One of the most charming mechanics of select open-world games is when the player is allowed to pick up meaningless trinkets along the way. Games like Fallout and Cyberpunk 2077 let the player pick up a large portion of their worlds' items, but these serve little purpose outside of taking up space in the player's inventory. The Elder Scrolls' Skyrim, fixed this issue, introducing a simple piece of furniture that allows players to easily display some of their most prized possessions.
Skyrim was released in 2011 and has remained one of the highest-regarded open-world games for the past decade. Set is a massive fantasy world, the player must uncover why dragons have returned to the realm as a war unfolds around them. Players have access hundreds of weapons and armor sets, as well as a mind-boggling number of miscellaneous items they can add to their inventories. There are also more than 300 books in Skyrim that players can take with them and read to gain abilities, to unlock quests, or for recreational purposes.
Instead of forcing the player to keep these books in their inventory or store them in an inventory-like container, Skyrim lets players place books and other items on a bookshelf that properly (and automatically) displays them in neat rows. This gives those who like interior decorating a reason to collect items, and it allows players who enjoy collecting items a place to showcase their treasures. Every open-world game needs a piece of furniture equivalent to the Skyrim bookshelf. If a game is going to allow players to pick up random toys, books, and vinyl disks, it also needs a place for collect-a-thon players to store all their items.
Why All Open-World Games Need Skyrim's Bookshelves
One of the most interesting parts of dystopian-genre books, movies, and video games is how the main character maintains their humanity in dangerous times. In The Book of Eli, it was through music on an iPod. In Isle of Dogs, it's with man's best friend. But in video games, humanity is defined by the player. In a game like Fallout 4, where death looms around every corner, humanity may be found in the pages of a comic or in collecting every Vault Boy bobblehead. Luckily, Fallout 4 has its own versions of the Skyrim bookshelf for its comics and bobbleheads, but what about other collectibles? Players who want to gather every type of Nuka Cola are forced to painstakingly position each bottle on a shelf using the game's wonky physics, then pray every time they load into the area that the items don't fall to the floor.
What's worse is when an open-world game allows players to collect cool items but doesn't let them display them in any way. Compare Minecraft and Cyberpunk 2077: Both Cyberpunk and Minecraft have vinyl discs players can find scattered around their worlds, yet only the 10-year-old Minecraft allows players to display and listen to those records. Cyberpunk 2077's all have album artwork and rarity, but their only purpose is to be sold at a junk shop. Even if they can't be played, a way to display them on a shelf or wall would have been a great addition to the game. Even allowing players to frame and mount one vinyl in their apartment would have given the records a little more purpose than they serve now.
Not everyone plays an open-world game like it's a collect-a-thon, but for the select few who do, it would be nice to have the option to store their spoils. One person's trash is another person's treasure, but what good is that treasure if it can't be put on display? The Skyrim bookshelf is a perfect example of how games should allow the player to showcase their items. Sure, books may not serve a greater purpose, but a bookshelf full of them does make the player a little bit happier every time they return home.