Disable / non obvious quest path

zekrallmizzrym · May 2013

What are peoples opinions on using objectives with no quest path / a quest path which requires you to explore, or follow instructions from some dialog?

Asking as i have a quest where some of the objectives require you to do something before progressing.

Example

Objective Dispel the wall of force: The quest path leads to an area past the wall, but you can not pass until you have dispelled the wall. You are given instructions on how to do this within some dialog. I have had a few in game messages saying "your quest is bugged, I can not get past the wall of force etc." But it isn't a bug, it is a case of people just following the quest path and ignoring hints / instructions.

xenopz1 · May 2013

I for one tend to dislike quest paths. However, it really depends on the situation. If the task is super simple (go there, kill something or talk to someone) quest paths save some time (in that if you want to explore, you can explore before doing what you're supposed to and if you want to run a daily foundry you just run forward).

However, there are cases where a clear quest path would be detrimental to the quest. For example puzzles, scavenger hunts (find something hidden somewhere) and so on. In these cases you should however guide the player to a hint/put a visual hint. For example, if you want the player to find something on a tree, put a corpse below the tree showing that someone climbed it so there is interesting things up there. Another option is to put an area explore quest marker, so you guide the player to a small area where the hint is/where you want them to find something.

TLDR:
- If your territorry is huge and the player can get lost and/or take multiple paths, make sure to guide them directly or indirectly.
- If you have a "find" or "puzzle" objective, give them a textual AND visual hint to guide them to where they should start.

Games that don't have huge glowing circles/paths to where the player should go guide them through level design/dialogue. In the end do your best to make a fun map.

PS: In your case, if you're supposed to interact with the wall requiring an object, you can put a "on fail" text, giving the player a hint.

yospeck · May 2013

I'm not in the habit in making quests easy just so people can complete them. I like to make quests that make people think, keep people engaged and feel rewarding when they finally complete them. For the handful of people who just want a quick XP grind and want to coast through a quest that's taken weeks for me to make... I don't make my quests for those people.

Disable / non obvious quest path

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