looks cool. some thoughts:
don't worry about improving the models any time soon, if at all. they've got style and character as they are
for the 6th slot, i think you should hold that one open until you develop the plot. i'd bet you'd have atleast 1 "ah, that's it!" that would show itself from whatever the plot became.
that being said, here are a couple ideas off the top of my head:
1) "sleep". it looks like 1 of the screenshots was a night one (or is that inside a cavern, etc?). only allow "sleep" at night/timed whenever... during sleep, allow for any very basic minigames you might think of. some dream themes:
a) "being chased" - basic chase minigame. pacman/simple maze game?),
b) "flying" - (!?). maybe let us fly over the map/region for a little and do some aerial recon or just enjoy the view?,
c) "giant" - put a "huge" version of our character on a small map and let us stomp on some baddies. think "whack-a-mole" type minigame. you get it.
2) "cook". when near a baddie we've slain, random chance the "cook" button activates which lets us set up a quick camp fire... 15 seconds later give us a chance to produce some edibles that might have healing/revitalizing properties for use during our adventures.
otherwise, looks like a good start. keeping my eye on this one
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