Next Game - No Main Questline!

[Deleted1811414User]

No more trying to maintain the storyline while i'm rollicking through the wasteland! I would love to see the next open world fallout game be without a main quest. It really takes away from the game after i've already completed it and am re-playing. Just populate the world with many mini quest lines like they already have and perhaps substitute the main quest with character type quest line that would add to replay value. For example, you have the scientist, survivalist, gun maniac, melee, etc. quest lines, but none of these end the game upon completion.

 

It is time to bury the story driven Fallout game.

 

Anyone agree/disagree?

[WastelandAssassin]

from what i've seen, in my years playing computer games, the only type of games that have character types are hack n' slash games, and even these have a main quest line (though i would say that many of these are basically the same, and quite boring)

 

anyhow, making a character type game, in my opinion, will actually make the game more boring

why?? because you actually have less choices, because your character isn't really open for development

 

the whole point about games like Fallout (and even more so in New Vegas) is that you basically get a blank page as your character's characteristics, and you can fill at as you please

so you can be the good scientist who wants to help people, or the crazy bastard who shoots anything he sees, or many other types (whatever the game has for you to choose, you can choose in different ways)

 

because of this, giving you a more specific character will actually limit your gameplay and roleplaying, and will likely make the game seem repetitive during the same playthrough (because you can't just change whenever you want)

 

i would really want to see many many more side quests in these games, because these are the ones that i can never get enough of, but i think that a game without a main quest is a game without purpose, and so it's just boring

more options and an open gameplay is something great, but a "you are here, now do whatever the hell you want" concept will likely get really old, really fast

 

this is just my opinion, and i would love to hear opinions on this (whether you agree or disagree, i want to hear about it :laugh:)

[Herculine]

I think more side-quests would be great, but I don't think the MQ itself can be totally eliminated. While it wasn't true so much with FO3, in New Vegas the MQ has enough alternatives and options that a second (or even third) play-through can still be entertaining as long as you make different choices and side with different factions than you did in your last play-through.

 

I enjoy many hack-n-slash dungeon-crawling games from time to time, but they can ultimately become quite repetitive. One of the things that makes Bethesda's games what they are is all the options, not only in the quests but also in the creation of your own avatar. Take those things away and Bethesda games would drop to the same level as the rest of the hack-n-slash dungeon-crawler games.

[XSoldier]

A Role-Playing Game without a Main Quest? Sounds a bit like a MMORPG. The only difference being that MMORPG's are mainly driven by the concept of the "Holy Grail" (Background Story)

 

For a Single-Player Role-Playing Game, scrapping the Main Quest is a bad idea and will not impress, because the Main Quest is the other drive that the player needs in order to keep the player interested, and to influence the choices you make for your Player Character. No Main Quest means no interest, and no true development of the Character you play. Wandering aimlessly without a main goal is pointless.

 

Even if the "Holy Grail" is there in Fallout, it cannot stand by itself so simply without a guide for the Player Character.

[webster63]

i think the solution is the have the MQ have 5 or 6 alternatives with maybe two ways each could go so you get ten or 12 endings you can get

 

hell of a lot of work thou so probably only throu mods could that happen

[Fatalmasterpiece]

I agree with the OP.

 

I played Morrowind and Oblivion for 1000s of hours without touching the main story line. It wasn't a drive at all. Exploring was.

 

In New Vegas I took the black widow perk and within a couple hours had made my way to New Vegas since Obsidian really really didn't make it much of a mystery where you would find the guy who shot you. Convinced him to go up to his room and then killed him in his sleep... it was so anti climactic, I was left feeling... what, really? He's dead and now I can take over Vegas just by killing House?

 

Overall I felt the story line was very 2 dimensional and would have just been better served by leaving it out all together. I've never finished the main questline in any of Bethesda's games and have probably enjoyed them much more due to that fact.

Edited February 6, 2011 by Fatalmasterpiece

[Herculine]

Well, I agree that nobody wants a game with a main quest that was written by talentless hacks.

 

So, just to clarify, my opinion is that a main quest is a necessary part of this type of game and it should be well-written.

[Fatalmasterpiece]

Are you saying that New Vegas was written by talentless hacks? Because errm... well I would :P

 

Seriously though, what was up with the quest to "find the men who shot you" when some of the first npcs you talk to say he probably came from Vegas and it was obvious that's where he would be. Then the only way they could stop you from just going there right away was by placing high level enemies and invisible walls in the way so you couldn't just cross the mountains, in loo of any actual mystery or writing.

[Thedragonemperor]

I rather disliked the linearity of the storyline. It wasn't horrible, but they did rely on some bad mechanics, such as the ancient invisible wall, to impede progress. I enjoyed it, but I know I will never get the hours out of New Vegas that I did with Fallout 3 and Oblivion. There seems to be little feeling of exploration, the main reason for playing both previously mentioned games for so long.

[ARavinWolf]

I think the MQ has to be kept, but I still agree about the fact that exploring on New Vegas was rapidly diminished, and they should have made the MQ harder anyway. The land itself is much smaller that FO3 and it is very easy to get around.