Quest Design
Ongoing coverage on Quest Design.
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The Witcher 3's story director says an ideal quest is 'constructed in such a way that the player puts the controller away, stands up, and starts walking'
The Witcher 3's story director, Marcin Blacha, shared his philosophy on creating impactful quests, emphasizing that meaningful choices should make players pause and think deeply. He stated that ideal quests are not obvious and carry significant weight, often prompting players to step away from the controller to consider their decisions. Blacha also confirmed that the upcoming DLC, Songs of the Past, will feature difficult choices that may lead to player regret.
How WoW Forever Handles Its Massive Set Of New Quests
Blizzard Entertainment announced WoW Forever, a new iteration of the classic World of Warcraft experience, featuring over 1,000 new quests and four new zones. Senior game designer Josh Greenfield discussed how these new quests aim to capture the charm and storytelling of the original game, while also embracing darker themes. WoW Forever is set to release on November 4 and will include updated class designs, revamped systems, and expanded race and class options, accessible via an existing WoW subscription or through the $80 Warcraft Forever Collection.
A behind-closed-doors demo of The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past has been a great reminder: CDPR's writing is some of gaming's very best
A preview of The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past, an upcoming expansion releasing 11 years after the base game, highlights CD Projekt Red's exceptional writing and quest design. The demo showcased a seamless continuation of Geralt's story and intricate narrative choices that echo the quality of the original game's acclaimed expansions.
Casually Classic: What were vanilla World of Warcraft’s weaknesses?
This analysis examines the weaknesses of the original World of Warcraft, focusing on enduring issues beyond temporary server problems. Key criticisms include broken and unbalanced classes, unrewarding quest rewards, an aimless endgame lacking variety beyond raiding, and poor in-game grouping tools that hindered player interaction.
The Daily Grind: Have you ever designed an MMO quest?
This article discusses the concept of player-designed quests in MMORPGs, referencing older titles like Star Wars Galaxies and City of Heroes that featured systems allowing players to create content. It also touches upon how players in games like Ultima Online and EverQuest would manually create quests using in-game resources and guildmates.
This massively ambitious The Witcher 3 mod aims to recreate its biggest cut questline, and you could be the voice of…
A fan-made mod project called The WAR Project aims to recreate a major cut questline from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, focusing on the Catriona Plague and the return of the character Iorveth. The ambitious 10-hour expansion is currently 25% complete and is seeking voice actors for various roles in English and Polish, including Geralt. The mod is slated for a February 2027 release.
Brighter Shores adds a new quest to unlock a potent trading partner
The MMORPG Brighter Shores has received a new patch that introduces the 'Rags to Riches' quest, featuring the merchant Rom Harrington. Completing this four-star quest in Crenopolis allows players to trade with Harrington, challenging them to acquire a diamond starting with only a peanut and no in-game currency spent. The update also includes quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes.
Old School RuneScape sets isle of Wyrmscraig for this summer, more quests and a raid in autumn
Old School RuneScape will release the Blood Moon Rises quest on June 30th, expanding the Vampyrium region with new bosses and activities. The summer will also see the launch of the player-designed island of Wyrmscraig, with autumn bringing the Fractured Archive raid and a new master quest, The Graveyard. Jagex also detailed plans for RuneFest 2026.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt lead quest designer recalls the moment he suggested that one character be killed off, says the team's reaction was 'wide eyes and silence' — 'The weight of it is exactly what the act needs'
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt lead quest designer Paweł Sasko recalled pitching the death of Vesemir during the Battle of Kaer Morhen, a suggestion that initially stunned the development team. Sasko explained that the character's demise was crucial for Ciri's emotional arc and the overall narrative weight of the game. He also touched upon the technical challenges and creative iteration involved in developing the game's questlines.
Witcher 3's heaviest scene stunned its devs into silence, but Cyberpunk 2's associate director says it was crucial for 'understanding the craft' of quest design
Paweł Sasko, associate director on Cyberpunk 2 and former lead quest designer for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, discussed the impact of Vesemir's death scene on developers. He stated that the scene, which stunned the development team into silence, was crucial for understanding the craft of quest and narrative design. Sasko also mentioned that he enjoyed working on such impactful moments.
The Witcher 3 lead quest designer says the room fell into "wide eyes and silence" when he pitched one of the…
Pawel Sasko, a quest designer on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, shared how his pitch for a dramatic moment during the Battle of Kaer Morhen initially left his team in stunned silence. He detailed the iterative process of prototyping and refining the sequence, which ultimately involved Vesemir's death and Ciri's powerful outburst.
The Witcher 3 Lead Quest Designer Writes About Bloody Baron Quest and Killing A Beloved Character
Paweł Sasko, lead quest designer at CD Projekt RED, shared insights into the development of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, including early office environments and the challenges of designing iconic quests like the Bloody Baron's story arc. He detailed the difficult decision to kill the character Vesemir during the Battle of Kaer Morhen and the extensive nine-month process of writing the main storyline. Sasko also celebrated the game's 11th anniversary and its significant sales success.
The Blood of Dawnwalker Promises A “Lot of Reactivity” to Player Choices in Quests
Rebel Wolves' The Blood of Dawnwalker will feature significant reactivity to player choices in quests, with NPCs remembering actions and reacting accordingly. The game director highlighted that relationships can be built through dialogue and actions, with both combat and subtle interactions influencing bonds. A typical playthrough is estimated to take around 50 hours.
Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown 1.7 update announced, patch notes – Delta Flyer and more
Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown has announced its 1.7 update, featuring the free Delta Flyer mechanic, a new questline with Tom Paris, and construction systems. The update also includes combat ally roles, new quest branches, and numerous fixes and improvements to quests, UI, gameplay balance, stability, and visuals. The game is available on Nintendo Switch.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Patch is Live, Adds “High-Risk, High-Reward” Quest in X-18 Lab
GSC Game World has released the "Sealed Truth" update for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, adding a new high-risk, high-reward questline within the X-18 Lab. The update also includes fixes for mutant spawns and mission progression, along with new loading screens. The upcoming "Cost of Hope" expansion is set to launch this Summer for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.
Crimson Desert Players Beg You Don't Take Items Too Early
Players of Crimson Desert are encountering game-breaking bugs that softlock questlines, particularly the Fragment of Life mission, by collecting key items too early. While workarounds like save file reverting or inventory mods exist, developer Pearl Abyss is reportedly reworking some quest chains. The game, launched on March 19 for consoles and PC, has sold over 4 million copies.
The consensus is that Crimson Desert has terrible storytelling—it's not true
Despite a consensus that Crimson Desert's storytelling is weak, this article argues it's not terrible and contains compelling individual quests and character moments. While the overarching narrative lacks structure, the game offers engaging stories, particularly those involving the Greymane faction, which are elevated by strong characters and voice acting, comparable to elements found in The Witcher 3.
Crimson Desert main mission list
This guide provides a comprehensive list of all main quests available in the game Crimson Desert. It details the primary storyline progression for players.
"Typical hubris" led to one of WoW's "s**ttiest" quests, admits creator Jeff Kaplan, who thought he was a clever designer but was "actually a dips**t"
Former World of Warcraft designer Jeff Kaplan reflects on the infamous "The Green Hills of Stranglethorn" quest, admitting "typical hubris" led to its widely criticized design. Kaplan, who was inspired by Ernest Hemingway, views the quest as a valuable learning experience despite its negative reception.
WoW's questing system was inspired by a playtest that didn't work out as planned, because the testers didn't play MMOs and had no idea what they were supposed to do: 'I ran out of quests right away!'
Former World of Warcraft quest designer Jeff Kaplan revealed that the game's questing system was inspired by a playtest where testers unfamiliar with MMOs expected a constant stream of quests. Initially, the team aimed to mirror Everquest's design, but feedback from internal testers highlighted the need for a more guided experience, leading to the quest-heavy system present in the final game.
