As I kind of previously posted, I've been thinking about use of inventory in a game. And well I came to the conclusion that the more surprises you can give the player in game play, the more enjoyment the player will have. Now set that in adventure games. I'm thinking about items.
The one thing I hate in an adventure game is looking for the missing inventory item or having to pixel hunt to pick up an item or have two items in the inventory which would do the same job, but you can only use one for bla and the other for another. I think these flaws only appear when game designers are just being lazy or stupid or both.
Well the best designers try to incorporate items previously picked up into more puzzles. And well the average adventure game designer will just avoid the whole having to pick up and use a pair of scissors when you already have a knife in your inventory.
So I came to some more conclusions about what are the most common items in an adventure game:
- A key
- A bucket
- A screwdriver
- A rope/string
- A knife
A key and a screwdriver, although different items, sort of do the same job. They allow access to something locked. However a key only fits one slot, while a screwdriver is pretty much universal. So I treat them as separate items. Such as the key is a limited item and a screw driver is a more universal tool item.
Buckets! Or some kind of storage device, if it’s a bag or an idol missing some jewels. They hold another item. Buckets are pretty much universal, they can carry water to gravel, but do the same job each time and pretty straight forward.
A screw driver (again) and a knife, I treat these as tools. They can be constructed in a game to serve a purpose. But they are universal. Once a knife is in hand, you can stab as many people as you want. However I would avoid the whole knifing idea :P
A rope or string. These items are used to hold/attach things. Either if it is a new inventory item or something environmental like a rope to swing across a gorge.
One other type of inventory item is the Information items, which are only used to progress the story through dialogue, Such as a note, article, a photograph or blueprints. They are usually to tell you what to do or who to speak to etc but these are also basically your limited use items.
So I came up with the idea, why can't you have main items in your inventory and just keep re-using them? My idea was the inventory compass. I made it into a compass because there was only 4 main items you get, (the limited use item, the tool, the "bonder" and the storage device). My idea was that what if these were your main and possibly your only items in the game. It would be a lot more realistic for someone to be able to carry such items around and for me the best puzzles are the possible in real life puzzles.
Anyway I thought I would briefly share some of my thoughts on puzzle design in the last few months. And it might explain some of my previous blog posts :P
Also, can you think of any other items that wouldn't fit under on my headings? I would be interested if you can think of any, because I think my generalisation is sound proof :P
