Clutter Crawl

Clutter Items:

I created a Unreal Blueprint component to attach to any required models/actors to make them able to be picked up and thrown. This also defined the key stats of an item, the damage it did, the amount of times it could be thrown, and how heavy it was. 

Throwing/Pickup:

Created blueprints to enable the player to interact with each clutter item. Displaying the model in front of the player when picked up and launching it when thrown.

Inventory:

Created a system of internal arrays that the player can scroll through to select what item the want to throw. The current item and items next to the current index are. I wanted to keep the player in the game and not in a menu so I had the live scrolling be the only way to access their items.

Gates:

One of the last features to be implemented was the weight gates. Locked doors that could only be opened by imputing at least the amount of weight listed. Before this it felt like weight was only a punishment. These gates were a in theory a way to fix that, but I think that it really just fractured the game more. It split it into combat time, and search the room time. Ideally I would want the player to be doing both at the same time fighting while looting.

Level
In the same way that shooters consider ammo placement I needed to consider where I would place clutter and loot. Instead of just being set dressing or a stat increase the amount and type of clutter actively determines the difficulty of each section. Too much clutter and previous choices on what to keep a hold of stop mattering, too little and the level may become impossible or overly difficult. 

Pots were heavy but did high damage, defeating enemies in one throw. However they only had one use and would break after any throw. The weight chosen was enough so that the player could carry two at a time with a large penalty to their speed. I wanted this to create an interesting twist on dungeon crawler looting, where instead of picking up everything that isn't nailed down the player would have to consider what they wanted to keep and what to leave.  

This design was flawed. I had underestimated players natural hording instincts. Instead of a careful balance between weight, durability and damage, players stuffed their pockets until just the point of standstill. In my attempt to emulate the type of looting found in games like in the Elder Scrolls, I had also brought along that player behavior.

I think were I to try again with the concept I would like to bring in some deck-building elements. Using the inventory as a sort of deck the player would add and remove cards from. And instead of weight being an linear decrease in player speed, I think having it control how much of a resource it takes to throw might work better. By tying it more closely to what the player is actually doing, I think that will create a more interesting set of decisions for the player.