Hello, I am making a game and dont have a large playtester base so i figured i would ask here.
Game is about collecting items of various rarity. You can exchange items for better upgrades. You can also sell them to unlock new zones. As of right now, each zone has 6-7 items (starting zone has only 3) and 2-3 upgrades.
Starting zone’s upgrades are made with starting zone items. Zone 2 upgrades are made with zone 2 items etc. Same for obtaining items - you can get only zone 2 items in zone 2.
Both of the item sets start with common, for example:
Starting zone has 2 common and 1 uncommon
Zone 2 has 2 common 2 uncommon 2 rare 2 epic
Now i wonder, should there be more zones but less items - 1/2 per zone and all rarer/same rarity than last zone rarest item, and only 1 upgrade (which you can make with items from whole game, not only the zone the upgrade is), or should it stay as is.
First approach gives a sense of faster progression, however second approach makes zones more interesting and worthwhile. And its easier to come up with designs and ideas for 10 zones rather than 50 smaller designs.
What would be your approach to this problem that would make for a more fun and engaging experience?