bendingsignpost | Video game I want to play (Reply)

I love item shop games. Love them. Played the crap out of Recettear and tried to play the earlier games despite UI problems. But what I long for now is an item shop game where you unlock the world around you without you actually going out to do it.

Yeah, there’s the regular journeying out to get stuff, buy stuff, combine stuff, all to bring it back and sell stuff, but you talk to people too and hear where they’re journeying, where they’ve been, when they were there, what monsters they’ve faced, etc. All of that info gets automatically added to a journal.

A bunch of regular customers (adventurers, explorers, the “typical” RPG party and the “typical” enemy team) all stop by and tell you where they’re heading. Do you know that destination? Do you know seasonal dangers? Do you know what’s effective on the monsters they’re likely to find there in this season? The better recommendations you make, the better your rep, the higher you can put prices, etc.

Sometimes, you won’t have info, you won’t have stock to help them (flaming spears are rare, what can I say, try the fire dagger instead), or maybe you decide to meddle in the plot lines and take down some adventurers via bad advice.

Someone comes in to sell you gear they found while out adventuring to that group’s last destination... and sells you that group’s signature items. (Maybe you later have the option of selling one of these items to a grieving friend. Will you drop the price and gain good will and possible favors, or will you take them for all they’re worth?)

Depending on how well you help, or how poorly, different threats from far away areas could potentially come closer to home.