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Encyclopedia > Quest (gaming)

A quest in a gaming context, especially in MMORPGs, is generally a task or series of tasks, which a player or group of players may complete in order to gain a reward. Rewards may include experience points, loot, spells, in-game currency, faction hits, or any combination of the above. A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which players assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create narratives. ... Players interacting in Ultima Online. ... In common language, a task is part of a set of actions which accomplish a job; the sense is that useful work is getting done. Task analysis is the analysis or a breakdown of exactly how a task is accomplished, such as what sub-tasks are required. ... A player character or playable character (PC for short) is a fictional character in a game, that is controlled by the player. ... Experience points (often abbreviated as exp or xp) are a representation of a characters advancement and improvement in skills in role-playing games. ... Looting in a gaming context, specifically in MMOGs, is the process by which a player character obtains items such as in-game currency, spells, equipment or weapons from the corpse of a creature or possibly the corpse of another player in a PVP situation. ... Magic: The Gathering. ...

Contents


Overview of quests

Typical quests involve killing a set number of creatures or collecting a list of specific items. Some quests may take only a few minutes or hours to complete, while others may take several days or weeks. Often, the larger the reward, the longer the quests takes to finish, and it is common for a quest to require a player's character to be a certain level before they are allowed to begin. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...


Some games, like EverQuest, have certain quests that can only be completed by player characters of a specific class or race. In turn, the rewards for those quests are often only useable by them. Other quests are doable by anyone and their rewards useable by anyone. EverQuest (A computer game) is a 3D fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that was released on March 16, 1999. ... A character class represents a characters archetype and career in many role-playing games. ...


Furthermore, some quests may only be completed once per character for as long as they play the game. Other quests may be done several times, and still others can be completed as many times as a player likes. A common type of quest that is allowed to be done over and over is one that yields a reward of faction with a particular group of NPCs. In EverQuest and other games, "building up" or "raising" faction with certain NPCs opens up the door or, makes available, new quests and safe passage through the lands they inhabit. A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a role-playing game whose actions are determined by the gamemaster. ...


Another type of quest found in MMORPGs such as EverQuest, EverQuest II, RuneScape, or World of Warcraft involve the use of trade skills. Generally, in these types of quests the player is required to obtain raw materials (e.g. chopping or gathering wood for carpentry or fletching, mining ore for smithing, etc.) for their specific trade skill(s) and combine them together with other (sometimes "storebought") items to produce useable items to wear (clothes), equip (weapons) or to sell to other players or NPC merchants for game currency. EverQuest II (commonly abbreviated as EQ2), the sequel to EverQuest, is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and shipped on November 8, 2004. ... RuneScape is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) implemented using Java, with over two million active players[1] using over 130 servers. ... World of Warcraft (commonly abbreviated as WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Blizzard Entertainment. ... Trade skills in the MMORPG EverQuest are player-performed functions utilizing various items gathered or purchased in the game to create weapons, armor, tools, food, jewelry, potions, etc. ... A carpenter is a skilled craftsman who performs carpentry -- a wide range of woodworking that includes constructing buildings, furniture, and other large objects out of wood. ... Fletching is the ancient art of creating arrows from materials such as wood and feathers. ... A blacksmith A blacksmith at work A blacksmith at work A blacksmiths fire Hot metal work from a blacksmith A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from iron or steel by forging the metal; i. ...


Questing to obtain rewards or loot is one of the main attractions to MMORPGs because it gives players a feeling or sense of accomplishment. Items awarded to a player through a quest may also be tradeable, providing a secondary financial reward when the item is sold. Some quests however restrict their rewards to the player completing the quest (no-drop or soulbound).


Side-quest

A side-quest is an optional section of a video game, usually a RPG. It is a smaller mission within a larger storyline. As a general rule, the completion of side-quests are not essential for the game to be finished, but bring various benefits to the player characters. Side-quests often give high amounts of experience points, additional or superior equipment (for example, the Ultima Weapon in various Final Fantasy games), treasures, background information, or new playable characters. Examples includes non-player characters encountered outside a town, who might ask the player to escort them to a location, retrieve a lost object or so forth. This article is about computer and video games. ... Computer role-playing games (CRPGs), often shortened to simply (RPGs), are a type of computer and video games that use traditional gameplay elements found in pen-and-paper role-playing games. ... A player character or playable character (PC for short) is a fictional character in a game, that is controlled by the player. ... Experience points (often abbreviated as exp or xp) are a representation of a characters advancement and improvement in skills in role-playing games. ... A hidden weapon is a phrase most commonly used in reference to an inventory item in a video game. ... Final Fantasy ) is a series of computer and console role-playing games produced by Square Enix (originally Square Co. ... A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a role-playing game whose actions are determined by the gamemaster. ...


Sometimes side-quests even unlock new characters within the game, enhancing the game experience. Some games, such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, include side quests that exist only for the purpose of character development, so that the player may learn more about the NPCs who have joined his party, or otherwise give the player a better understanding of the game's storyline or setting. Planescape: Torment particularly relied on such quests, with much of the back-story exposed in heart to hearts with party members. A drawback of this approach when used extensively is that the story is obscured if too much is hidden in character dialogues the player must remember to access or even arrange to "unlock". Notable criticism of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords was levelled at what were seen as plot holes, when they could be filled in with conscious (but unobvious) player effort. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KotOR) is an RPG video game originally for the Microsoft Xbox and later for PCs running Microsoft Windows. ... A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a role-playing game whose actions are determined by the gamemaster. ... Planescape: Torment is a computer role-playing game (CRPG) that takes place in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Planescape setting. ... Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (KOTOR II) is an RPG video game for the PC and the Microsoft Xbox. ... A plot hole is a gap in a storyline that goes against the flow of logic set-up by the plot. ...


While some mini-quests are often little more than annoyances, game-designers will often use them to inject some humour, as in the case of the scroll of Icarian Flight from The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Game series such as The Elder Scrolls, Baldur's Gate, Fallout and Legend of Mana are primarily or almost entirely based on side-quests, creating many possibilities of development to the game. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, also known simply as Morrowind, is a first-person (also playable in third person) computer role-playing game in Bethesda Softworks The Elder Scrolls series. ... Bethesda Softworks Elder Scrolls 10th anniversary logo from 2004. ... Title screen of Baldurs Gate, the first game in the series. ... Fallout box art Fallout is a computer role-playing game produced by Tim Cain and published by Interplay in 1997. ... Legend of Mana (originally released as 聖剣伝説 LEGEND OF MANA/Seiken Densetsu LEGEND OF MANA in Japan) is the fourth game in the Seiken Densetsu series. ...


Multiquest

In some multiplayer games, fetch quests can be completed by two or more player characters turning in the required items. This provides an additional dimension to questing, as players who collect rare quest pieces can either sell their participation in the quest or assist friends with completion of more involved quests. Only one player gets the reward for participating in the quest, though.


Quest chain

A quest chain is a group of quests that are completed in sequence. Completion of each quest is prerequisite to receiving the next quest in the chain. Quests usually increase in difficulty as a player progresses through the chain. The quests typically reveal a single plotline in stages that explains the reason for the quests.


Types of quests

Fetch quest

The fetch quest is a somewhat derogatory name for a common sort of quest seen in many video game role-playing games (RPGs) and adventure games. A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... Computer role-playing games (CRPGs), often shortened to simply (RPGs), are a type of computer and video games that use traditional gameplay elements found in pen-and-paper role-playing games. ... This is an article about a game company. ...


There are several highly recognizable stages to the standard fetch quest:

  1. Your party is told to go find an item, usually rare, usually obtainable in only one place.
  2. You must travel to and through that place, which is more often than not a dungeon. You'll probably have to fight a boss to escape with the item.
  3. You must return the item to the person who assigned the quest, or take it where they told you.
  4. You are usually rewarded, in addition to the experience points, in some way: either a power-up, money, access to a new area in the game, or an item for another fetch quest.
    • Optionally, the party can choose not to fulfill the quest, but keep the item. The party may decide that the item, being usually a magic weapon, armor or amulet, is more valuable than the quest reward. In some cases, breaking the quest agreement may be a more appropriate course of action for the party's alignment. The player will lose the reward but will benefit from the item's powers.

Sometimes fetch quests nested within fetch quests describe the entire plot of a game. In games, a dungeon represents a dangerous area with many hidden secrets to explore. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Experience points (often abbreviated as exp or xp) are a representation of a characters advancement and improvement in skills in role-playing games. ... Power Up, the Professional Organization of Women in Entertainment Reaching Up is an organization with the stated mission to promote the visibility and integration of gay women in entertainment, the arts, and all forms of media. Power Up provided funding and assistance to the 2003 short film . ... In Dungeons & Dragons and some similar role-playing games, alignment refers to the moral and ethical perspective of the player characters, non-player characters, monsters, and societies in the game. ... It has been suggested that Elements of plot be merged into this article or section. ...


It is notable that in relatively recent adventure games, when fetch quests had already established themselves as clichés, the protagonist seemed too bored and tired of them, replying to characters he met like 'Oh not again, I knew it. Don't tell me you want me to go and bring you something in exchange for this [object], will you?' somehow self-satirizing the game itself.


Fetch quests are ubiquitous in RPGs because they are a plausible way to force the player to explore dungeons and advance the story. However their universal use has caused annoyance with some gamers, particularly the simplistic case of Fetch quests, sometimes known as Fedex Quests


Fedex quest

(also known as an Errand-boy Quest) A Fedex Quest is a common or slang term for a type of mission in a computer role-playing game. It is named after the company Fedex, based on the task at hand. Slang is the non-standard or non-dialectal use of words in a language of a particular social group, and sometimes the creation of new words or importation of words from another language. ... Computer role-playing games (CRPGs), often shortened to simply (RPGs), are a type of computer and video games that use traditional gameplay elements found in pen-and-paper role-playing games. ... FedEx (NYSE: FDX), properly FedEx Corporation, is a company that offers overnight courier, ground, heavy freight, document copying and logistics services. ...


In a Fedex Quest, the player is essentially given one of two options:

  • Go to Place A, find me Object B and return with it.
  • Take Object B to Place A, and return to me.

Sometimes, a FedEx Quest can be the beginning of the game; a simple quest which is interrupted by events which will lead the player character through the main plot.


Reactions to FedEx quests

Some gamers feel that the simple nature of FedEx quests - or over reliance on them - is a sign of a poor role playing game. Instead of formulating interesting ways for a player to explore the game world, these gamers say, the developers instead use Fedex Quests in order to get the player to explore certain areas.


It is argued that, without simple quests such as Fedex Quests, a great deal of time is wasted in-game.


Common examples of FedEx quests

In the Orc campaign of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, the action begins with the main player being asked to deliver a note to a town leader. The note itself is never mentioned again in the game, and only exists to provide a reason why an otherwise solitary character would enter a town moments after badmouthing civilization. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, released by Blizzard Entertainment in 2002, is a real-time strategy computer game and the second sequel to Warcraft. ... Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, released by Blizzard Entertainment in 2002, is a real-time strategy computer game and the second sequel to Warcraft. ...


The popular computer role playing game The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind uses this form of quest often. Most notable is a quest where the player must return with items in order to be considered worthy of a title. Like many of these quests in the game, the player is allowed to keep the items he finds. Computer role-playing games (CRPGs), often shortened to simply role-playing games (RPGs), are a type of video or computer game that traditionally use gameplay elements found in paper-and-pencil role-playing games. ... The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, also known simply as Morrowind, is a first-person (also playable in third person) computer role-playing game in Bethesda Softworks The Elder Scrolls series. ...


The RPG-satire program called Progress Quest is filled with a great deal of Fedex Quests, even though the player literally does none of it. Progress Quest is a Windows computer game created as a parody of EverQuest and other massively multiplayer computer role-playing games. ...


Collect the pieces plot/quest

A collect the pieces plot is a stock plot in which the objective is to reassemble some item (which usually has mystical powers) which has been broken up in some fashion. A common object in a collect the pieces plot is a crystal. The "collect the pieces" stock plot is particularly useful for creating a long, segmented story such as those found in serials and video games, because each segment brings with it unique challenges as the story's characters attempt to locate a single piece of the puzzle. The protagonist(s) are given this overarching plot as the initial quest, and collecting each piece becomes an additional quest. Usually there is some penultimate quest at the conclusion of collecting all the pieces. It has been suggested that Elements of plot be merged into this article or section. ... Serial is a term, originating in literature, for a format by which a story is told in contiguous installments in sequential issues of a single periodical publication. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ...


There are two main forms of collect the pieces plots:


Total recovery: A total loss of the item, which results in many sub quests for the pieces. Each sub-quest can have a completely different storyline to it, although each ends in a recovery of one of the pieces.

Partial recovery: Only part of the item is missing, but the whole still cannot function without the missing portion. This is differentiated from a fetch quest as the objective item is missing and needs to be replaced, as opposed to retrieving an item that was never in possession. The Legendary Triforce In the fictional world of the Legend of Zelda series of video games, the Triforce (sometimes called The Golden Power or The Golden Triforce) is a holy relic created by three goddesses. ... The Legend of Zelda series (often shortened to just Zelda, TLoZ or LoZ), first published on February 21, 1986 by Nintendo, is a series of video games created by the celebrated game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. ... Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KotOR) is an RPG video game originally for the Microsoft Xbox and later for PCs running Microsoft Windows. ... The fetch quest is a somewhat derogatory name for a common sort of quest seen in many video game role-playing games (RPGs). ...

  • Examples: The water-chip in Fallout.

Fallout box art Fallout is a computer role-playing game produced by Tim Cain and published by Interplay in 1997. ...

See also


  Results from FactBites:
 
Quest (gaming) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (1757 words)
A quest in a gaming context, especially in MMORPGs, is generally a task or series of tasks, which a player or group of players may complete in order to gain a reward.
Other quests are doable by anyone and their rewards useable by anyone.
Game series such as The Elder Scrolls, Baldur's Gate, Fallout and Legend of Mana are primarily or almost entirely based on side-quests, creating many possibilities of development to the game.
Quest (disambiguation) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (150 words)
Look up quest in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Quest 64; the first role playing game released on the Nintendo 64
The Quest is a novel published in 1987 by Richard Sapir.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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