Post by Morreion on Jun 15, 2010 7:49:31 GMT -5
The Daily Grind: Taking inventory (Massively)
I never really thought about it, but inventories in MMOs are a mini-game for me- or maybe that's just the obsessive-compulsive side of gaming coming out
I tend to like to hold onto things that may be useful or valuable later. It can be easy to complain that there is too little inventory space, but I remember the good old days when weight was taken into consideration, as in UO 
Check out this Belan the Noble Looter episode dealing with being too heavy to move:
Belan loots a guy too heavy to move
Hilarity ensues
One of the great points of commonality for MMOs is the time-honored tradition of inventory management. Specifically, the minigame wherein you have to decide what to keep, sell, throw away, or hold on to with a limited amount of space. One of the major contentions regarding the Allods Online cash shop at launch (aside from the huge debuff only removable via cash shop items) was how much it used to cost just to make a minor upgrade to your inventory storage. The prices have since changed, of course, but the irritation at inventory management was obvious.
Nearly every game has to decide how much of a management aspect should be involved and the right amount of space for a given character in any stage of their career. Moreover, these aspects usually change with time, as stack sizes increase and decrease with patches. Some players see space management as a relic of games like Dungeons and Dragons, which used it to try and maintain realism in broad strokes. Others see it as an obnoxious limitation on gameplay that's long ceased to have any connection with its original purpose.
Nearly every game has to decide how much of a management aspect should be involved and the right amount of space for a given character in any stage of their career. Moreover, these aspects usually change with time, as stack sizes increase and decrease with patches. Some players see space management as a relic of games like Dungeons and Dragons, which used it to try and maintain realism in broad strokes. Others see it as an obnoxious limitation on gameplay that's long ceased to have any connection with its original purpose.
I never really thought about it, but inventories in MMOs are a mini-game for me- or maybe that's just the obsessive-compulsive side of gaming coming out
I tend to like to hold onto things that may be useful or valuable later. It can be easy to complain that there is too little inventory space, but I remember the good old days when weight was taken into consideration, as in UO 
Check out this Belan the Noble Looter episode dealing with being too heavy to move:Belan loots a guy too heavy to move
Belan was busy cropping pics for new episodes when a call went out from Crazy Joe for help looting someone who was stuck on the roof of west brit bank in Felucca carrying a chest way too heavy for them to move with.
Belan arrived to find Elipso stuck to the roof by the weight he was holding!
Belan arrived to find Elipso stuck to the roof by the weight he was holding!
Hilarity ensues
