Well, even if the puzzles only work at one or two objects at a time, and the map is only two rooms big at a time–if there are five objects that might solve a puzzle in one room, and those five objects are two rooms away, and I can only carry one object at a time, that’s something like twenty moves of shuttling objects back and forth so I can try them all on the puzzle. This is still annoying. You want to keep down the ratio of “moves where I’m trying to solve a puzzle” to “moves where I’m fiddling with stuff because the game won’t let me try the idea I just had until I fiddle with this stuff first.”
If the point of the limit is to force a choice among a few things, maybe make the mechanism force that choice more directly rather than try to make an inventory limit? Like have those things be bulky. Or include a satchel that needs to be left behind, although that’s cheesy. Or… I’m not sure what, and there’s some risk that the player will ask “Hey, why could I carry this stuff before now?” but I’m rarely happy to be forced to jump through extra hoops for the sake of realism.
(I should confess here that I complain about inventory limits all the time and I made a game with an inventory limit. But! It was a one-room game, and you didn’t actually need to pick up most of the things to do what you needed to do with it, and there was a message that told the player that that was what the inventory limit was for. I put it in because my first tester started with “take all” which messed up my nice room description with things scattered all over.)
For what it’s worth, a couple minutes’ worth of transcript, which ends at the point at which the inventory limit annoys me. I am bad at this puzzle, whatever it is, but I suspect I should not be able to take the duct. Also I forgot to examine it.
[spoiler]D402
You can see Door Delta 402, Jake, your bed (on which is a copy of the Baker of Shireton (in which is a postcard)), a sink (on which is your cup (in which are your toothbrush and your tube of toothpaste)), a ventilation duct (closed) and a fire sprinkler here.
open duct
(the ventilation duct)
It seems to be locked.
x me
Everyone’s on edge. They’ll probably beat you if you try approaching them. Discretion is the better part of valor plus it’s nice to have teeth, so let’s not draw any attention to yourself.
x jake
Everyone’s on edge. They’ll probably beat you if you try approaching them. Discretion is the better part of valor plus it’s nice to have teeth, so let’s not draw any attention to yourself.
x postcard
It’s got a picture of a naked lady on one side, and the scribblings of a lunatic on the other.
read postcard
It’s got a picture of a naked lady on one side, and the scribblings of a lunatic on the other.
take all
ventilation duct: Taken.
copy of the Baker of Shireton: Taken.
postcard: You’re carrying too many things already.
your cup: You’re carrying too many things already.
your toothbrush: You’re carrying too many things already.
your tube of toothpaste: You’re carrying too many things already.
i
You’re carrying a copy of the Baker of Shireton and a ventilation duct.
x sprinkler
If the guards catch you messing around with that they’ll beat you for hours.
take sprinkler
That’s fixed in place.
x toothpaste
It’s empty, and the cap is missing.
x door
You see nothing special about Door Delta 402.
squeeze toothpaste
You achieve nothing by this.
open door
It seems to be locked.
x toothbrush
It’s a moldproof toothbrush. Even though it’s long and thing, it can’t be made into a shiv because it’s made of Permaplastic.
unlock vent with toothbrush
You can’t see any such thing.
bite toothbrush
That’s not a verb I recognise.
x shireton
It’s a fantasy novel based on the famous “Age of Aeons” MMORPG called “the Baker of Shireton”.
In the copy of the Baker of Shireton is a postcard.
open shireton
It isn’t something you can open.
make postcard into shiv
That’s not a verb I recognise.
x cup
A tall, clear Permaplastic cup. Moldproof and dishwasher safe. Rounded edges, and too rubbery to work as an improvised weapon.
In your cup are your toothbrush and your tube of toothpaste.
x bed
Your bed is, of course, a standard bunk built into the far wall. No blanket, no pillow. Just a slab that’s somehow more comfortable than it looks.
x sink
The sink is nothing special. Just a faucet and a drain.
On the sink is your cup (in which are your toothbrush and your tube of toothpaste).
look under bed
You find nothing of interest.
open duct with toothbrush
(the ventilation duct with your toothbrush)
(first taking your toothbrush)
You’re carrying too many things already.
[/spoiler]