Quest Design
Ongoing coverage on Quest Design.
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A terrible quest in vanilla WoW 'holds a really special place in my heart', says Jeff Kaplan, but was also 'the hubris of a junior game designer who thinks he's clever but is actually a dipsh*t'
Former Blizzard designer Jeff Kaplan reflected on the notoriously disliked "The Green Hills of Stranglethorn" quest in the original World of Warcraft. He described it as a personal project that taught him valuable lessons about game design, particularly regarding player experience and avoiding "ant farm" design principles.
Marathon’s Fiddly Quests Need To Stop Getting in the Way of the Fun - IGN
This analysis critiques the quest design in Bungie's extraction shooter Marathon, arguing that its "contracts" are overly fiddly and often impede the core looting and shooting gameplay. While the game is still enjoyable, the author suggests improvements are needed to make objectives clearer and less disruptive to the player experience.
Stray (PS5)
This review of Stray on PlayStation 5 details a frustrating experience after the initial hours of gameplay. The reviewer found the quest design to be illogical and tedious, particularly the main story's fetch quests for a hat and coat, which involved convoluted steps and mechanics not previously introduced. The article concludes that the game's structure became disjointed and not worth the player's time, despite a strong visual and audio presentation.