Quest Design
Ongoing coverage on Quest Design.
Latest coverage
Phantom Blade Zero quest list - all main and side quests
This guide for Phantom Blade Zero lists all main story quests, secondary story quests, and side quests, including collectibles and Tales. The article aims to help players track their progress through the game's numerous activities.
One of the best quests in Baldur's Gate 3 is also its scariest, and it doesn't have anything to do with ghosts…
The Iron Throne quest in Baldur's Gate 3 is highlighted as one of the game's most effective and terrifying experiences due to its unique implementation of a strict timer and the potential for permanent character loss. This design choice subverts player expectations and creates genuine panic, making even minor errors feel consequential and the quest deeply memorable.
Laying a boozy trap for a vampire lush in Witcher 3 is one of my favorite quests, but it also shows the missed…
The author highlights "The Oxenfurt Drunk" quest in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as a favorite, praising its eccentric nature and the potential for more engaging investigation mechanics. The piece suggests that The Witcher 4 could benefit from deeper, player-driven deduction systems, drawing inspiration from games like Baldur's Gate 3 and Elden Ring.
Blizzard Adds Beloved 'Kyle's Gone Missing' Quest to World of Warcraft: Forever
Blizzard Entertainment has added the 'Kyle's Gone Missing!' quest to World of Warcraft: Forever, aiming to preserve elements of the original vanilla WoW experience. This addition is part of an effort to include notable quests from the game's history.
WoW: Forever isn't about the MMO's many expansions, but Blizzard is making an exception for a Make-a-Wish quest from Burning Crusade in response to fan feedback: "Stay tuned"
Blizzard Entertainment is adding the fan-favorite 'Kyle's Gone Missing' quest from World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade into World of Warcraft: Forever. This quest was originally created as a Make-A-Wish request from Ezra Chatterton, who also voiced a character in it. The inclusion honors Chatterton's memory and responds to significant player feedback.
The writer of The Witcher 3's best quest has returned to CD Projekt after a decade away
Writer Karolina Stachyra, acclaimed for her work on 'Family Matters' in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, has returned to CD Projekt Red after a decade. She initially joined as a freelance consultant in February and transitioned to a full-time writer in August. Her return is seen as positive news for RPG fans, though her current projects remain undisclosed.
ESO devs tell us exactly how its Rumors update revives Morrowind's detective work
The Elder Scrolls Online is introducing a new 'Rumors' system that revives Morrowind's approach to exploration by removing objective markers and providing players with actual clues to follow. This narrative scavenger hunt feature, designed by Zenimax Online developers like Jason Barnes and Michael Zenke, will initially launch with 15 mysteries of varying difficulty, encouraging players to piece together information and navigate the world organically.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered review - better than ever, bugs and all
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered offers a significant graphical and gameplay overhaul, keeping the acclaimed quest design and characters intact. While the improvements are substantial and free for existing owners, the remaster retains many of the original game's bugs and glitches, particularly with Geralt's horse Roach and occasional visual oddities. Despite these persistent issues, the enhanced visuals and refined combat make it an excellent way to experience or revisit this legendary action RPG.
WoW: Forever mentally broke me with a boulder
The author shares their experience playing World of Warcraft, finding enjoyment in its old-school mechanics despite some frustrations. A particular quest, 'Rocks to Rest,' involving collecting eight sporadically spawning rocks, became a point of contention due to server-side node competition.
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.
