Energy Economy
Energy is the core currency connecting plant care to creature growth and gameplay rewards. The economy is designed to reward consistent stewardship without punitive scarcity.
Energy Sources
| Source | Energy Earned |
|---|---|
| Plant care (base) | +4 |
| Plant care (streak 3+ days) | +6 total |
| Game win | +8 |
| Game draw | +4 |
| Game loss | +2 |
Energy Costs
| Action | Energy Spent |
|---|---|
| Nurture creature | -2 to -3 |
| Evolve creature | -10 |
Creature Bonuses
Creature element and stage affect game reward payouts:
| Element | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Fire | Boosts win payouts |
| Water | Boosts draw payouts |
| Earth | Boosts loss recovery |
Higher creature stage and stats provide additional initiative bonuses in gameplay.
Display
Energy is prominently displayed in the Deck view as a header pill with a sun icon, "ENERGY" label, and count.
Error Handling
When a player attempts to spend more energy than available (e.g., nurturing with insufficient energy), the UI shows a red "Not enough energy" banner.
Design Philosophy
The economy follows Octalysis white-hat motivation:
- Rewards are always positive (even losses give +2)
- Streaks decay softly (miss 1 day = -1, not full reset)
- No punitive mechanics or hard gates
- Energy is always earnable through care, never purchasable
Key Files
src/data/economy.ts- Energy costs/rewards tablesrc/hooks/plants/usePlantCare.ts- Care reward calculationsrc/machines/gameSessionMachine.ts- Game reward calculation with creature bonuses