Inventories
An inventory 'in game' is a place where users or players store important tools or access data and more games than ever now based around an inventory.
Limited
Most inventories are limited which means the player can only carry a set number of items causing the player to choose which items are more important or effective. These are more popular as it adds a certain amount of realism to the game unlike unlimited inventories, this is where a player can carry as much as he desires making him a "jack of all trades".Minecraft
Minecraft uses a limited inventory but also has more than one function but first how to access it.
A simple press of the "E" key opens the inventory in the default controls.
Once opened you are shown a grid where the player can organize his inventory by dragging and dropping items in the squares.
The game uses a hot bar system which can be seen as a utility belt inventory where the user choose which items he can access quickly without interrupting game play.
Uniquely the inventory has a crafting option where the player can put more than one item together to create something new.
I like this inventory as it takes the utility belt for quick access and usage and can be edited during game and you have to scroll to a specific item to use it.
Utility Belt
A weight based inventory is also a limited inventory and can be accessed seamlessly without slowing down game play and with just a button press items can be switched or used. A utility belt can be customized to the users preferences and how they like to play.
Call of Duty
Call of Duty used a Utility based system where the player is limited to 2 guns and 2 types of grenades. This inventory works well as Call of Duty is a fast paced game and players don't have time to stop and sort out their inventory during game.
Each item is controlled and used by a press of one button on the controller.
The images show an example of what the players inventory looks like before a game and what it looks like during a game, The top shows the inventory being customized and the bottom shows how many items the player has left without interrupting game play.
I like how fast you can use the inventory without interupting any game play but it can only be edited outside of game.
Weighted inventory
A weighted inventory is where a players inventory is limited due to weight and not the number of items. These inventories are more commonly found in RPG's but aren't very popular in games all together and personally I think it slows down game play when sorting out how much weight you need to lose and whats worth the weight.
Skyrim
Skyrim is the leading example of a weight based inventory due to how popular the game is. Skyrim's inventory is organized for you as its put into categories such as "food" and "potions", so the inventory is easy to navigate and reduces time searching for items and for items you need even faster you can add them to the favorites list
When hovering over an item it shows you how much an item weighs, its value and its effective it is.
The picture above shows the categories and the menu. An item can be Equipped with the "E" key; To drop you press the "R" key and to favorite you press the "F" key.
I do not like this style of inventory as it can take a while to think about which items you need most and how many you can store.
How will these influence my inventory?
When designing my inventory I would like to avoid Skyrim's weighted inventory system,but will keep to a limited inventory and would like to merge Minecraft and Call of Duty's inventories, as I like how you can organize and create new items on the go but would like the items to be used with one click of an allocated button.
