to read. It's a skill that could keep them alive.

TV
TVs should work, for a least the first couple days, or maybe the first week. If someone wants to play someone who will sit in front a TV (building up 0 stress, 0 boredom, happiness doesn't go down, hunger does go up faster because of commercials) instead of go scavenging, it should be an option. Maybe hearing zombies outside could break your "concentration" and you'd lose the stress/boredom/happiness mod for a while. It could work just like the Sims. Turn on the TV. Turn the volume down probably (don't want to attract zombies). Watch a cooking show maybe to replace reading a book. Or a gardening show. Fishing channel. Action movies could raise fighting skills (kind of like obtaining the Defense Classes trait after character creation. It would take wasting a lot of time watching, though). Maybe watching romance channel would bring out feelings that would make you want to find someone to spend the end of the world with, and your ability to pay attention would increase outside as you're on the lookout for another survivor (guy or girl, at this point, why be picky?).
Once the TVs stop working, perhaps using a Crowbar on them removes parts we might be able to use. Maybe we can take all the screws out and leave a pile of junk on the floor. It could work! A person with "Tech Wiz" could have special recipes for neat gadgets using different parts of different objects. They could remove the cord, and use multiple cords together to use as a rope or even an extension cord (for generators and such that you'd want to leave an in area you aren't in and still use, just in case zombies are attracted to the sound)


Music
*Radio would come with an internal battery. This would be a it's "freshness". Listening to music would stop boredom, but possibly attract zombies. But that could also be used as a lure device. You'd sneak over to one area, put the radio down, turn it on, turn it up and it'd have the same effect as setting off a house alarm. Eventually the battery would die and you'd have to replace it. Maybe if left on the floor or a table near a wall (> charge) while there's still electricity would keep it fresh and possibly recharge it. Later on you could attach it to a generator so you always have tunes.
*Radio + Battery would give power to the radio.
Eventually radio stations wouldn't work anymore and the radio would just be static. Still a decent lure for Zombies (but maybe they have a chance of breaking it if they get to it)
*Radio + CD = Radio with CD
This, as long as the batteries still worked would give you a device you could leave on (even in inventory, but you'd be using extra action time to go through bags and turn it off or down), which could be placed and clear boredom, make you a little happy. Maybe you could dance or a lot of players could in the same room. This would be a good reason to add extra music tracks to the game. Find and collect different CDs, like music discs in Minecraft.
*Radio + CD + Headphones or Earbugs = Radio with Headphones
This would create maybe 2 items? Headpones attached to radio/CD player and Radio attached to headphones/earbuds/speakers. The Radio would be either equipped in either hand or kept in bag (which would take longer to adjust settings if not equipped). The headphones would he "worn", and remove boredom, make you happier, but also make you have properties of the "deaf" trait. You would no longer hear zombies or windows shattering and blissfully be unaware of any outside a smaller range of view (they'd disappear to your left and right). But you'd be happy with your music, and that's really what's important, right? Music Lover could be a good trait. Maybe that would remove some of the field of view loss and let you work BETTER with music in your ears, and be more alert. And read books faster (studying with certain types of music discs would help).
Constant use of the radio would of course drain the batteries (Which should be saved for better things, right?) and you'd be a constant quest to find more.

Razors, teeth, and self maintenance.
Soap, Razors, Toothpaste/brush. These are probably already planned for some point, but would still be a good thing to program in uses for. I start out with a beard, eventually I should want to shave. Eventually I'd need a new razor. Eventually my beard would grow back again. If I have hair, I could shave it off to stay cooler in the summer. (Sock Puppet + Hair/Beard clippings = Awesome Sockpuppet with Hair/Beard). Let your beard grow out to stay warmer in winter (yeah, I've played Don't Starve)
After killing 10+ zombies (With melee, worse with short range blades and more blood), perhaps a person becomes disgusted and needs to use soap to clean their hands (and can't cook until they do or they might produce contaminated food, also a kitchen knife used to gouge out a zombies eye should have to be cleaned with water then disinfected to be usable on food again). It'll only get worse the longer it takes them to get to water and soap and clean themselves off. Optionally they could wipe their hands with a dish/bath towel, which would then become contaminated and thrown away or properly cleaned to be used again. Unless the towel/rag was first covered in disifectant, the hands would still be dirty (just slow the time before they'd freak out from still being dirty).
Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables? Good for you. Drink a lof of pop, orange soda, cake, chocolate, and other awesome things? Should probably brush your teeth. The town's dentist was bitten yesterday and he can't see you now (he still wants to, but it's not your teeth he wants to see). Eventually, if not kept clean, your teeth might ache from eating those stress-relieving goodies. Find a toothbrush, disinfect it, get some toothpaste (Which will run out), wash those toothies. Then you can drink more pop. Fight zombies, but also fight cavities. Have you seen Cast Away? He had a toothache and it only got worse without help for it...I think he eventually did the operation himself. That could be an option eventually if you don't find tooth brushes/paste to keep your teeth healthy. Teeth would show on the health bar if you eat/drink too many sweets. You'd either need to rinse your mouth (using up precious water) after drinking or eating sweets, or brush often to keep them from showing up. You'd have to just watch yourself (paying attention to how much chocolate you eat, how many sodas you have, etc). The only sign that your teeth were getting bad is a toothache would show in the health screen. No immediate fix but perhaps you could pour water in a cup, add salt and gargle that. Then brush every day (This sounds like some kind PSA but tooth care will still be important, even moreso in the apocalypse. No more dentists. You'll be going for a quick fix more often than you think. You won't always be able to eat healthy). "Bad Teeth" would make a great negative trait. Worth at least 4 points. Eating sweets gives you a tooth ache more often than not. Someone with bad teeth would have to eat healthy and keep them clean more than someone with "Good Teeth" (which would have it's own bonuses, like lasting longer now that there aren't any dentists, you'd of course start with a tooth brush and toothpaste in your starting house. In the bathroom, of course). You also be happy after brushing your teeth (someone with bad teeth might be less happy). Someone with bad teeth would have a harder time as the days went on without dentists (unless you found a living NPC with that profession), and eventually, would take longer to eat things because they'd be removing their own teeth, or live with a constant "Tooth Ache" (Your mouth hurts.) debuff. Maybe you could save the teeth and make a necklace.

I think you should be able to take a bath (so many good ideas come from the Sims). For the first couple weeks, as long as the water is running (and it can still get hot), you should be able to fill a bath with water from the tap. This would be a good survival plan, too...filling all the bathtubs in the neighborhood with water (you'd need something to plug them, of course) so you have supplies later. The water would eventually get stale if left too long, and would have to be purified if you wanted to use it for drinking. Basically it'd be just like cleaning river water in the newest update. And then eventually after the water stopped, you could fill the bathtub using 6 buckets of water (maybe more?). Add soap to the bath, get your rubber ducky ready, and relax in the bath (which is hopefully hot because you boiled the water first, on a campfire if needed), maybe add in some books to read (you'd be so relaxed you'd be able to read skill books twice as fast). You should sleep VERY well after this bath, wake up happy and alert and have a much easier time the next day (or this day if you take a bath in the morning). People on multiplayer servers could actually work together on this. Taking turns filling the bath with hot water, maybe it would be okay for 2-3 people to take a (not at the same time!) in a row before it's dirty and needs to be changed. Less preperation would be required in the first weeks when water's still running as you could split up and look for houses with showers and use them and return to your base (if you're not lucky to have on in your house already). Don't forget that you'd have to drop all your stuff on the ground, unless you put it in a container, so you might want to put a lock on that door if you're playing with friends, because if someone came in and started taking your stuff and you jumped out of the bathtub, you'd be embarrassed, angry and maybe a little cold. Remember to have plenty of dry bath towels on hand, because you'll want to dry as a soon as possible (especially when homes stop having heat and temperature means more even indoors). See drying towels below.

We are surviving in a harsh new world, but that doesn't mean some people wouldn't want to still keep clean. And a "neat freak" (can't be happy in a room that has splattered zombie blood or corpses, is actually happier after bleaching the blood out even if they're not going to stay in the room, is happier when corpses are placed in garbage bags and left by the trash that will no longer be picked up...out of sight, out of mind) might want to take a shower more often, and bowls that are used for soup wouldn't go back to being just bowls, but "dirty bowl" that needs to be cleaned with water (sooner the better, as the soup gets crusted on and it'll take longer to clean as you leave them dirty. Same would go with pots, pans, and bottles (they'd want to clean an empty whiskey/soda bottle before using it for water). Maybe as a complication of being a Neat Freak (which would now be worth -6 points) would be that certain items in your inventory would start highlighting green (like red for hot, blue for cold) when they are in bags with certain other items (it'd be pretty complicated). A neat freak might want to store all their cooking containers and utensils in one container and away from food and Someone with the "Slob" trait would just throw the bowls away and find more...or eat out of them anyway.

I keep finding houses with laundry rooms. While there's still electricity we should at least be able to dry towels and clothes in the dryer (and if we have soap, wash them in the washer). Perhaps the longer a person is exerting too much energy and sweating (being overweight in body or bags) clothing should eventually become dirty. The smell of dirty clothes might attract zombies from farther away (maybe deoderant could help as well). You would eventually need to change clothes (collecting them as you find them or washing clothes you take off Zombies). After electricity is gone, you can wash the clothes in different containers. The time it would take would depend on the container. A bathtub full of water might wash a bag full of clothes faster than a cooking pot. Hot water would also increase the speed, and adding soap would make them cleaner and last longer. You could also wash them in water taken from the river, but they might get dirtier faster (or you could risk them randomly becoming contaminated unless you cleaned the water first) and you could get infested with bugs or something.

Also, I want a dog...I keep hearing them, I find dog houses, and I just need a reason to stop eating dog food.

That's enough for now...I'll have more suggestions after I play more..

[Edible Eyebrows]

I like all this, but one thing that rang out to me was playing cards, got me thinking of New Vegas.

Imagine being able to play card games against other survivors in game, then imagine survivors betting food or bullets on the outcome of games to pass the time. want want want.

EDIT: there needs to be a 'cheat' skill.

[segmentation fault]

Yes. I also thought about ability to play cards with your friends. For example, there is money in game, and you can use this money to make bets in poker for example.

I think it would be a good idea.