Wrote this on the other site. At the root of it, quests are never that interesting, mechanically, in any game: get this, kill that, go here. It’s the context, story, writing that makes them memorable. - ThreadSky

ghostcrawler.bsky.social • 6 days ago

Wrote this on the other site.

At the root of it, quests are never that interesting, mechanically, in any game: get this, kill that, go here. It’s the context, story, writing that makes them memorable.

Comments

phosarius.bsky.social•6 days ago

100%

The famous outhouse quest in Grizzly Hills was just a follow-up to a pick-these-5-nodes quest that we've done hundreds of times.

have2brealistic.bsky.social•6 days ago

I’m loving the quests in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. Yes some are fetch/kill quests but some you think are fetch/kill quests end way differently than you thought. Also great dialogue and writing.

jordanscottwriter.bsky.social•6 days ago

I think games can be thought of as having two arcs: a player arc (acquiring new mechanical skills, mastering skills, exploration, solving problems, new challenges & rewards), and a story arc which is the unfolding fiction of the game world. Well designed quests advance both arcs.

kiry.bsky.social•6 days ago

Agree with the story being a huge impact. I will say as a task lover in games, quests makes my brain happy on what to do next, accomplished reward and move to next task. As much as I would like to, open ended games even with story don't make my brain happy.

faethyra.bsky.social•6 days ago

Had someone say "Avowed quests are all very basic because it's all fetch quests" and I was like "they are??"

Idk if you break down every game to just mechanics and design, I don't think you're allowing yourself to enjoy games.

mooklepticon.bsky.social•6 days ago

I'll never forget Runas the Shamed in Legion. Just another fetch/kill/escort... but Runas will live in my brain forever. It's been 9 years since Legion.

quinnzwirble.bsky.social•6 days ago

You won’t remember what they made you do. You will definitely remember how they made you feel.

p1xelher0.com•6 days ago

Context can be as simple as "the thing I killed was really strong and it made me feel good" through! But yes I think I agree.

teeklin.bsky.social•6 days ago

Just objectively wrong. Plenty of quests have mechanics that are incredibly fun and engaging and mix up the game drastically, introducing gameplay that you can't find in the game outside that quest and breaking up the gameplay loop in interesting and unexpected ways.

torinnkimbatuul.bsky.social•6 days ago

The quests that are best are ones that make you actually have some degree of agency, either in how you resolve the quest or perform the actions in the quest. Having to choose between what's best for your character, your goals, and your surroundings gives the quest tangible weight.

stretch.bsky.social•6 days ago

Absolutely. Crusader Bridenbrad quest in WoW, Starlit Melody in Lost Ark & the piano piece that is played with it. I haven't played either of them in years and they come to mind as some of the most impactful and memorable quests I've played.

phosarius.bsky.social•6 days ago

Bridenbrad is so epic and boiled down it's just 3 fetch quests in a trench coat (which is why we should not boil down games we should play them and have fun 😎

richservo.bsky.social•5 days ago

That’s why Disco Elysium is so unique. The story is the mechanics.

icyrootbeer.bsky.social•6 days ago

Runescape quests are amazing

paulsrockinbluesky.bsky.social•6 days ago

i'm a simple man. that villager needs bear asses, i get the damn bear asses

akatsukiruin.bsky.social•6 days ago

Yeah but then apparently some of the bears don’t have asses so I have to kill even more bears and then we have an ecological catastrophe.

versek.bsky.social•6 days ago

That applies to video games as a whole too imo. "go here, do that" is every game if you boil it down enough. Video games being a medium for art means its about how it makes you feel. The same way a painting is just "dye on a canvas"

buttcrackbill.bsky.social•6 days ago

Opposite way round for me. Quests telling me exactly how to complete some mundane task are always bad, even if they come with an epic story as I'll likely just skip the lore anyway as the quest hasn't made me remotely interested in what's going on...

buttcrackbill.bsky.social•6 days ago

...where as a quest with a bit of mystery behind it, that you have to work out as you go, and is actually a challenge will get me wanting to know more about that part of the story / lore, even if the story itself isn't all that great.

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