How many items and shops are ideal for a new virtual pet site?
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Alicia
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If they can draw the inspiration from other sites, it will be more easier. Having over 1200 items or more will make the users to become regular, having more options to choose but some sites love to start from what they desires.
uptrendfinancialsignal
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It is not all about having a large number of items but having users have access to quality and relevant items. That is what will improve the overall user experience on the pet site.
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500-1,000 items is a good starting point if you’re including plushies with various color ranges, like toys, gumballs, stamps, books, food items, clothing, drinks, etc. However, a pet site wouldn’t necessarily need to launch with a ton of items at first. It can launch with a smaller selection, like 100-300 items, depending on how the game is set up. Expanding the game over time is a good idea, especially if you don’t have many artists to create a lot of items in the beginning. 500-1,000 items is a lot and can take a while to launch. 100-300 items is ideal for an indie developer with one or two artists.
As long as each item has a purpose, the game can still function well without a massive inventory. Each item serving a purpose is key. For example, a food item can have multiple uses, but if you have a lot of food items, then it’s fine for some to have just one use (e.g., one food point) for feeding your pet.
I also agree that 5-10 shops is a good starting point. You can always expand with more shops as the game grows, especially with specialized shops.
If you’re planning on having a battle dome, then a weapons/battle shop would be ideal, stocked with all types of weapons for players to equip their pets.
As long as each item has a purpose, the game can still function well without a massive inventory. Each item serving a purpose is key. For example, a food item can have multiple uses, but if you have a lot of food items, then it’s fine for some to have just one use (e.g., one food point) for feeding your pet.
I also agree that 5-10 shops is a good starting point. You can always expand with more shops as the game grows, especially with specialized shops.
If you’re planning on having a battle dome, then a weapons/battle shop would be ideal, stocked with all types of weapons for players to equip their pets.
EpiglottalAxolotl
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My game had 140 items at launch. The largest category was decorative furniture items, followed by food, but there's a wide variety of other things in there as well―crafting materials, artifacts that can be given to pets to have effects daily, et cetera.
I disagree with having a large quantity of shops; I make a point to only separate items into different shops if there is a meaningful game-mechanical difference between them. For example, the next shop that will be added allows players to trade any four furniture items for a different furniture item chosen from a rotating stock. This is distinct from the general store, which sells cooking ingredients and simple furniture for standard currency, or the crafting workshop which isn't flavored as a shop but is still a way for players to exchange resources so I'm counting it mechanically.
I disagree with having a large quantity of shops; I make a point to only separate items into different shops if there is a meaningful game-mechanical difference between them. For example, the next shop that will be added allows players to trade any four furniture items for a different furniture item chosen from a rotating stock. This is distinct from the general store, which sells cooking ingredients and simple furniture for standard currency, or the crafting workshop which isn't flavored as a shop but is still a way for players to exchange resources so I'm counting it mechanically.