Side Quests Aren’t Optional! How They Shape Video Games and Their Players
Are side quests simply “optional” content to extend for how long you can play a game? Or is there more to them than meets the eye? Considering the evolution of games and history of RPGs, it turns out there is — quite a lot, too!
Indeed, the early games of the 80’s and 90’s, such as Dungeons & Dragons, Pool of Radiance, and The Legend of Zelda, might have used side quests as secondary tasks, but they have grown to play many other roles and to add narrative details, like in The Witcher 3 or Red Dead Redemption 2. Certain RPGs, among which are Zelda Breath of The Wild and Elden Ring, use them to let players craft their own journey, however they wish. And a select group of video games, of which BOTW, the soulsborne series, and the Dishonored franchise are part, manage to give these missions a whole new, unexpected purpose but outright ingenious! Today, we take a deep dive into the quest design of these games to understand why side quests matter.
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Spoilers for:
Dishonored 2 - The Dust District mission and a few endings
Elden Ring - quest structure
Ori and the Will of the Wisps - side quests
Red Dead Redemption 2 - romance side quests
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - gameplay structure
The Witcher 3 - an early two-part quest related to a certain baron
Sources and further reading:
The Benefits of Playing Video Games: https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/rel...
Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being: https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/S...
HOW A VIDEO GAME CHORE BECAME A STORYTELLING TECHNIQUE FOR TV AND MOVIES: https://www.inverse.com/gaming/side-q...
Characteristics of Games, by George Skaff Elias, Karl Robert Gutschera, and Richard Garfield
Games shown:
Assassin's Creed Origins (Ubisoft, 2017)
Assassin's Creed Syndicate (Ubisoft, 2015)
Assassin's Creed Unity (Ubisoft, 2014)
Baldur's Gate (BioWare, 1998)
BioShock Infinite (Irrational Games, 2013)
BioShock Remastered (2K, 2016)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Infinity Ward, 2011)
Catherine: Full Body (ATLUS, 2019)
Dark Souls III (From Software, 2016)
Dishonored (Arkane Studios, 2012)
Dragon Age: Inquisition (BioWare, 2014)
Dying Light (TechLand, 2015)
Fallout 4 (Bethesda, 2015)
Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix, 2020)
Final Fantasy XV (Square Enix, 2016)
Genesis Noir (Feral Cat Den, 2021)
God of War (Santa Monica Studio, 2018)
Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games, 2017)
Journey (Thatgamecompany, 2012)
Kingdom Come: Deliverance (Warhorse Studios, 2018)
Kingdom Hearts III (Square Enix, 2019)
Mafia III (Hangar 13, 2016)
Mafia: Definitive Edition (Hangar 13, 2020)
Mass Effect Andromeda (BioWare, 2017)
Metal Gear Solid (Konami, 1998)
Monster Hunter World (Capcom, 2018)
NieR: Automata (PlatinumGames, 2017)
Octopath Traveler (Square Enix, 2018)
Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios, 2020)
Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital, 2019)
Persona 5 (ATLUS, 2016)
Resident Evil Village (Capcom, 2021)
Sable (Shedworks, 2021)
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Eidos-Montréal, 2018)
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn, 2019)
Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo, 2017)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda, 2011)
The Last of Us (Naughty Dog, 2013)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog, 2009)
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog, 2016)
Yakuza 0 (Sega, 2015)
You heard various scores from the soundtracks of:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare by Sarah Schachner
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 by Brian Tyler
Dishonored and Dishonored 2 by Daniel Licht
Other credits:
“Demosthenes on the Seashore” by Eugène Delacroix
“Portrait of Jeremy Bentham” by Henry William Pickersgill
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