Why quest? I quest in order to do somethign different. For those times that I don''t feel like running the leveling treadmill over and over and over again. Problem is most quests are the same thing. Go kill monster x to retrieve item y, take item y to person z, and get reward. Repeat steps as necessary. 1. Robust RANDOM quest generator. (Imagine AO''s mission generator, or DAOC /task generator x 100) One that would generate unique multi-step quests with a semi-decent story without being to repetetive. Also this would have to have the ability to know what quests you have done and at a later time make another quest that connects to a previous one. 2. Non-linear quests quests that can change depending on a. Specific choices the character makes, and b. The style in which the character takes on the quest. (i.e. stealth, head on, etc.) 3. Party quests- quests specifically designed for groups, not just with harder monsters but with puzzles requiring at least two people to solve, or requiring skill from two seperate classes to be completed. (example doors to get to the boss require magic cast on one, and another has to be picked....) 4. Multi-group/guild quests- quests Designed around the concept of multiple parties coordinating from completely different areas. (I.E. knocking out the shield generator on Endor so that the death star can be attacked.) 5. Quest rewards besides "uber items." perhaps standard items with a unique look, access to a skill from a different class, access to a new area, faction points. 6. Hidden quests that require research to find, and research to complete. (I.E. an ancient wizard spell that has remained forgotten for centuries. First you have to find out about it, then you have to find it) Well here is an idea. Definately a twist. But alot of quests in books are the opposite of RPG''s its "find item X to kill Y" There just is usually more story to it. One of my biggest problems with everquest, was that what ever you did, the world didn''t change. It would grow with expansions, but the world itself wouldn''t change. You can always go into the orc dungeon near the wood elves, and always find that the dark elves were plotting with them. It never changed. I started before the first expansion came out. Came back after Luclin came out, and it still never changed. Players couldn''t help but feel that they had no say in the world. What I would like to see are one-time-in-the-game quests. Large quests that require (to go back to previous posts) multiple people/parties to complete and once they do complete it it has major changes on the world and even on the game itself. Example. Long ago the world was split into two pieces in order to stop a massive world. It is now long past the time when the original planners had planned for the world to be rejoined, but the steps needed to do this were lost when the capital city the instructions were placed in disappeared without a trace. Players must first find the lost city. Find and decipher the book that contains the steps needed, and then complete the quest. Upon completeing this major lore-centric quest the world is practically doubled in size. Opening up new starting cities, new races, and new classes to everyone in the player base. The reward for the player(s) who solve this massive puzzle? None except that now thier names are in the history books of the world. (Isn''t that enough with the virtual Expansion they just unlocked in the game) It would be interesting for some of the games expandsions to be opened this way also. Now you may or may not like this idea. In a game like everquest that is strictly PVE it makes sense to me. It lets players act as actual movers in the story

no comments?

When my thoughts turn to a game that I''d like to make, it always involves a world that the players can actually change. I (along with probably a million other people) have notes for a MMO that consists of locked classes/areas of the game that will not be accessed until certain events set into place by players and/or a team of dedicated "characters actors" that are employed by the game company.

The major obstacle to a game like this is the seeming lack of writing talent that is being utilized by these game companies. The game lore is there for background, but isn''t used to advance the story and players don''t feel that they are involved with it at all. To top it off, every bit of lore that I''ve seen is either cliche or inconsistant with other lore in the game.

I eagerly anticipate the first game that comes along with good gameplay and uses story to keep people interested in things besides the leveling treadmill and the next big item. Imagine having the new wizard''s keep that was built in the capital city being named after the person who rediscovered that particular lost arcane art through a long, involved quest. Who wouldn''t want to make that type of lasting effect on their game world?

I agree, i think part of the problems are that designers don''t want to keep certain things like that secret for fear that they might not be used.

Another part of the problem lies with beta testing. Beta testing, in my opinion, ruins the "New" experience of the game world. People from the open beta end up already knowing where to hunt, how to get from point a to point b and loads of other stuff.

I know that beta testing is ESSENTIAL to putting out a good game, and I know that some ammount of beta to live game experience crosses over, but what im looking at is I want beta testers to start off fresh in the world as I do.

Have a seperate world for beta testing - as compared to the game when it goes live. This way everyone starts off in a brand new world and is on even footing for experiencing it.

World changing quests are great and all, but how many can you really implement? A changing world is a very desirable feature in MMOs, but you also don''t want a world that changes too dramatically too often. It would be cool to see a game that has the rare world changing event, along with many very minor changing quest.

The biggest thing I think that needs to be changed are the rewards for quest. Most quest generally give you some exp and loot. Well, if I''m going to do a quest that take three hours to complete, give me the equivalent of three hours of experience. Also, rewards should be more random then I see in most games. Knowing exactly what you''re going to get gives you a reason not to do the quest. For example, I know quest_01 is going to yield a new helmet of decent quality. I also know I can buy a slightly better one from a player that''s not too expensive. So, I skip the quest, buy the helmet, and go get some more experience. This is a major design flaw imo.

On a side note, EQ is releasing they''re newest expansion today, Lost Dungeons of Norrath. The coolest thing in my opinion in this new expansion, is the points system. As you finish these new dungeon adventures, which are quest, you recieve points with this certain faction of NPCs. You can then spend those points on items that merchants of this faction sell. So, you get to pick your own reward. Very good idea if you ask me.


moonshot aka Jayson Bailey

Well, by design a "World changing Quest" (wcq) is a very Rare quest. Its larger in size and scope than an "epic quest." The WCQ''s point is to be a one-time quest (for the entire playerbase on that server), that opens up certain features in the game, whether they be class, race, area, spells, etc. They can be started by any number of players, but it can only be finished once, the reward for the player is nothing except what the entire player base gets, and the recognition for opening up...(i.e. the area gets named for them, the spell caries thier name, ite ends up in history books etc.)


As for the different rewards for every quest, it depends on the quest. Also, if your doing quests just for the rewards then yeah I could agree with you. But I tend to do quests just for the fun of doing the quest...most of the time, the reward is inconsequential. Of course some quests need to have a fixed reward..I.E. if your doing a quest to assemble a sword...the sword should be your reward.