Glossary: Inventory
An inventory in everyday language is just a list of items.
In gaming, an inventory is a gameplay mechanism that allows players to store their collected items and freely carry them around for later use.
Game developers approach inventories in a variety of ways.
There are two main types of inventory.
Limited Inventories
In many games a player is only allowed to carry a limited number of items. This means that a player must decide which items to keep and which s/he feels will be of no use at this stage of the game.
The limits of an inventory can be based on:
- the number of items,
- the size of the items, or
- the weight of the items.
These inventories can sometimes be supplemented by the use of some sort of 'bank' - allowing the player to store what items are not needed until they can be used later on... otherwise it is necessary to remember where you saw the item that suddenly becomes useful to you.
Unlimited inventories
You can collect anything! These types of inventories often result in the player suffering from an overabundance of items - making finding what you need a problem.
Inventory management is key to a players gaming experience, many games have failed in large part due to their lack of an effective inventory system.
Methods of inventory management
These are inventories that can be accessed 'on the fly' by a simple button press. It allows switching between items in a seamless manner and does not get in the way of the action.
Perhaps the most common form of inventory. They require the player to pull up a separate menu that contains all of their items. Items selection is also done through this menu. This prevents fast switching of items but provides a easy to use overview of all the player's items.
