Choosing What Goes In Each Shop

[JRolik 1]

I just finished [generally] mapping where medicine will be sold in my game, and realized something...I can't easily choose for myself which medicines should be sold there vs. what should be found only in chests and other things. Then, there's the fact I'd originally planned on some small medicine stuff being sold in an earlier section of the game [since it takes place in a school, I made an area near the entry the 'school shop'] and now I'm wondering...What WOULD fit there? Bombs and poison gas? Or are those more for medicine shops?

 

Thus, I decided to look to my fellow developers. How do you guys tend to choose how many kinds of shops there are, what each one sells, where to overlap [if at all] and what can't be bought in a store? Is there a special method for you that works? Or do you tend to just wing it?

[Kitsuki 17]

I just wing it. Mostly, I let the player pick up various/miscellaenous items from chests, if they choose to explore and go through the trouble of solving puzzles. To me, what's the point of looking for the stuff if you can buy a ton of it in the store? I mean, it's free, but it's not interesting for me. :P

 

Though you can overlap items if you like, there's no rule against that.

 

Since my game is set up to be *cough cough* realistic *cough not really*, you can go around and pick up things that are easily picked up in real-life places. For example, in a cafe, the player can pick up a pastry that has some HP, but the pastry's not sold/found anywhere else in the game. I just tend to go with the flow and let the player pick up different things. They probably won't care one way or another as long as it can heal them, unless you're so random or ridiculous that you somehow get people to complain about that kind of thing.

[zahraa 26]

Well I put all of the casual items in shops. (By casual items I mean Items which should be easily accessible for the player, In order to have balanced battles. Like reviving and healing items)  Also each shop has some unique items which can't be found anywhere else. I have a combining system in my game which requires some special items to make super powerful potions. I never put the required items in normal shops. I put them in chests and some other secret places. You know most of the games are based on "rewarding the player". So you should make sure that the player gets a proper reward when they find a chest in a dangerous forest. Overlapping the casual items is fine imo.

 

I just finished [generally] mapping where medicine will be sold in my game, and realized something...I can't easily choose for myself which medicines should be sold there vs. what should be found only in chests and other things. Then, there's the fact I'd originally planned on some small medicine stuff being sold in an earlier section of the game [since it takes place in a school, I made an area near the entry the 'school shop'] and now I'm wondering...What WOULD fit there? Bombs and poison gas? Or are those more for medicine shops?

 

Umm are you sure you're going to sell bombs in a school shop? :P

[JRolik 1]

Umm are you sure you're going to sell bombs in a school shop? :P

 

I honestly just can't figure out /what/ to put in the school shop anymore. Maybe the really simple health/mana potions that do little but are useful in an emergency? I'm starting to think the bomb and poison gas concept is better left at the weapon shop. Though it could totally make a random event if someone is talking to an NPC and they point out it's weird to have bombs there. xD

[Ardaceus 21]

When I make a shop, I make the most basic rule of all... DON'T LET A COMMON SHOPKEEPER BUY YOUR ITEMS!!! IT IS STUPID, AND THAT IS TOTALLY UNREALISTIC!!!
 
But seriously, the sell feature is really stupid, and quite frankly a few other things, like you go to Joses (Joses is the name of a fast food chain in my game) buy a Grillbur, and then the stupid part comes when you go to the weapon shop across the street, and the super buff weaponsmith buys your Grillbur for 100 (insert currency name), then sells you a sword for 40... Like what even!?!?
 
I balance out all the prices of items in my game, I make sure that things are logical, and that prices add up, like you can go to the Java Good Time Cafe (the name of the first cafe in my game) and you can buy a coffee for 50 â„­, while at Joses, you can buy a Grillbur and a Mr. Spritz with fries for 260 â„­, then a Sharpsword costs 1220 â„­ in comparison, but to acquire a Sharpsword from this city, you need a weapon license from the city to buy weapons so that the government is in control of what weapons are owned by people. Then if you want to buy a hotel room for the night, you'll need to spend 350 â„­ for room, service, and breakfast for a room for 5. If you have a condition that is severe and needs tending, you'll have to go to a doctor, who you can pay 200 â„­ for a full checkup and cure for condition... BUT! if the character who is getting a checkup has a legal medical card in the area, such as if the high elf goes to a hospital in a high elf region, or if a Danne goes to hospital in a Danne region, you don't have to pay the money because of free health care laws, though if an Ordan goes to a Nozan clinic, you'll have to pay the 200 â„­. Then to make some money back, you can go to a trader or visit Mr. Goodz which will both buy your items for a reduced cost, but still for money which is hard to make, and for a reduced price, it ranges from 90% to half of the original price.

 

That is how things work in my game.

 

So really please just use logic when creating your world and make sure the prices balance out, and definitely make sure that each place sells exactly what it should... unless if you are making a game that has weird logic to begin with.

[JRolik 1]

Um yeah i'm not big on the sell feature most of the time either [i'll probably make like one or two shops that actually buy stuff, not sure yet]. And most of it /is/ logic, like with armor vs weapons and stuff. The main issue i'm having is with the whole "what do you sell in a general shop versus what you sell at the specialty stores?". I'm debating making an item called a pencil and call it a dagger. So that you can buy pencils that make cruddy daggers but are logical. Or something.

 

Why did I make a school store. It was literally the first shop I made before I remembered 'schools have a nurse's office usually  so that's probably where you'd buy medicine'. Now it's more like a random space being used.

 

I wonder if I should make a new thread getting help with item ideas that are based on school supplies. o.o;