History Main / OnSiteProcurement

* In order to advance through the dungeons in ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series, and ultimately for the game, Link has to procure weapons that more often than not also act as the boss's weakness. This is averted in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'', where your main equipment is largely not found, but leased, and then sold, by Ravio.

* Justified in ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine'': Captain Titus starts the game by jumping onto an Ork ship and ''then'' making planetfall onto a Forge World. From then on all his new weapons and ammo are found lying around or in shrines; the Forge World is explicitly noted as specializing in weaponry, tank, and [[HumongousMecha Imperial Titan]] manufacturing, so there is a lot of ammunition and weapons lying around for a Space Marine to pick up.

* Justified in ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine'': Captain Titus starts the game by jumping onto an Ork ship and ''then'' making planetfall onto a Forge World. From then on all his new weapons and ammo are found lying around or in shrines; the Forge World is explicitly noted as specializing in weaponry, tank, and [[HumungousMecha Imperial Titan]] manufacturing, so there is a lot of ammunition and weapons lying around for a Space Marine to pick up.

* Justified in ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine'': Captain Titus starts the game by jumping onto an ork ship and ''then'' making planetfall onto a Forge World. From then on all his new weapons and ammo are found lying around or in shrines.

[[folder: First-Person Shooter]]

The [[TropeNamer name for the trope]] comes from the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series, where the action pertaining to getting most of these weapons and equipment upgrades was referred to as On Site Procurement. It's an easy justification for the hero getting sent out to save the world WithThisHerring. The official explanation is that any items given to the hero might be used to trace back to who sent them; because, of course, NoSuchAgency exists. Similarly, this also serves as a good justification for BagOfSpilling.

** Zig-zagged in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''. Much of Gordon's arsenal is given to him by his allies, but some weapons, as usual, have to be scavenged from dead enemies or are simply found laying around.
* Earlier ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' games like ''Allied Assault'' had missions set behind enemy lines that forced players to pickup and use a number of German weapons, in particular the MP 40 and STG 44.

* ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' had this and a reason that actually made sense. You are a captured soldier breaking out of Castle Wolfenstein; all you start with is a knife that looks like a [[ImprovisedWeapon shank]] and a pistol stolen from the first guard you murdered with that shank before gameplay actually started. The only other guns available to you are submachine guns stolen off elite guards and chainguns found in secret areas.

* VideoGame/MaxPayne, naturally enough given that he's an undercover cop and can only carry what he can conceal under that leather jacket of his. [[HyperspaceArsenal Which is about eighteen guns and several hundred rounds of ammunition in-game]], admittedly, but that's GameplayAndStorySegregation for you.
* Justified in ''VideoGame/HalfLife'', as the protagonist is [[ActionSurvivor a civilian who's just trying to get out of a steadily worsening disaster alive]]. The first chance you have to get your hands on a real weapon is several minutes in, and involves a mercifully-short EscortMission to bring an NPC to a security office so he can unlock the door for you. Somewhat less justified in the first ExpansionPack, ''Opposing Force'', where you're playing a soldier whose unit was sent in to clean up the mess; apparently, whoever dragged your unconscious body from the wreck of the helicopter you were travelling in didn't think to grab your rifle. Averted completely in ''Blue Shift'', the second expansion pack, where you're given a sidearm and a reasonable amount of ammunition from the start.