How much of an RPG should be the 'Main Quest'?

[Excommunicator]

The template for RPGs should be games like Eye of the Beholder, Lands of Lore, etc. There are no side quests in those games. You are a group of adventurers on a mission and that takes you far and wide. You might end up doing some tasks that are more minor than others, you can't get off the island unless you find something that the boatkeeper lost or whatever, so it is kind of like a side quest. But it isn't. It is part of the main quest, and that matters. It makes everything a coherent whole, it makes everything you do feel purposeful because it takes you one step further towards your goal. It also means the devs can focus on telling one good story with multiple parts, rather than one half baked main quest and 1000 smaller MMO type fetch/kill quests.

So it should be 100% main quest. In a huge MMO, side quests can be justifiable. But I don't think any single player games have a big enough budget and a talented enough team, to make side quests that are worth doing. I more or less think that "Open World" gaming is kind of a joke, and it arrived before its time. Some are better than others, I probably would have enjoyed side quests in Witcher 3 if the combat was better, but still, walk in house, right click witcher senses, follow the footprints, repeated 500 times with slightly different circumstances, really outstays its welcome. I think it would be much better for them to focus on one main story and the time they save making 1000 extra side quests, could be spent making the main quest better. I can think of some examples that proved this too.

In almost every game I can think of, the side quests are significantly more interesting than the main quest. This is especially true for more recent RPGs.

 

[anvi]

I think the opposite of that. The MQ is not only more interesting but also feels more purposeful because it actually takes you somewhere long term. Side quests are like a 30 minute forgettable chore.

 

[Excommunicator]

Please tell me about these actual RPGs that feel purposeful and interesting due to their main quests

 

[JarlFrank]

I'm a proponent of loose, decentralized main quest lines. Instead of following one linear line of quests that progress from A -> B -> C -> D -> [...] -> Z the main questline should instead be made up of different nodes and goals to achieve that are stepping stones towards your ultimate goal.

Say, your goal is to kill the evil necromancer tyrant. What stops you from just barging in and confronting the guy head-on? Well, for one, you're level 1 when you start out and he'd just curbstomp you. For two, even if you're high level he still has too many resources to throw against you. So the intermediate goals would be to weaken him in various ways. Find out who supports him and who would be willing to join a rebellion. Recruit those willing to join, eliminate those who are loyal. Do some quests for a temple that wants to cleanse the undead-filled tombs, in order to deprive the necromancer tyrant of his undead hordes. Do some investigative quests to find out secret ways into the necromancer tyrant's stronghold so you can sneak past the heavily guarded front gate.

That kind of structure of subgoals that lead to a larger goal is perfect for RPGs since it allows the player a relatively high amount of freedom. It is very well possible to do the final quest before completing every single other main quest node, but then the final fight will be harder since you haven't deprived the enemy of all the resources yet.

 

[Excommunicator]

^ the simplicity of a premise like that already makes it better than the convoluted and fluffed up stuff we get in most RPGs. All the quest detail can simply be layered on top without it complicating the base idea

 

[anvi]

Please tell me about these actual RPGs that feel purposeful and interesting due to their main quests

Almost every RPG is like that. Even crap like Fallout 3 was fun to spend a few days on and do the MQ, it had some good moments. Got bored of Fallout 4 though, and Oblivilols and Skyrim. I managed to finish Oblivion though but mostly because the entire MQ could be finished in a day.

What side quests are memorable and purposeful? That one to escort the goat herder? Or the one to find the amulet in draega_dungeon_014?

 

[JarlFrank]

Please tell me about these actual RPGs that feel purposeful and interesting due to their main quests

Almost every RPG is like that. Even crap like Fallout 3 was fun to spend a few days on and do the MQ, it had some good moments. Got bored of Fallout 4 though, and Oblivilols and Skyrim. I managed to finish Oblivion though but mostly because the entire MQ could be finished in a day.

What side quests are memorable and purposeful? That one to escort the goat herder? Or the one to find the amulet in draega_dungeon_014?

Play Arcanum. You will find a new appreciation for sidequests.

 

[anvi]

Play Arcanum. You will find a new appreciation for sidequests.

Played it for a while. I found a new appreciation for all other games.

 

[Darkzone]

Please tell me about these actual RPGs that feel purposeful and interesting due to their main quests

Almost every RPG is like that. Even crap like Fallout 3 was fun to spend a few days on and do the MQ, it had some good moments. Got bored of Fallout 4 though, and Oblivilols and Skyrim. I managed to finish Oblivion though but mostly because the entire MQ could be finished in a day.

What side quests are memorable and purposeful? That one to escort the goat herder? Or the one to find the amulet in draega_dungeon_014?

To stay true to your examples:
Fallout 3: Nuke Megaton.
Skyrim: Kill the Emperor.
For Oblivion i don't care, because it was so shit that i didn't even bother to play it to 3rd Character Lv.

 

[anvi]

I think I did those.

 

[bloodlover]

This is why the time limit in Fallout is great, stops you wanking off the entire wasteland whilst on a critical mission. For notes on how not to design a main quest:side quest ratio (Or whatever the frack I should call it) see Bethesda: World's ending but fuck it; go do whatever oh chosen one.

So great that they patched it later.

 

[gaussgunner]

Wow my comment really separated the

from the newfags.

Joined: Oct 12, 2016
Credit where it's due, though: you were kinda right, that one time.

 

[anvi]

I'm a

newfag though.

 

[kintake]

This is why the time limit in Fallout is great, stops you wanking off the entire wasteland whilst on a critical mission. For notes on how not to design a main quest:side quest ratio (Or whatever the frack I should call it) see Bethesda: World's ending but fuck it; go do whatever oh chosen one.

So great that they patched it later.

Progenitors of the decline, it started ever so gently with lube and a teasing finger. Now we bite the pillow and think of England like the little bitches we've become.
Another mistake they made with the original Fallout was changing the Junktown ending slide if you sided with MacGyver to pander to retards pining for a happy ending (Marketing has always been the driving force of decline)

 

[Kev Inkline]

I think it really depends how the well the side quests are motivated and sometimes connected to the main quest, as has been noted in this thread a few times. A good example: FNV, a bad example: ME (how much Mako driving can you take?).