Yay cool, inventories.
These things have been in games for ages, collecting stuff and handling resources is just a part of being human, I believe.

But ever since inventories have been around, they’ve constantly been about working around limitations.

“Limitations, what do you mean?”
Well now, for as long as games have let you pick up stuff, there’s always been a finite capacity.

Not just in how many shiny trinkets you can carry, but in nearly every aspect of any inventory system.

It might not be clear right now, I’ve thought long and hard on the subject, however, I do not claim to know the perfect solution.

Examples of limitations? Well apart from the obvious… (carry weight, how many grid slots, etc) there are other ones too, in the form of false freedoms.

I’m coining the term false freedoms because they, on the surface, appear to be the opposite of a limitation, appearing to ‘open up’ more options in a game.

Which, at first, they do just that, but as with nearly anything in games, by the “end” of the game, they eventually become a limit from merely existing.

Some examples would include magical powers or abilities, such as *spell books, perks, *equipment slots, ability to boost carry weight, among other things as well.

All of these things are meant to offer more opportunities in games, magical powers can grant you the ability to vanguish foes with fire balls, fly, or “feather” your carry weight, especially in RPGs, where freedom is the main feature. (I’m looking at you Elder Scrolls.)

But these things aren’t bad. In fact, these things are great features in games.
It’s just plain better than them not existing at all. (how boring would RPGs be without choices… even though many of them now-a-days don’t offer many anywa-OOPS DID I SAY THAT OUT LOUD?)

But these things can now be recognised as limitations, by the time you’ve completed 3/4 of a game.

Spell books can’t hold any more things.
You constantly need to micromanage your carry weight, and/or how many grid slots you’re using.

You can wear the *orange hat,*but not the copper faceplate at the same time…

Your inventory is clogged with shiny gear of varying qualities and quantities, and you’re forced to drop things to make up for a false sense of reality which is a character’s ability to carry no more than 50 or so tin suits, and not a bottle cap more.

Is this really a problem? Well… not really.

Having false senses of reality is kind of what half the games out there are about anyway. Living another life in another world, is what it’s all about. If those worlds have semi-realistic limitations, that’s perfectly fine, and practical too.

But the issue is, games have, for a long time, *found it necessary to HAVE these limitations, with nearly every inventory system.

In fact, most games work micromanaging inventory systems, storage containers and affiliated content into a game* mechanic.

Storing your gear, especially in RPGs, is often a part of a game mechanic.
Losing your items when you die is a common example, but if you stored your good stuff earlier, you won’t lose it.

How much stuff you’re carrying or wearing affecting your ability to sneak, or how fast you can move. These are all false senses of reality. Which is perfectly fine, if not a clever thing to implement to begin with.

But games, mostly near-recent ones, find it an absolute necessity to limit a player’s ability to carry items. I have nothing /wrong/ with this idea, but I’ve not seen many examples of games that let a player carry near infinite amounts of gear.

What I’m wondering is, can a game let a player carry infinite amounts of equipment and items, without…

A: becoming too easy
B: seeming too unrealistic, or light-hearted.

Half the reason, I believe game devs have thought it necessary to limit maximum amounts of items in singleplayer games, is because the game might come off as too silly or easy as opposed to having to carefully choose where and how you store or carry items.

But there’s two major truths about inventory micromanagement in games.
1: It’s a chore, slow, and usually not fun to play with.
2: It’s a chose, slow, and usually not fun to program/implement.

From a player’s POV, this might seem like a cheap shortcut to avoiding the system entirely, but can you honestly say you’d rather constantly drop, store, check, unequip, and discard equipment weighing you down, making you noisy or similar?

Maybe in some super-hardcore game, like a serious RogueLike, this might make sense, but to me, as a gamer who loves to hoard items wherever I go, I do not enjoy doing so.

So how about I go ahead and make an inventory system that allows you to carry infinite amounts of stuff? Why not? Why not be *different?*

Carry-weight systems are not only annoying to code, but annoying for me to play with as well. :)

What I propose is, every *form* of the inventory system (items, spells, equipment, etc) have a “page number” that can be scrolled through, like an endless book, of everything you’ve learned and collected thus far.

You’ll still be able to drop items, if micromanaging your inventory pages is a fun thing for you (sometimes organised screens can be fun.), you’ll still be well able to do so, but with an endless playground of space.

Not only does this open up options for a player’s ability to chose where he or she stores items, and on what pages, but it *nullifies*** * the need for categories* for the inventory system, meaning I’ll not have to code in tabs for weapons, consumables, keys, grapefruit, books, etc.

It’ll all be customisable, without the need for an over-complicated system.

Please feel free to leave comments.
Cheers.