---
key: mechanic/engagement-retention--family-16
type: mechanic
id: engagement-retention--family-16
lang: en
title: 'Losses, preserving progress and invested effort'
summary: >-
Potential progress loss and past effort can influence continued play. Past
investment does not automatically make future costs worthwhile.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: >-
https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/engagement-retention--family-16/
jsonUrl: >-
https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/engagement-retention--family-16.json
markdownUrl: >-
https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/engagement-retention--family-16.md
aliases:
- Losses and invested effort
tags:
- 'Engagement, retention and addictive patterns'
- Mechanics catalog
sourceIds:
- source-0ed470ae2568cc02
- source-7f09c8a736762f4f
sources:
- id: source-0ed470ae2568cc02
title: King and Delfabbro
url: 'https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/add.14286'
verifiedAt: null
- id: source-7f09c8a736762f4f
title: Slay the Spire
url: 'https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/'
verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
- catalogId: engagement-retention
id: family-16
title: 'Engagement, retention and addictive patterns'
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/engagement-retention/#family-16'
categoryIds:
- section-1
supersededBy: []
attributes:
preview:
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
title: Losses and invested effort
description: >-
Potential progress loss and past effort can influence continued play. Past
investment does not automatically make future costs worthwhile.
image:
src: images/mechanics/slay-the-spire-defeat.webp
width: 1440
height: 810
game: Slay the Spire
sourceUrl: 'https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/'
originalUrl: 'https://www.megacrit.com/images/ss25.jpg'
credit: Mega Crit
rights: © Mega Crit. All rights reserved.
caption: Death ends the current run
alt: >-
Slay the Spire: the character’s health reaches zero and a Death screen
confirms the end of the attempt.
markers:
- x: 23
'y': 3
label: The health pool is exhausted
- x: 50
'y': 25
label: The game explicitly confirms defeat
tips:
- Allow saving state and choosing to stop.
examples:
- title: Slay the Spire
url: 'https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on
2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are
preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire
classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and
editorial review.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/engagement-retention
---
# Losses, preserving progress and invested effort
id: engagement-retention--family-16
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/engagement-retention--family-16
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/engagement-retention--family-16/
Potential progress loss and past effort can influence continued play. Past investment does not automatically make future costs worthwhile.
## At a glance
[Slay the Spire](https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/) · © Mega Crit. All rights reserved.
1. The health pool is exhausted
2. The game explicitly confirms defeat
- Allow saving state and choosing to stop.
- [Slay the Spire](https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/)
## How it works
The latter technique is especially associated with the use of time and money already invested: it is more difficult for the player to abandon the goal, although continuing may be unprofitable. Hiding long-term value is considered in works on predatory monetization. King and Delfabbro.
## Variants
### Variants and applications
- Resetting streak for skipping: return is motivated by maintaining streak
- Rating drop for inactivity: absence reduces achieved status
- Vulnerability of property outside the game: base or resources can be taken away while the player is absent
- Crop spoilage and farm destruction: maintenance prevents deterioration
- Limited window for returning what was lost: after a defeat you need to have time to return things or resources
- Loss of accumulated chances or guarantees: a change of event or a break invalidates the incomplete counter
- Stopping accumulation when storage is full: absence means lost income
- Late disclosure of the full price of the target: significant requirements become visible after significant investments
## Context and limits
A map of 160 techniques for analyzing interest, returns, costs and pressure on the player. Involvement in itself does not mean dependence; the presence of separate mechanics does not determine the diagnosis or prove causation. This is the author's classification for critical analysis of design, and not a scientifically established list of the causes of gaming disorder. Assess context, audience, voluntariness of participation, and opportunity to stop.
## Connected materials
## Sources and provenance
Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on 2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and editorial review.
- [King and Delfabbro](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/add.14286) (id: source-0ed470ae2568cc02)
- [Slay the Spire](https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/) (id: source-7f09c8a736762f4f)
CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors