17 réponses à ce sujet

[King Cousland]

 One of the things I felt in both Origins and DAII (and most other RPGs for that matter) is that side quests can become very tedious in terms of their consequences. While I understand that side quests often serve as filler and a way to garner gold or provide some more background on events in the game, I feel that they could have more potential, particulalry in terms of their impact. 

Now I'm not suggesting that every single side quests has a choice which will have an impact on the game, but do I think there is potential for more consequential side quests as the game progresses absolutely. In Origins, completing the "Trial of the Crows" questline led to having an extra voice of support in the Landsmeet. In DAII, I felt that questlines like "The Mage Underground", "A Noble Agenda" and "The Last Holdouts" could have had similar narrative impact if the game a longer development cycle. 

In The Next Thing, the Mage-Templar war and the Orlesian Civil War seem to be two stories that will be explored. Therefore, I think that that side quests having a greater impact can be woven in quite well. As I said above, I don't want a game filled with these side quests, but about 10% would do nicely for me. Nor am I suggesting that the consequences of these questlines (I think it best that they would be questlines instead of singular quests) be groundbreaking. I liked the way "Trial of the Crows" worked, and would like to see that expanded on, instead of just getting gold or items all the time, and having sovreigns accumulate. 

For example (using the hypothtical stories above as examples), if the player was an Orlesian loyalist (ie, supported the empress over the Grand Duke) a questline in the manner of "A Noble Agenda" could increase support for Celene's troops. Sticking with the theme of wider exploration the devs have said they want to explore, perhaps completing a certain questline could regain control of a town or important strategic hub for the templars to give just one example. Another benefit of course, is that the consequences of such quests would be guarenteed to have an impact within the scope of the story, while having no need to be recognised when importing into a new game. 

Thoughts?

[Maria Caliban]

I'm still waiting for that one noble to get back at Hawke for killing his son.

That quest was a ****-tease.

[brushyourteeth]

I agree with this completely, provided that the programming doesn't cut back the number of quests we can do or environments we can explore.

They've done a little bit of that in the past... like how hardening a companion could change their outlook and post-game destinies. And I agree with Maria Caliban... I kept wanting  the Magistrate to make good on his promises to ruin you. Or for Dougal to do something a little more meaningful when you didn't give him what he wanted.

It would definitely enhance replayability.

Modifié par brushyourteeth, 12 avril 2012 - 10:53 .

[King Cousland]

Maria Caliban wrote...

I'm still waiting for that one noble to get back at Hawke for killing his son.

That quest was a ****-tease.

Aha, tell me about it. Kind of wanted him to unzip Meredith (not in that way) and jump out like a slitheen during the final battle 

Modifié par harkness72, 12 avril 2012 - 10:51 .

[King Cousland]

brushyourteeth wrote...

I agree with this completely, provided that the programming doesn't cut back the number of quests we can do or environments we can explore.

I don't see why it would. Especially since (if this idea or a similar one) were implemented, they could take place within enviroments that are already in the game, and the quests would take up a small number of total side quests. 

[King Cousland]

 No one has any more thoughts? I thought it was a pretty neat idea (not to sound arrogant) 

[Dessalines]

If they are going to fetch quests, then wrapped them up in a common thing like the War Assets in Mass Effect 3, but not like in Mass Effects 3 which was just to get you to play multiplayer.

[AkiKishi]

Xenoblade- It's amazing very mundane fetch quests become worthwhile when they impact on the social aspect of the game.

Now by collecting X number of this and killing Y number of that I'm changing the dynanic of the town and the people living there.

[AkiKishi]

Begemotka wrote...

BobSmith101 wrote...

Xenoblade- It's amazing very mundane fetch quests become worthwhile when they impact on the social aspect of the game.

Now by collecting X number of this and killing Y number of that I'm changing the dynanic of the town and the people living there.

I have just read the Xenoblade Wiki.Wow.Just WOW. Is the character interaction or quest system as good in-game as it sounds?I do not normally play JRPGs,because I had some really bad experiences with combat systems.Might have to rethink that now.

Did not want to hijack the thread.

I can't say having not read the Wiki but it's very good both the interpersonal relationships of the party and the way your actions impact on the townspeople as a whole. There are things called "Heart-to-Heart" points scattered around the maps. If your social level is high enough you get a scene there with a number of different options which further increase (or not) the heart levels of the party.

Combat in Xenoblade is real time but tactical. You can make anyone the party leader and each character has different skills. Lots of posistioning and comboing required. Some attacks work from behind, to the side etc. Each skill has a cooldown and you can cross skill your party and learn each others abilities a bit further into the game.

Not really much negative to say about it it's a Wii game , it has limitations , part voiced but excellent. You do have to invest in it though. It won't come upto speed for 5 or more hours (it's a looooooooong game).

Modifié par BobSmith101, 13 avril 2012 - 05:00 .

[TheFragCzar]

I challenge BW to make DA3 with 100% beef, no fillers -- that means no fetch quests, no mailman quests, no pointless resource gathering. Give me 20+ hours of action, adventure, and real story. Be innovative, be creative, and you may have my money!

[the_one_54321]

DA:O quests would have been much more meaningful if only they actually affected the Warden's standing in the world. Choosing sides, on any issue, in side quests was meaningless. It was only a way to gather XP and gold.

[Massakkolia]

TheFragCzar wrote...

I challenge BW to make DA3 with 100% beef, no fillers -- that means no fetch quests, no mailman quests, no pointless resource gathering. Give me 20+ hours of action, adventure, and real story. Be innovative, be creative, and you may have my money!

This is the recipe to create a great game. Bioware's resources are wasted on fetch quests, junk loot etc. Sure, that stuff is pretty cheap to implement but it does not add any value other than creating an illusion that the core game is longer than it really is. And I doubt fillers are particularly inspiring for game developers to make. If a quest isn't fun, scrap it. It's as simple as that.

I'd love sidequests to have more impact on the plot or the relationships. I think in DA2 Bioware succeeded somewhat in making the quests relevant in showing how your companions react to certain things but a large chunk of the content was just wasted space. I'd rather have a shorter game with quality written all over it than play a disjointed collection of random deeds.

Every sidequest doesn't have to influence the main plot directly but I would love to see surprising outcomes like in the OP's example Trial of the Crows. It would force the player to involve herself deeper into the decision making when the choices might carry a lot of weight in the future.

I'd love to also see more personal quests that are simply about building friendships, rivalries, romances, family bonds and so on. They don't always have to involve kidnappings or impressive swordfights. Supporting Alistair when he meets his sister or hooking Oghren up with his old flame would be examples of such quests.