Four Brothers - Generative Exercise - The Sandbox

One of the elements of a sandbox game, such as Minecraft, that might find its way into RPGMaker VX Ace is a random start area, random event placement, etc.

The community is tingling with resources to achieve this.
 
Random event locations often add additional replay value, as you are going to have to find a new path through the game on each additional playthrough.

How does that compare to random item drops?

In a game such as Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords, I was not so much a fan of pure item randomization, as it often led to balance issues throughout the game (or hours of crummy drops.)

It also led to a lack of immersion, where players would save the game, get the drop, and reset if it was a less than desirable drop.

In an Alpha game, such as Damned, you might find required items completely unobtainable (a combination required to open a locked safe spawns inside the safe it is intended to open.)

How does this translate to Four Brothers?
I think we keep we strive for a healthy mix and randomize certain elements:
Starting character.
Starting dungeon location.
We set specific regions where the quest specific items can drop, and maybe design a story-relevant "out" should we be in an impossible scenario (like those safes we couldn't open in Damned.)

Next week I am going to be looking at team composition elements in games.