DARKEN'S PROFILE

Most players just hate opening a chest and not having room for it, so it offends a pack rat mentality since a lot of RPGs out of combat loops revolve around scanning the environment for goodies you don't actually need. Auto sending to storage and by proxy limiting what you can use in combat I think is the general solution.

Players not actually using the items is seperate problem even with unlimited inventory. Why are the items in the game if players just stockpile potions like its nothing? Feel like it's worth finding a use for them that skills just absolutely don't provide. If you have a healer that spends MP to heal and Inn's cost nothing, then depending on how its balanced most players tend to abuse it, an item is gone forever, MP is not. Drastic measures could call for getting rid of healing potions and make MP items more plentiful. The player's likely going to use them because it lets them spam skills when far away from heal spots. I do think players will heal status effects using items without hesitation, for some reason.

The RM Kinetic Cipher is known for flat out killing you if you don't stock up on status effect items. Which has an injoke in the community. But it does highlight another thing: Why have an item shop if nothing it provides is actually useful? Sure it sucks if you don't realize how important an item is after leaving the store but you can just have NPCs tell you that monsters roaming nearby tend to require these items. Status remedies are interesting because they act as soft keys, they're not essential to preventing outright death or running out of damage output, but they prevent annoyances, like bug spray or sunscreen on a hiking trip. Taking these ideas I'm throwing out there, you are emphasizing a particular game that might be different from say just chill RPG where you don't have to think much except in boss battles. If your games themes and vibes don't match a hiking trip, then you probably don't wanna emphasize that.

To really add another layer to it though, it's worth making the reliance on items equal to the risk. "Do I really want to use my item here? or should I use it later" which... 9 times out of 10 leads the pack rat player going "I'll use it later" The trick is really equalizing it so that it skews in favor of using it, but the player has some doubt to make items as a mechanic justfy its existance. There's some uncertainty that the answers available to you aren't obvious and changes every fight. This is way easier to accomplish in roguelikes and survival themed games where not using a precious item just means death. Chances are items are really just gonna exist as a way to reward the player outside of battles and actually using them won't take much thought. That's just part of the expectation of the genre though. It really depends on where you want to go: are you testing preperation? descision making? or just scavenger hunting?

Alright I think we got everyone we'll probably get for this thing, so lets get drafting! I set it to random but I happen to be first interestingly enough. Good luck into 2023 (in general). Be sure to use auto-draft so I have to poke less people.

Sim Cabbie probably my favorite from look overall, with Apon The Brow of Tomorrow Clear being fairly unique use of backgrounds.

Honestly I wished there was just ranked voting. Too many good stuff to pick from

I got second place, GGs, our winner is Shinan!

2023 is underway, will probably get to drafting soon
https://rpgmaker.net/forums/topics/26646/

damn a title screen? game must be almost done