Bag-space in MMOs...

Right, okay, fine.  So this is one of my occassional divergent posts into the realms of videogame RPGs, but I've recently being playing Lord of the Rings Online (basically WoW with better graphics) in irregular doses.  And again they've screwed up how bag-space is handled (as does WoW, as does every other videogame RPG that I can recall off the top of my head).

And it is quite simple to get right:

Firstly, from a usability point of view, the player needs only ONE window to view the items they carry.  We should not be forced to remember which of possibly several bags we have put something in. And we should not have to open all of them to look for it.  We should be able to open one window, and SORT by a variety of different features: alphabetically, date/time added, item type (weapon, armour, quest, consumable etc.) and so forth.  And the window should include a SEARCH box, so if worse comes to worse and you can't see what you're looking for at a glance, you can search for it.  Basically, if you're going to make an RPG run on a computer, learn from what good applications and websites have evolved into and utilise those tried and tested features.  One window for all your pack/bag space added together, in a list.

This does not, and should not, disrupt features of game mechanics involving offering the player a variety of upgradeable bag options.  Imagine in a fantasy setting.  As a designer you may wish the player to start out with a small pack (say 12 'units') and one small pouch (say 4 units).  You allow a player to carry upto 4 pouches, two on each hip; one pack and pockets on some leg clothing, and pockets on some chest clothing.

As they progress through the game they have the option of acquiring and upgrading these various items which add bag-space.  All bag-space is, in effect, a single integer relating to the amount of equipment a character can carry.  A unit may be considered a combination of size and weight.  So big, light items may take up just as many units as small heavy ones.

As mentioned previously, all bag-space is cumulative and accessible via one single window, which a player can access with a click of a button and can sort through and arrange in different views.

For the sake of facilitating a player in combining some potentially disparate items in their pack.  You may wish to provide a secondary 'manipulate' or 'handle' window.  Allowing a player to drag items from their bag-space into a window, perform a secondary search, drag something else into the 'manipulate' window and so on, where they can be combined etc.

If you want to be clever, once one item has been dragged into the manipulate window, you may wish to automatically search on the contents of their bag-space to find items they may wish to combine with the first item.  Or even cleverer - automatically search only for items which the character knows (via their skills) can be combined with the first - so you're not revealing secret recipes in the game, unless the character has the relevant skill/training/knowledge whatever.

Secondly, we should not have to play 'pack tetris' by having to shuffle items around so they fit in the space provided (not a problem for WoW or LOTRO, but is for others games, tho their names for the moment escape me - Fallen Earth?). Any item should just be a line in the bag-space window.  You can still tag it with a pretty icon as a visual reminder of what it is, if you feel the need.

The method I describe here, I humbly put to you, is FAR SUPERIOR to anything in the games mentioned above, and AFAIK, in any computer-based RPG I have played.  So when are RPG developers (Blizzard, Turbine, whomever) going to cotton-on and start providing a pack system which is actually effective and presents decent usability?

Also, and something I have yet to overtly witness in such games are the inclusion of enchanted packs etc, which dramatically increase bag-space.  Such RPGs are typically unrealistic in that they allow players to walk around with a dozen broadswords, a dozen shields and three full suits of plate mail in their packs.  I'm suggesting being a little more realistic to begin with, and then provide increasingly larger enchanted packs and pouches that effectively at ultimate levels do away with the need to sort out your bag-space ever again (within reason).  For the sake of databases becoming unwieldy and unmanageable I expect a finite limit should be included somewhere.

The most important thing tho, is one window, that is both sortable and searchable.  Enabling players to find what they want in their bag-space, quickly and efficiently, allowing them to play the game more, and fiddle with the interface less.

peas out.