5 replies to this topic

[Alucard648]

So you have an idea for info shop that charges big money for certain strings. What it could offer for such economical effort? Your ideas, please.

[Mani Kanina]

The entire script of The Bee Movie.

[Deedee]

The problem is that you can reload away information gain, so info shops where all you gain is info will result in the player savescumming it and the cost being worthless, and there's really no way around this; a savvy player could copy their save file if they suspect that you'll just save over them buying out the shop; and then there's repeat playthroughs to worry about.

The solution is that the expensive info shop has to be a real shop that sells you something; could be as simple as setting a counter to a value that unlocks a secret or something. If the info you're selling is a password, you could have the password you're given be randomly selected when you buy the info, and before buying the password the password either doesn't work or they only accept some dev password that only you know.

[Mani Kanina]

The problem is that you can reload away information gain, so info shops where all you gain is info will result in the player savescumming it and the cost being worthless, and there's really no way around this; a savvy player could copy their save file if they suspect that you'll just save over them buying out the shop; and then there's repeat playthroughs to worry about.

The solution is that the expensive info shop has to be a real shop that sells you something; could be as simple as setting a counter to a value that unlocks a secret or something. If the info you're selling is a password, you could have the password you're given be randomly selected when you buy the info, and before buying the password the password either doesn't work or they only accept some dev password that only you know.

The maze path does not work at all until you buy the info, and the path is randomized after you buy it. :^)

[Moosh]

Charge the player an arm and a leg for trivial but unsettling information. You pay 999 rupees to learn that The Hero of Dreams is almost three times as old now as ZC was when The Hero of Dreams first released.

[notmichaeljfox]

I like to have a trade-off between cost and effort. I have an info shop that gives hints about the nearby maze:

Tier 1. "You've already seen a hint" (i.e. pay close attention to where you've been and you'll see a hint)

Tier 2. "The Sage knows the way" (i,e. the hint is on the screen where the sage is, not that he'll tell you)
Tier 3. "North, East, South, then East again" 

I've also thought about high-risk high-reward situations. In Fallout 4, there is a fortune teller who gives you hints for later in the game. Some of the hints are vague enough that you don't really understand what or when they are for, but triggering them activates an additional option later on that removes a boss fight. It would require custom items or counters, similar to what Deedee has said above.