Let's talk about quest design

Hard coiche, but I have a clear head about this topic....

Edited September 20, 2012 by Baudolino05

like in fallout 1/2! there are many quests on all map. its was very interesting. i think this is the best coiche.

Personaly I'd wan't a quest line that revolves around the characters and companions stories. If the story requires it to be combat driven, text based, adventure based or even puzzle based I don't mind as long as the narrative is consistant through out. The more open ended it is the better though, I would rather have the choice of whether or not i wanted to do an 'adventure' quest or a more combat oriented quest.

I'd like a balanced combination of the last three options (Torment + Fallout/Darklands + Ultima)

I'm also for balanced quests, some involving combat, some involving exploration and some involving social interaction and your companions.

Voted for the Torment one. Personally found it refreshing to gain most of your experience through talking and regaining memories.

 

I think it's more likely that the game will be more stylized toward the BG way though. Either way, I'm happy with either set up. Won't mind if Obsidian tries something completely different and shakes things up. I like surprises in my games.

To me quest desing is the most important feature in a cRPG, like level design in a platform game or puzzle design in a puzzle/adventure game.

The way quests work (not the way they are written, which is another thing) essentially decides the way you play the game.

So, now: I don't think there is a best solution (execution counts way more than idea in this area), but I'm 100% sure there is a solution more faithfull than any other to p&p RPGs, and is the 4th...

Edited September 20, 2012 by Baudolino05

What I'd want isn't what I'll likely see.

 

What I'd like to see is that the NPC faction leaders react to eachother and how they perceive the situations with mild random variation. It's like a chess game to them, they manuever given the board they believe is there. If you could imagine they're like nations in Europa Universalis, they don't always make the same opening move from game to game.

 

The player character(s) begin at a level where the game to them is like The Sims 3 or The Guild 2 except they're adventurers. The player characters struggle to establish some order (or chaos) and the world they know is pretty much structured by these NPC faction leaders. With their growing power, the faction leaders must begin to see them as important factors. There might be a number of ways this can be reacted to. However, the adventuring party (and any adventuring party) that becomes powerful must be seen as a faction in itself. Or if the party is still affiliated with a faction at this point, that faction is seen as having a powerful resource in an adventuring party.

Do not want combat focus.

It was the discovery of quests on the road less travelled in Fallout 1/2 that I remember the most. Where what appeared to be a random interaction with an NPC somewhere yielded results. Granted, I spent a lot of time lost on that map, but it turned getting lost into an opportunity to explore and see what quests I hadn't yet found.

Other: All of the above. What I mean is I want good variety with quests, from combat oriented to open ended text flavored to exploration based quests.

I chose 'other' because I don't think all of the choices listed are mutually exclusive.

I would like it to be like Baldur's Gate where you feel like you have a central quest but you help folk out on the way to that quest. I preferred it to the dungeon focused IWD.

I personally love "talking" quests, where you have to talk someone into doing something or run around and talk to different people. I would also really appreciate it if they stuck in an "infiltration" type quest. You know, the kind where you put on an enemy's clothes and at any point you can say "Screw this!" and fight your way out? Perhaps they're overdone, but I just like them.

 

Overall though, the more open-ended, the better. I'd love to be able to talk my way out of fights.

Quest desing where quest have many solutions and you never or rarely are forced to fight enemies especially you are never locked on some area until you have killed every hostile there.

 

But, I didn't disliked to play IWDs or Tthe Temple of Elemental Evil, or Baldur's Gates, but most fun I had with Fallout, Torment, Darklands and Arcanum.

Quests that actually require you to THINK and actually listen to what people say is always welcome.

While the game necessarily will have a different, probably slightly more combat-oriented flow due to the party mechanics, I think Fallout 2 is a good place to look at in terms of pacing, multiple quest solutions, etc. Arcanum also had a bunch of great quests, though a lot of them felt a little filler-y. It did one thing very well though, and that was offering you multiple solutions without necessary putting them all in your face.

 

I'm not expecting to be able to complete the game as a pacifist, or anything like that because of the party/IE focus. But I would like to be provided with quest design that is a little more multifaceted and varied than Baldur's Gate 2.

I'm not expecting to be able to complete the game as a pacifist, or anything like that because of the party/IE focus. But I would like to be provided with quest design that is a little more multifaceted and varied than Baldur's Gate 2.

 

You can have an (almost) peaceful playthrough with both Darklands and Planescape....

Edited September 20, 2012 by Baudolino05

I'd like a mix between BG2 and Torment. While BG/BG2 probably had an XP balance of 60% combat/40% quest completion, I'd like it to be something like 30% Roleplaying rewards, 30% quest completion, and 40% combat.

 

I'd also like it to be based a lot on character class, though I understand thats not likely feasable.For example, fighters should get xp bonuses from combat, thieves from stealth and thievery, clerics/mages from various related activities (turning undead, learning new spells, etc.)

Edited September 20, 2012 by Oerwinde

Planescape: Torment or Fallout style quest design is what I'm after. Particularly Planescape.

I've choose a system like Ultima, but it's an hard choice... If I can give 2 votes, the another goes to a sysstem like Darklands

I'd like a mix of everything, actually.

I'm totally fine with combat oriented quests/solutions as far as they aren't the predominant option.

 

What I'm fiercely against, on the other hand, is hand-holding and what I usually call "self-solving quests".

I don't want the "Bioware effect" where you simply need to click in the right spot (which incidentally is also the most noticeable thing in the whole area and/or the only spot where my mouse cursor changes shape) to solve a problem.

 

Let's say -for the sake of giving an example- that at some point I need to make an alchemical compound... I don't want solve the "puzzle" just clicking on the alchemical equipment on a table.

I also don't like "first read the right formula clicking on this book, then click on your alembic". It's trivial.

I want to be forced to learn the right formula, maybe not even written explicitly but through few hints/riddles, then I want the option to manipulate different reagents one by one, being even allowed to make mistakes, and in the end I want to succeed because I found the right solution, not because the game solved the puzzle for me or because doing it wrong was just not an option.

Edited September 21, 2012 by Tuco Benedicto

Cross between Fallout and Baldur's Gate please.

 

I swear I must be the only RPG player that didn't really like Planescape: Torment. I need to try replaying it now I'm older.

In glad the majority of people don't want a game focused on combat.

To make it clear, I'm not against good tactical battles. Actually I'm a big fan of turn based games like X-Com or Jugged Alliance, but when combats become predominant in a RPG, I feel like the game is losing its focus, or at least what is supposed to be its focus: roleplay.

If I want bunches of battles I can play a tactical game, right?

Edited September 21, 2012 by Baudolino05

You can have an (almost) peaceful playthrough with both Darklands and Planescape....

 

You can have an almost peaceful playthrough in Planescape, but pretty much all the resources spent on the dialogue/writing went at the expense of solid combat mechanics in that game. I've never played Darklands, but it's not really an IE-like game, so it's not an apt. comparison.