MMORPG according to my head...

This is just a space where I can put down my ideas of MMORPG and everything MMORPG related that is in my head.

Author: Forcan

I have come to know this fact regarding missions in Asian history by watching animated series like Naruto etc. However, there is one down fall on using this system in a MMO. That is the fun of exploring through the cities and searching for quests will get removed. When a lot of players do just that, the cities most often come alive compare to guild gatherings in specific locations.

And I don't agree fully with what you say about experience involved in quests. I do believe they focus the rewards to much on experience yes, but everything you do in life will give you experience. And that is why I think that completing a quest shall also give you that experience, though a lot less then what most mmorpgs do today. But if they do that, what should they give instead so people don't grind 24/7? This is where new thinking comes in, I think there should be more rewards in game then having the highest level and best gear. Like you say, perhaps some information regarding the history, gossip and access to special locations, different types of titles, housing and special items of some sort etc. Something to shows that you are a hardcore gamer that knows these lands better then most people.

Anyway, I agree to 110% that the corporations building our mmorpg games need to start enhancing the quest system. By including, excluding and upgrading the systems we have today. Because when everything else is getting improved the quest system seems quite primitive today, don't you think?

Davod, thank you for your feedback.  I understand what you've mentioned, but perhaps I should mention in more in detail of the system.

What you mentioned about the City part is interesting.  I always believe in the idea that MMO are a virtual world.  Hence hunting down quest seem... out of place.  So by designing a place for each type of action (NPC/Player guild halls for missions, NPC/player stores for items, etc...), but you get my idea.  So that's what I focus on, making sure the MMO design reflect the virtual world idea.

As for experience no given in quests, my reasoning is that there are more than just experiences, currency, and items to be given by quests.  I choose to focus on fame/reputation because that's what makes sense.  A "quest" itself doesn't give experience, but what you do in the quest (maybe killing that dragon for example) gives you experience.  The system I have in my head contains more than just one nation, one continent, one faction.  I have a background story that has 5 major continents: The North continent has 3 nations, the East continent and the Middle continent are connected and they have 5 and 3 nations respectively.  The West continent has 2 nations, and in the South, there isn't really a "continent", but actually many islands forming into an alliance.  So if you start adding them up, there are many, many factions a player can choose to work for. 

It's is a very complex system in my head, hence I'm writing it all down and refining the idea when I can.

Continue on my idea of Quest, I focus on the fact that Quest is what it is - a journey, and not many can take that same journey.  So not every players can and will pick up the same quest at the same level.  Depends on the situation, one or more players (in group) may pick up a quest, and decides to share the quest due to difficulty.  This way you will have unique experience for players (You can have a player who is Dragon Slayer of Town X while another is Dragon Slayer of Town Y and due to a design in my head that uses pre-made quest stories [100s of them at first], and pre-made quest format [100s of them also].  The two dragon slayers will experience two different quest with similar story.)

Maybe I'm oversimplifying, but it sounds like you are just taking existing quest systems and removing the XP.  There are several games where you quest for titles, where quests are a way to direct the player through the lore of the game world, where you quest to increase your reputation with one faction or anther.

Maybe your main point is that you want to see fewer mindless kill quests and delivery quests?  If that's the case, I completely agree.

Hexxeity, you are only focusing on the "quest" part but you missed the "mission/task" part.  That was the main idea in my concept.  By separating what I called "mundane" quests and call it as what it is - missions/tasks, and set up a system which work with it.  This isn't mindless, but it is build into a lore of the game world.

Let's think of it this way:  A fantasy world where there are many skilled individuals out there, the ruling bodies of all the nations will probably either persuade them into their military or find ways to limit their activities.  Then suppose some of these skilled individuals wanted to keep their freedom and not get into the conflicts between nations, so they form organizations (the NPC guilds) which stays neutral from all nations.  But when there are global danger (evil demon rising, etc...), then these organizations would lend a hand to help the peace of the world.

Also, if you read my documents through the link, you would realize that not all missions/tasks are "mindless kill quests", there are varieties of missions out there can be performed by players.

As for Quest, since I am removing the "delivery quests" and the "mindless kill quests" from it, I can better design good stories (100s of premade ones ) along with format (100s of premade dungeons, instance, or spawns, situation, etc..).  Not only this, but I even limit the quest in a way where no players (not in group, and un-related/unknown to each other) can have the same quest.  This would help give quest a more unique design and experiences. 

I also forgot to mention that these quests are multi-branched, so it would change due to your action, or lack of...  So there are more unique element in this system.

In the end, I am just refining the whole quest system that is in the games right now.  I think my idea differs from the existing system by a lot.  What the existing system rope together (all the missions/tasks with quests), I separate and create diverse, unique design to it. 

Thanks for the feedback though.

I see ... I was oversimplifying.

I tend to filter out the bits of people's ideas that seem overly ambitious.  No offense intended.  It sounds very cool, but frightfully complex.  I think you would give your QA team a collective heart attack.

Not so complex, just enough I believe and I do think something needs to change. This could be seen as a good alternative because it's more logical then the system being used now. And as you perhaps saw in my other post, I fully agree to what the quest regards should give - with that I mean that it should not focus on currency and experience. However, it needs to be something more complex then just being named "Dragon slayer" if you kill a dragon. Because most people would go around and be named like that or whatever they have slained... That would be unreasonable and booring.

As I stated in the previous post - and what the topic is all about, the companies producing mmorpgs needs to change their attitued and system towards quests.

And hear me god, I would really like to remove these mindless delivery quests between two or more people in a city. Is it that hard for a npc to transport it's ass 50 yards south or something like that? Delivery quests that is given to strong warriors should at least be given to transport goods between cities that has territorial borders inherited with beasts or something similiar. That would make alot more sense. 

Actully this would be another goal for the mmorpg makers, create some more sense in the world you building. It would not be that hard to make it a bit more reasonable and rpg friendly - because we all know that the rpg games has gone from rpg to "hackandslash" games. Therefor if they would creat a poll on what would need to be improved in the next gen mmorgp, I would vote. Sense and Rpg...

Did you get a chance to study TES: Oblivion yet? They have NPC guilds lke you describe as well. There is a Mage, Fighter, Thief, and Assassin Guild. You gain no experience from completing quests merely earn titles and rank. You really should check it out

Note I only read the blog not the other docs in a rush

vajuras, unfortunately not yet.  I have Morrowind, but not Oblivion... Hmm...  I might have to go and buy that game to see...

Man, I need to stop being lazy...

I was thinking of oblivion myself too! Anyway, although that system of giving quests, but that still doesn't solve the problem of those boring quests itself.

What we need are a different kind of objectives, instead of the usual Kill X.

Anyway, I do have a good idea that might work with that. You have let's say 4-5 races, each with its allies and enemies. The merchant are neutrals, trying to avoid combat. The dark-npc guild gives you a quest, to kill a real player, from the light guild.

That might not be so original (I think WAR is doing that too at the moment), but it can be easily done. And adds a sort of reality to it. People will need to wait till the right time, and the right victim. As it probably was in the old days.

erandur, since I called them by different names, and put them as different systems, so I'll address your "boring quests".

Those "boring quests", which I name as Missions/Tasks, I think it would be best to contain not only the kill X, but there can be much much more.  (The table I made show the basic idea behind such system, where there isn't only the kill X, but there are some for crafter-related, some for explorers, some for group missions, some for solo missions, and it can be expanded into much more).

Even though these Missions/Tasks will first be all NPC-made, but later on, after players build on their guilds, and the player guilds will have the ability to expand on the system.  So Missions/Tasks are what the regular "quests" are right now, but much much more in depth and can continue to be expanded.

As for the real Quests, I would keep them more or less in a hidden state.  (Since the Missions/Tasks are what people are used to know as the quests system, I reserve the true quests for those who are really interested in the game world's story.)

So NPC might drop you a hint, and you can choose to pick it up or not.  And a quest isn't something you do for 10 mins to an hours, but it will expand across different location and for different people, it will be different time frame (some may take 1 hrs to do while others took 10 hrs to do...)

Anyway, thanks for the feedback.