Unit 1: Inventory task

On Skyrim the inventory is divided into different categories: Favourites, Weapons, Apparel, Potions, Scrolls, Food, Ingredients, Books, Keys and Misc, within these categories each item is listed in alphabetical order. Almost everything referring to the character can be accessed when opening the inventory as you are able to choose to view your map, magic, skills or items. The inventory is also weight based so the user must decide which items they want the most otherwise the speed of the character will be affected, however the weight limit can be increased when the characters stamina is improved. The user can open the inventory by pressing 'B' then easily navigate through it using both of the analog sticks on the controller, or instead they can just open the "Favourites" category using the D-pad which will open a small box in the corner of the screen. The inventory suits the game play because there is many items to be found throughout the whole game, and because it is alphabetically ordered and categorised it makes finding the items a lot easier which will reduce the amount of time spent searching for a specific item, which is something I would include in my own design. When the inventory is accessed it pauses the game, which I think suits the game play because your health can quickly decrease no matter what level you are so when the game pauses it gives you a chance to heal and use potions, or change your weapon.


On Minecraft the inventory design is very simple, however it displays everything you need when playing, including a small crafting bench, 27 slots for items, your character and 4 slots where you can place the armour which will then be displayed on your character. There is a limited amount of slots and the items can be randomly placed by the user, along with the inventory there is 9 hotkey slots which is always displayed at the bottom of the screen when the user is playing, this is convenient because you can easily switch between your essential items by using the keys 1-9 or scrolling using your mousewheel without needing to open the inventory which stops you from moving but doesn't pause the game, this can be a problem if you're being attacked. The inventory can be opened by pressing the 'E' key then the user can simply click and drag where they would like the item to go in the inventory. The inventory suits the game play because the design is very simple and isn't difficult to use. I don't really like the inventory because you can run out of space very quickly and may have to sacrifice items you need, however the simple design is something I would include in my own design.



On the Sims 3 there is two different inventories the 'Personal inventory' and the 'Family inventory'. The Personal inventory can be accessed by clicking the backpack image at the bottom of the screen, the game will still continue as normal unless the user chooses to click pause, however the Family inventory can only be accessed in 'Buy mode' which automatically pauses the game. The personal inventory is limited as it can only store items that a person could realistically carry such as books and laptops, which will allow the Sim to use them wherever they are. The Family inventory is unlimited and can store any item in the game without any problem. I like the inventory because there isn't a limited amount of slots or weight limit so you can store all the items you aren't using at the moment without having to buy them again, this influences my own design because I like the idea and I think it would make the game a lot more enjoyable.