Distribution of Items

[Dragonite]

So when it comes to scattering items around the game world, do you have any strategies? Do you throw down an item (hidden or otherwise) in every single nook and cranny available, trying to make the most of negative possibility space, or do you use items more sparingly? Do harder-to-access areas (whatever that means in Pokémon) see better items? Do you always try to put the Earthquake TM inside a cave?

(I ask mainly because I don't really have any good answers for this, for Pokémon games or otherwise.)

boy does this feel a lot like my Tall Grass thread somehow

 

[TechSkylander1518]

I think any strategies with item placements will depend mostly on the intended difficulty of the game.

Reborn tends to have loads of hidden items, but they're mostly the everyday potions/Poke Balls (which are harder to buy) The general goal of Reborn is to rely more on Pokemon's natural movesets, so when

Uranium's item placement didn't stand out to me much, but what did stand out was that TMs were often placed about as casually as an item in a route, and had pretty good ones, too. (there usually wasn't more than two per location, though) Uranium tended to involve high-leveled opponents, so giving people strong moves and encouraging strategy/making it easier to grind helped it out. High-demand items like the Lucky Egg and Exp. Share were given for taking part in something else in the game. (Exp Share was with the Garlikid Sidequest, Lucky Egg was given in the Day Care) It's a good way to make sure an item won't be missed, but I don't think that's something that needs saying-Exp Share has been a quest item in every gen, I think.

Ethereal Gates had a mix of the two-there were easy, classic items out there, but also TMs and type-boosting items, if you looked in the right places. (though I could never find them myself)

Edge Rising, being a faster game, put the high-demand items (Lucky Egg, evo stone, Exp Share, Leftover) relatively early on, but with a visible challenge for each one, usually a battle in front of it. (well, the Unlucky Egg didn't have a challenge, but it looked like it would be) There were less regular items about, but there was quite an abundance of money to buy them with,




But I think we can all agree that we need to have at least one item in a trash can at some point.

 

[kirlial]

Typically if you're doing a somewhat long game then put the better items either towards the end of the game or make them difficult to obtain. Rare items are the main reward for your exploring so don't give them out too easily. Additionally, some of the less valuable items might be useful early on if you don't have many great items.
Aside from that, I think it's nice to have a game full of items. Not necessarily under every rock but generally plentiful. Early on, expect to see potions and berries and maybe some weaker TMs like rock tomb or protect. Still, there's so many items to choose from that every map should have at least a couple of things and people should be able occasionally offer you items too. Useful items make exploring both fun and rewarding. Very useful items can even be rewards from tricky puzzles and side-quests. Getting the player to explore more both makes your game feel longer and it can also help to immerse the player and perhaps allow you to subtly flesh out your region, even if only through flavour text.
I don't really worry too much about the item's location but I think I'd instinctively put things like soft sand on a beach.