The Cognitive Powerhouse Hidden in Every Game Inventory
- Justin Matheson
- Sep 22
- 8 min read
Here's something that bothers me about L&D training. Thousands are spent on resource management workshops, right? We bring in consultants to teach strategic planning, we run simulations about prioritization under pressure, and then what happens? Six months later, nobody remembers how to actually apply any of it when sh!t hits the fan.
I didn't swear so it's okay.
But you know what's really wild? Your team is probably already practicing these exact skills every time they play a certain kind of game with an inventory system. I know, I know, that sounds like I'm about to sell you on some ridiculous "learning through Fortnite" program (which, honestly, isn't the worst idea I've heard this week). But hear me out.
Every time someone opens their inventory in Minecraft, manages their equipment in The Witcher, or decides what to craft next in Skyrim, they're doing something pretty incredible. They're engaging in the same cognitive gymnastics that make great project managers, strategic planners, and resource allocation wizards. The difference? In games, it's actually fun, mistakes don't cost anyone their job, they look up what other people have had success with, and willingly practice for hours without calling it "mandatory training".
Unfortunately, most L&D professionals have no idea this is happening. They (We) are so busy creating "serious" learning experiences that we're missing one of the most effective skill-building tools hiding in plain sight. Video games.
Today, I only want to discuss one particular part of only a certain group of video games. Inventories.
Want to know what makes inventory mechanics so powerful for developing real-world competencies? Let me break it down for you. Think this is already way too boring and niche for you? Fair. I can't even argue that point with how excited I am to write about what I still think is one of the most frustrating mechanics ever.
What's Really Going On Under the Hood
Okay, so what exactly is an inventory mechanic anyway? At its core, it's basically a digital constraint system that forces players to make strategic decisions about what they keep, what they use, and what they're willing to lose.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Because that's literally what your team does every day with budgets, time, personnel (harsh, I know), and project resources.
The psychology behind why this works is actually pretty fascinating. When players interact with inventory systems, their brains are basically running a cognitive marathon. Video games do improve cognitive skills and decision-making. Cognitive skills such as perception, attentional control, and decision-making improves when subjects were trained with video games. (ScienceDirect, 2021).
Think about it this way. In Minecraft, you've got 36 inventory slots, hundreds of possible items, and constantly changing needs based on what you're trying to build or where you're exploring. Your brain has to keep track of what you have, what you need, what you might need later, and what you can afford to toss out to make room for something better. Meanwhile, you're also monitoring your health, hunger, tool durability, and whether that creeper over there is about to ruin your whole day.
That's not just gaming, that's executive function training. The same mental muscles that help someone manage their Minecraft inventory are the ones that make them great at resource allocation in the real world. And the best part? People actually enjoy strengthening these muscles when it happens in a game context.
Strategic games have the potential to change and even develop some cognitive functions such as attention, reaction, and memory, and can be considered as tools to improve cognitive ability. (ScienceDirect, 2024). Research consistently shows that when people practice resource management in these gaming environments, they're not just memorizing strategies, they're developing flexible expertise that transfers to completely different situations.
Am I saying your next project manager should be recruited from the top Minecraft players?
Well, I'm not not saying that...
Why Your Traditional Training Isn't Sticking
Most L&D programs I've encountered treat resource management like it's a theoretical exercise. We design elaborate frameworks, create detailed case studies, and run (sometimes) expensive simulations that somehow never quite prepare people for the chaos of actual workplace decisions. Research on the forgetting curve shows that within 1 hour, learners forget an average of 50% of the information presented; within 24 hours, they forget an average of 70% of new information; and within a week, they forget up to 90% of what they "learned." (Understanding the Science Behind Learning Retention, Indegene).
The problem isn't that people can't understand the concepts. Walk someone through a prioritization matrix in a conference room, and they'll nod along just fine. But put them in front of a real resource crunch with competing deadlines and unclear priorities, and watch what happens. They freeze up, because understanding a framework and making rapid decisions under pressure are completely different cognitive skills.
Active learners retained 93.5% of previously learned information compared to only 79% for passive learners after one month. (Bridge, 2025). This isn't surprising to people who play these games.
Traditional training creates what researchers call "inert knowledge," basically information that people can recall in ideal conditions but can't apply when things get messy.
Games handle this differently. When your inventory is full in a survival game, you don't get to pause and consult a decision tree. You have to evaluate what you have, predict what you'll need, and make a choice right now. The consequences are immediate, the feedback is clear, and you get to try again if you mess up.
And the solution, 100% of the time, is to hold on to those healing potions you got in the first zone. 134 of them might not be enough. Geralt and Link have had a harder time hauling healing draught than fight monsters and Ganon.
Jokes aside, the engagement factor matters more than most people realize. I've watched professionals spend hours optimizing character builds in RPGs, carefully weighing stats and planning equipment upgrades. Those same people will do everything possible to avoid a strategic planning workshop. The difference isn't the complexity of the decisions, it's that games provide immediate feedback and visible progress toward goals that actually matter to the person making the choices.
And, if there's one thing Rift does that nobody else does, it is connecting those two experiences together.
What Happens When You Actually Try This
Okay, so I've been talking a big game about inventory mechanics, but let me tell you what I actually see when I use games like Minecraft in workshops.
The first thing I notice is that participants who maintain awareness of their inventory made strategic decisions way faster than everyone else. They're not constantly opening and closing their inventory to figure out what tools they have, they're planning their actions based on resource availability rather than just reacting moment by moment. Things like "We don't have enough wool to make beds for everyone" or "Don't go there, we don't have enough food if you get injured".
Minecraft's survival mode involves managing resources, planning their activities, and keeping their inventory organized. This demands strategic thinking and strong organizational skills. (The Cognitive Benefits of Minecraft for Children, Vocal Media). This creates what game designers call "resource consciousness," which is basically constant low-level awareness of available capabilities. This mirrors exactly what high-performing professionals do in complex work environments, they're always mentally tracking what resources they have access to.
Using Minecraft for learning a subject-specific skill triggered collaborative learning processes [and] facilitated the development of 21st century skills. (ScienceDirect, 2022). The 3x3 crafting grid forces players to think spatially and sequentially, which are key components of systematic problem-solving approaches.
And get this, each item in Minecraft has specific properties, uses, and interactions. Players build and maintain mental databases of hundreds of items and their applications. This type of meaningful, context-rich memorization strengthens long-term retention far more effectively than rote learning approaches.
Am I saying Minecraft is better than traditional project management training? Well, when the research shows this kind of improvement in actual cognitive skills that transfer to workplace performance, it's hard to argue otherwise. The limited inventory space (36 slots) forces constant strategic decisions about what to keep, what to discard, and what to prioritize, which is exactly the kind of constraint-based thinking that makes great leaders.
Action video game players often outperform non-action video game players in cognitive tasks, with players allocating memory resources more efficiently and maintaining higher precision over extended intervals. (ResearchGate, 2023). During active gameplay, players track multiple temporary states like health, hunger, tool durability, resource needs, and environmental threats, creating an intensive working memory workout.
And Minecraft isn't the only one. I think it is one of the easiest game titles to relate to, but there are tons of games out there with similar mechanics and some are even less forgiving than Minecraft which means you would have to be even more precise with your management skills.
Okay, So How Do You Actually Use This Stuff?
"This sounds great Justin, but how do I convince my boss that we should be training people with video games?" Trust me, I get this question a lot, and honestly, it's not as crazy as it sounds when you frame it right.
Here's the thing that makes this approach work. You don't lead with "let's play games," you lead with the results. When you can show measurable improvement in core business skills, suddenly the method matters a lot less than the outcome.
But let's get practical about this. Where do you even start? The key is progressive complexity design. You don't throw people into the deep end with 200-item inventories and complex crafting trees on day one. Think of it like learning to drive, you start in an empty parking lot before you hit the highway.
Assessment is another place this gets really interesting. Rather than traditional testing, observing decision-making patterns during inventory management gives you a more accurate idea of a learner's capabilities. You can actually watch people develop strategic thinking in real time, which is way more valuable than asking them to regurgitate theoretical frameworks on a test.
Here's what I look for when I'm facilitating these sessions:
Do participants check their inventory before starting new tasks?
Are they planning ahead for resource needs?
How do they handle competing priorities when inventory space is limited?
These behavioral indicators tell you way more about someone's resource management skills than any traditional assessment ever could.
The biggest success factor, and this might surprise you, is creating psychologically safe environments where learners can experiment with resource management strategies without real-world consequences. What does that look like in practice? After someone makes a strategic inventory choice in the game, you ask them, "Where in your work do you face similar resource allocation decisions?" or "What would this kind of forward planning look like in your current projects?" It's that bridge between the gaming experience and professional application that makes the whole thing work.
This is the "Authentic" and "No/Low-Stakes" part of Rift lessons!
And the fact that you can play these games over and over again while still using the inventory is the "Replayable" part!
The Real Results (And Why This Actually Matters)
Here's what I think is the most compelling part of all this research. Inventory mechanics don't just teach resource allocation, they build something much more valuable. They develop metacognitive awareness, which is basically the ability to monitor and improve your own decision-making processes. That's the secret sauce that separates good managers from great ones, for example.
But wait, there's more (again)! The most compelling insight from the learning science? Inventory management in games builds the kind of systems thinking that lets professionals see connections and patterns that others miss. When you're constantly managing complex resource relationships in games, your brain gets really good at understanding how different elements interact with each other.
Minecraft is a popular digital game-based learning tool used in learning environments around the world, with research showing positive effects on cognitive, academic, motivational-affective and social outcomes. (Review of Education, 2025). Even teams with no gaming background show learning gains, because the mechanics tap into universal cognitive processes rather than gaming-specific skills.
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What really gets me excited though is thinking about the long-term implications. If we can help people develop better metacognitive awareness through engaging, low-stakes practice environments, we're not just improving their resource management skills. We're giving them tools to become better learners, better problem-solvers, and better collaborators across every aspect of their work.
Ready to see these dynamics in action with your team? Because honestly, once you watch people develop these skills through gameplay, it's hard to go back to traditional training methods. The engagement is higher, the learning is deeper, and the results actually stick.
Want to explore how inventory-based learning could work for your team's specific challenges? Let's design a custom workshop that turns your biggest resource management headaches into engaging skill-building experiences.
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