Inventory Management Puzzle Game
This is an early version of the inventory management puzzle game I was working on until recently. I always loved the inventory management of Resident Evil 4, and I wanted to come up with a way to turn that into a game by itself. What I settled on was to have a very simple side-on 'game' which would essentially play itself at the top of the screen, to give context to the inventory while you manage the items.
The only control the player actually has over the character at the top is which weapon he has equipped, as well as the ability to use items like health and grenades in tough spots. Firing, reloading and movement is all done automatically in relevant situations.
So where does the puzzle game come in? The idea is that your inventory is scored based on how you keep it arranged. A nice tidy inventory with similar items grouped together and rotated the same way will give you lots of points, whereas a messy inventory with things placed randomly won't give you many points at all.
You can also find treasure, which can be sold for a high price at the shop between levels and will allow you to buy weapons and upgrades to progress further as the enemies get stronger. However, treasure will also award you points for simply being in your inventory, and arranging it nicely will give you even more points, so you'll want to hold onto it for as long as possible.
Finding a nice way to arrange all your items, while maximising the amount of treasure you keep, and only selling things when you really need to upgrade was the overall gameplay goal in order to get a high score. I really wanted to achieve that relationship with treasure where you desperately want to hold onto it, but need to sell it in order to survive. I think the best gameplay is all about those choices.
Unfortunately a lack of any artistic talent, and lack of money to hire any artists/continue working on it means this game has now been postponed. I may come back to it later if possible, but my interest in it was starting to fade, and I'm unsure if there's really anyone other than me who would want to play this kind of OCD simulator anyway :3