four quests

[Malchik]

I enjoy Morrowind, but last night I had one of those moments when I was irritated that the quests are so samey. To me they fall into one of four, as listed above (escort is the same as protect IMO). More particularly, you know exactly what sort of quest it is from the moment you are given it (with very few exceptions).

 

This made me wonder if there could be any other types of quest. Those of you with experience of other games, do they have different kinds of quest in those games and if so what and how?

[Maquissar]

The seven pilgrimages. It is basically just "go and pray", i.e. "GO AND CLICK ON

ACTIVATOR". I think that there are no different types of quests than these...

but could there be more types? Suggest some... I personally can't think of

much else doable in an RPG game like Morrowind, but maybe it's because I

just woke up ;)

[Marxist ßastard]

Add "follow" to the list (Fargoth's gold? The Raven Rock Ebony thief?) and I'll have to regretfully agree with you.

[Malchik]

Yes, follow - the unfaithful husband in Tribunal fits that and the white guar.

 

I would classify the shrine visits as 'find'. I originally linked this with 'fetch' but perhaps they are separate. So we have 6 - find, fetch, deliver, kill, follow and protect. I can't really think of any other types of quest there could be.

 

Why then do I not consider MW the best game I ever played (I'd put Ultima 7 Serpent Isle and Ultima 8 higher)?

 

I think the absence of surprises doesn't help. There's the Lady's Ring and the one about being an actor in Trib where the endings are unexpected. There should be more like that. You could go to the shrine at Mount Kand expecting to get the ebony mail but be turned into a goat and have to discover the rare black-eyed Suzy to graze on before you could get the mail.

 

Also the odd puzzle wouldn't go amiss. Apart from the two at the end of the main Trib quest there are none. I wouldn't want MW to end up as a game you can't play without a clue book but if each faction had one such quest (especially if it was an optional one) it could add variety. There really isn't much intellectual challenge at the moment.

 

Not that I am knocking the game - after all, I've played it as long as any game and haven't finished with it yet. Just musing really.

 

Edited by Malchik.

 

The plant of course should be black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia). Not quite sure how that mistake crept in!

[Marxist ßastard]

Yerp, seven kinds of quests -- find, fetch, deliver, kill, follow, protect, and persuade.

[Shakkara]

Go play Albion (see the game review thread), that story is immensely complicated and not boring.

[Maquissar]

Ok then, let's think of how these seven kinds of quests could be improved, and

which other types could be added to the list. However, I don't think this should

be in Off-Topic, but rather in General Morrowind, or maybe in Me-Mod (if you

take these as suggestions for the Mod, which is the main reason why I am posting

this.)

 

1. FIND/FETCH

This could apply to a lot of occasions. You could have to find an enemy camp and

then, without attacking or doing anything, report back. You could have to find

someone's long-lost nephew, or heirloom. You could have to find a replacement

for a piece of machinery which has broken. You could have to find a book for

someone's collection. Of course, it's still a matter of finding/fetching something,

but the context should provide a little variety.

 

2. DELIVER

The opposite of fetching, this too could apply to a number of different occasions.

It could be your ordinary "deliver X to Y" quest. You could also have to plant

something on someone, if possible.

 

3. KILL/DESTROY

Not much to say about kill, as the only things that could change would be the

victim, and the reason why you should kill him/her. However, there should also

be quests where you are asked to destroy something; for example, set fire to

a warehouse, break a section of a wall or sabotage an enemy catapult.

 

4. FOLLOW/ESCORT/PROTECT

Not much to say about this one either. You could escort someone somewhere,

you could make a prisoner and then bring him back to your camp, you could

follow an unfaithful husband without him noticing you. The only difference between

ESCORT and PROTECT is that you escort someone/something that moves (e.g.

a traveller, or a caravan) and you protect someone/something that doesn't (e.g.

a merchant's house)

 

5. PERSUADE

This type of quest should always use a multiple-choice interface. Some answers/

dialogue options should only appear if your intelligence and your personality are

higher than a certain level. Other answers should appear only after you have

read or found out something. This kind of quests could evolve into other quests.

(e.g. = failure to convince someone not to go somewhere dangerous could evolve

into you having to protect him; convincing your captain to attack an enemy camp

could evolve into you joining that attack.)

 

6. MAKE

According to your particular skills in a discipline, you could be asked to make a

custom piece of armor, or a potion, or even clothing and furniture, in exchange

for money.

 

7. INVESTIGATE

You could be given the task to learn something and then report back. (e.g. = You

could be given the task to find who committed a crime and bring him to justice.

The only difference between this type of quest and the Seyda Neen Tax Collector

Quest is that the latter was too easy, and almost done automatically. All you had

to do was talk to certain people. What I'm thinking of is that you could actually

have, using your own observation skills, deduce who has committed a particular

crime, why, how, where and so on, provide evidence, and then report back and

answer detailed questions about it, using multiple answers.)

 

8. PARTECIPATE IN CONTESTS

You should be able to partecipate in contests of fighting, running, swimming,

archery, cooking, drinking and so on. You could also be asked trivia questions

and win money if you answer correctly. You should also be able to gamble.

You could also run for a particular office, e.g. mayor of a small town; you'd have

to make a sort of electoral campaign (i.e. raise the other villagers' disposition

towards you) and if enough people like you, you could be elected.

 

This is all I can think of at the moment, sorry if my suggestions aren't very

original but it's difficult to come up with something creative... but maybe there

are other types of quest, or other variants of existant types of quest. I'll keep

thinking about it... do the same :)

[Xionith]

I am not sure what category this would fall under, but...Quests like the one in Trib. where you have to be an actor in the play? Probably protect, because in theoretically (sp?) you are protecting the "sick" cast member who was going to get assasinated.

[Malchik]

Xionith, it's 'kill', surely. However as I said earlier, this is one of the few quests where the end is not obvious from the beginning and that makes it more imaginative.

 

There is so much about the game that appeals to me it seems a little unfair to quibble but all companies do market research and therefore should be open to user views.

 

I have said already I would not like to see the genre changed substantially but a little increase in intellectual content and variety say in how you follow, or how things are hidden and how quests change from what you expect would be what I would like to see in future.

 

I am just a little concerned that with 3-d gaming* the next probable innovation, concentration could be on appearance only in the first few new games issued.

 

*Although there's something in my local paper today (old news to those who read computer magazines I'm sure) about the new chip Sony is introducing in 2006. It still makes me uneasy - the triumph of style over content is getting too common!